Date:03/03/2004 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2004/03/03/stories/2004030300850700.htm

Back Wi-Fi makes presence felt at tourism spots

V. Rishi Kumar

Hyderabad , March 2

AFTER corporate houses such as Satyam and Infosys, campuses such as the Indian School of Business and corporate boardrooms such as ITC, Wi-Fi or wireless fidelity deployment that helps provide a wireless field to users offering Internet access is making inroads into several tourism projects.

After the launch of the Wi-Fi facility at the Dal Lake in Srinagar last year, similar facilities in several tourism projects are in the offing - be it the serene backwaters and waterways in Kerala or Husainsager lake in Hyderabad or for that matter Coimbatore or possibly Kollam.

"Several State Governments and their tourism corporations are in the process of evaluating the implementation of such Wi-Fi projects. These include Goa, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala," said Mr Sujit Singh, Country Manager, Dax Networks.

"Some pilot projects have been implemented and this is just the beginning of a long journey towards such deployments."

Mr Singh told Business Line that the company has already deployed such an application at Dal Lake; Kumarakom and Hussainsagar are being actively discussed.

The issue is one of novelty, of enabling busy professionals to combine their work in a holiday environment.

"For instance, we have got in-principle nod for the Hussainsagar project and expect to invest about Rs 10 lakh. The technical feasibility study has been completed and by April-May this year the entire area around the lake and its environs including the Necklace road would be Wi-Fi-enabled. Visitors can surf the Net from anywhere in the region and, possibly, while boating," Mr Singh said.

"Each of our Wi-Fi deployments has been done with a specific purpose.

"For instance, at the Chennai Port Trust the issue was to connect buildings across multiple locations without actually disrupting the infrastructure and so was the case with the IDRBT, a banking consultant based in Hyderabad," he added.

"Most Wi-Fi deployments are aimed at achieving better connectivity and often the challenge is to provide connectivity without disrupting the infrastructure.

"That is one of the reasons why the ITC boardroom, which is well-connected, deploys a Wi-Fi network."