Students to get free WiFi in college, university campuses

BHUBANESWAR: The Centre has asked all universities and colleges of the state to make their campus digital by providing internet services for free and install WiFi facilities. Authorities of the educational institutions have been asked to complete the process of WiFi campus by August 2018.
"The creation of digital campus would require a large national effort involving both private and public players. Some telecom service providers have already evinced interest in participating in this effort," read the letter from Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD).




The main objective of converting higher educational institutions into digital campuses is to access educational content through Swayam platform. The MHRD has asked all higher education institutions to contact telecom services providers (TSP) or Internet Service Providers (ISP) who will provide free WiFi services in the campus.



"There should be no financial implications on the institution on account of implementation of the project. Each user will have a quota of data they can use for free after which they will have to pay the telecom service provider," an official source said.

Each of the institutes can use WiFi facility to a minimum of two devices such as a laptop or smartphone concurrently. The broadband network of the TSP should be interconnected to the National Knowledge Network (NKN) to access other e-learning resources.

The MHRD has advised institutions to tie up with Reliance Jio Infocom or any other TSP or ISP to avail the WiFi facility on the campus.

It further added that those colleges and universities which were granted financial assistance from the state government in 2015 and where free WiFi facility has been taken up may be continued free of cost. Odisha government had sanctioned Rs 20 crore under smart campus scheme to provide WiFi facilities in six universities and 69 colleges in 2015.

"Digital campus is the need of the hour. Some of our campuses already have wifi facilities and in the rest, the facilities will be installed soon, " said higher education minister Ananta Das.