Ortel Communications Ltd, a leading last-mile communications provider in India’s eastern states, has introduced free Wi-Fi Public Hotspot services for its Broadband subscribers in Bhubaneshwar.
The Wi-Fi Hot Spot service has been launched as a special value added service and will be completely free of charge for those using its fiber and cable broadband services.
Ortel is the first MSO and ISP to offer an additional wireless broadband service at public places in Bhubaneswar for its wired broadband subscribers without any additional charges.
“These services will be extended to other markets very soon,” it said.
The move comes ahead of the launch of Reliance Jio, which is expected in late February or early March.
Wired internet service providers like Ortel are likely to feel the impact of Jio’s launch as they will compete for largely the same market.
Ortel, however, is one of the strongest in its areas of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telengana and West Bengal because of its fiber optic technology.
Though wireless operators like Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio may be able to target small scale users (up to 30-40 GB per month) effectively, for heavy users (50 GB plus), wireless internet services will be unusable due to bandwidth constraints.
In contrast, fiber and cable+fiber operators such as Hathway and Orbit can offer packs as high as 1000 or 2000 GB per month without affecting the performance of nearby users.
BSNL and MTNL have been also “rolling out” such WiFi hotspots for the last 3-4 years, but most users have never been to any location where such services exist.
Ortel is offering the Wi-Fi Hot Spot services in busiest locations of Bhubaneswar where people go for shopping and leisure.
Ortel said its broadband customers can avail these services “On the Go” through their Smartphones, Tablet PCs and Laptops.
“No additional hardware like modem or dongle are required to be connected to the active devices, neither does it require any additional software installation. Ortel Broadband customers can continue to access the Hot Spot services by using their existing internet account.”
They can also use the broadband services in the Public Hot Spot Wi-Fi location and can simultaneously use the primary wired broadband connection at home.
Ortel is the first MSO and ISP to offer an additional wireless broadband service at public places in Bhubaneswar for its wired broadband subscribers without any additional charges.
“This will allow our wired broadband subscribers to access internet using their existing Ortel Broadband connection outside their homes at places where most of them visit very frequently,” said Bibhu Prasad Rath, President & CEO at Ortel Communications.