In a landmark celebration of World Wi-Fi Day 2025, the Broadband India Forum (BIF) hosted a conference in New Delhi, spotlighting India's bold spectrum reform and visionary digital infrastructure initiatives.
The occasion was marked by the felicitation of the Hon'ble Minister of Communications, Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, for his exemplary leadership and in advancing the path breaking initiative of delicensing of the 6GHz spectrum'a move set to ignite a new era of innovation, inclusive access and affordable broadband connectivity.
Recognizing Wi-Fi as a cornerstone of India’s digital infrastructure and in line with Hon'ble PM's Vision for Viksit Bharat, the event brought together senior policymakers, regulators, industry leaders, and technology experts to deliberate on the future of Wi-Fi in India'particularly in the context of high indoor data usage, rising mobile tariffs and the urgent need to bridge the digital divide for the net unconnected.
Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Hon'ble Minister of Communications said, On this World Wi-Fi Day, I extend my heartfelt congratulations to all. This is a day that deserves global celebration, as it marks a revolution, breaking the barriers that once restricted access to capital, infrastructure, and now, crucially, information. This day invites us to reflect. It celebrates the freedom to connect, the freedom to create, and the freedom to rise. As a government, our role is evolving. We are no longer just regulators, we are facilitators. We must open new vistas of opportunity. We must be technology-agnostic, company-neutral, and above all, customer-centric. Our responsibility lies with the 1.4 billion citizens of India. As adoption scales, costs fall. Penetration is accelerating, even into rural heartlands. We are launching 5G use cases across 13 villages'from Andhra Pradesh to Madhya Pradesh'delivering 10 essential services to each. Our goal is nationwide Wi-Fi coverage'both wide and deep.
BIF Hails 6 GHz Spectrum Reform on World Wi-Fi Day 2025
This connectivity will fuel growth across industries. As part of this journey, we are moving forward with the delicensing of the 6GHz spectrum. The relevant rules will be notified on or before Independence Day this year. Let us celebrate this journey'not just of connectivity, but of empowerment.'
In the context setting address, Aruna Sundararajan, Chairperson, BIF, said, 'India's digital future will be built on reliable, affordable, and inclusive connectivity. Wi-Fi is central to that vision to connect over 40% of the population which still remains offline. With over 80% of our data consumption happening indoors, Wi-Fi has a crucial and complementary role, better suited than mobile networks for indoors due to the latter's physical and spectrum limitations. The recent delicensing of the 6 GHz band will provide the requisite thrust for India to upgrade to modern Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 enabling cutting edge research and innovation and supporting high-throughput, low-latency use cases like AR/VR, cloud gaming, and 8K streaming, ultimately enhancing user experience.'
The conference also featured Dr. R.S. Sharma, Former TRAI Chairman gracing the occasion as Special Guest of Honour, who said:
'PM-WANI is a visionary public Wi-Fi framework designed to democratize broadband access, it is the veritable UPI of Telecom Sector. By creating an open, secure, and interoperable framework, PM-WANI hotspots act as digital doorways empowering local entrepreneurs and ensuring last-mile internet access at scale. With low-cost infrastructure, public Wi-Fi can serve as a digital equalizer'to bridge the digital divide and empower every citizen.'
The Broadband India Forum has been a strong advocate for the expansion of PM-WANI, recognizing its potential in making affordable, sachet-sized internet access available to millions. Through this Conference, it reaffirmed its commitment to working with all stakeholders to ensure that affordable, high-speed, and inclusive broadband becomes a lived reality for every Indian'at home, at work, and in every corner of the country ' where every hotspot can virtually become a mini Data Centre processing huge swathes of data swathes of data. Along with this, the delicensing of the 6 GHz band will ignite the beginning of a transformative era for digital India.
