NEW DELHI, June 24: India is charting a path towards comprehensive nationwide Wi-Fi accessibility, Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia announced on Tuesday. Speaking at a special conference organized by the Broadband India Forum (BIF) to mark World Wi-Fi Day 2025, Scindia emphasized that the government is taking bold and forward-thinking steps to expand Wi-Fi coverage across the country—both in terms of breadth and depth—to drive cross-sector growth.

Highlighting a significant policy reform, Scindia confirmed that India is advancing with the delicensing of the 6GHz spectrum, a move poised to unlock faster and more reliable internet. “The relevant rules will be notified on or before Independence Day this year,” he declared.

He added that the government’s role is evolving from being just a regulator to becoming a facilitator. “Technology must be available for all, without favouring any company or technology,” Scindia stressed.

“This is a day to celebrate the freedom to connect, to create, and to rise. As adoption increases, costs decrease. Penetration is growing, even into rural heartlands,” he said, highlighting that India is already running 5G use cases across 13 villages, delivering 10 essential services in each. “Now, we want to ensure that every Indian has access to high-speed internet, whether they are at home, at work, or in remote areas,” Scindia added.

The event saw participation from key policymakers, technology leaders, and industry experts. BIF Chairperson Aruna Sundararajan, in her opening address, noted that Wi-Fi will be central to the government’s ambition of connecting the remaining 40 per cent of India’s population that is still offline.

“With over 80 per cent of internet use occurring indoors, Wi-Fi networks—especially using the 6GHz band—are better suited than mobile networks in such environments,” Sundararajan explained. She also underscored the importance of the 6GHz band for modern technology adoption, saying, “The delicensing of the 6GHz band will help India adopt modern technologies like Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7. This will boost new areas like augmented reality, cloud gaming, and 8K video streaming. It’s a big step toward better user experience and innovation.”

The BIF reaffirmed its support for transformative initiatives such as PM-WANI and the 6GHz spectrum delicensing, stating that these efforts can transform every Wi-Fi hotspot into a powerful data access and processing node, enabling faster and more inclusive digital growth throughout the country.

Dr. R.S. Sharma, former Chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), also addressed the forum, praising PM-WANI as “a visionary public Wi-Fi framework designed to democratise broadband access. It is the veritable UPI of the Telecom Sector,” he said.

“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 equaliser — bridging the digital divide and empowering every citizen,” Sharma concluded.