Icenet in talks to wi-fi Ahmedabad airport

Mint Cafe made a hotspot, 50 more centres planned

Internet service provider Icenet launched the first wi-fi (wireless fidelity) hotspot at Mint cafe in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. People can surf the internet in the hotspot using a wi-fi card, without any wire connections.

Icenet plans to enable 50 such hotspots in Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat and Rajkot over the next six months. Icenet has also initiated talks with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to wi-fi enable the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad so that people can access the internet on their laptops even at the airport.

"We have told airport officials that this technology functions at an altogether different frequency and will not interfere with other frequencies. In fact, every airport in the US is wi-fi enabled," said Hemal Patel, founder of Icenet.

"Wireless internet is the future of business. With prices of laptops falling, the use of wi-fi technology is only bound to increase further. Being the first digital ISP, the first to set up an international gateway, first to introduce internet on cable in Gujarat and first to introduce internet telephony in India, Icenet has decided to be the first ISP to introduce wi-fi hotspots in Gujarat," said Chirag Mehta, chief executive officer and managing director of Icenet.

The concept of wi-fi hotspots is gradually picking up in India and according to figures, there are about 128 wi-fi hotspots in the country.

Hemal Patel said in the US, most of the offices and residences are wi-fi enabled, access points for which are available at costs as low as $39.

"All that is required is an access point, which is like an antenna, that allows people to surf the Net with the help of a LAN card," he said.

On the pricing, Mehta said the services will be provided free for the first six months or so, during which the concept will be popularised.

"We have set the idea afloat and will popularise it with opening of many more wi-fi hotspots. At a later stage, the per-hour charge for surfing at a wi-fi hotspot will be announced. This is expected to be slightly higher than the surfing charges at an internet cafe, primarily because of the convenience factor and the speeds being offered. But the rates are yet to be finalised," Mehta said.

Kavit Sanghvi of Mint Cafe said Mint was privileged to be the first wi-fi hotspot in Gujarat and will offer its customers wireless internet access in a cafe free of any charge.

"In fact, we already have students and a few foreigners walking in and using their laptops for accessing the internet even while enjoying food," Sanghvi said.