India, June 3 -- Responding to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (TRAI) consultation paper on the proliferation of public Wi-Fi networks in India, the Broadband India Forum (BIF) has called for a significant shift in the country's broadband strategy. The industry body welcomed TRAI's move to formally position public Wi-Fi as a complementary broadband infrastructure layer aimed at improving affordable and widespread internet access.

In its submission, BIF cautioned that although India has become one of the world's largest consumers of mobile broadband data, an overreliance on mobile networks alone may not be sufficient to support the country's long-term digital ambitions.

According to the Forum, public Wi-Fi should move beyond ...