“Four more private agencies have offered to provide the wireless internet connectivity service and we are planning to rope them for the implementation of the coveted project,” Anupam Saraph, chief information officer (CIO), PMC, told this paper on Sunday.

It has been more than a year and the only agency, Microsense, working on the project has been unable to implement the service to provide wireless internet connectivity because of various reasons, he said, adding, “It will not be feasible for one agency to provide the service in the city and the multiple agency model can only yield positive results at a faster pace.”

The participation of more than one agency will encourage competitiveness once the service is made commercially available, Saraph said.

The agencies can form a consortium and distribute area among themselves to cover most part of the city, he said.

If the project has to be made commercially viable, Saraph said, “It should not be restricted only for the PMC jurisdiction and the entire physical boundaries of the city should be brought under it with the service being extended to Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation, Pune Cantonment Board, Khadki Cantonment Board and other adjoining areas.”

According to Sujit Singh, vice-president, Microsense, “The PMC has so far not communicated to us on the plans of roping in other agencies for implementation of the wifi project.” There will not be any need for PMC to bring in more agencies as Microsense is all set to speed up the work in the city as most of the major hurdles in the implementation of the project has been sorted out, he said adding the addition of more agencies could also lead to technical problems.

Singh said the wi-fi concept is new in the country and they are a recognised company providing the service. “The company has also got the contract for implementing the project in Bangalore, Shillong and Imphal.”

As per the contract with the PMC, the civic body was to provide the space for installing the antenna and power for it. “The main hurdle for the project remains power supply to the antennas due to frequent power cut in the city and it is the responsibility of PMC to provide it,” he said.

Meanwhile, the PMC has asked Microsense to take up the work on priority basis and make available the service on Airport to Balewadi corridor by next month so that it is operational during the Commonwealth Youth Games. The service provider has also been asked to identify 144 hot spots, one in each ward, to start the service instead of concentrating on one particular area, he added. The biggest chowk in each ward can be identified where the antenna can be installed in the PMC owned property so that it covers larger area.