The Hindu Business Line : DoT wants Internet service providers to register all Wi-Fi users

New guidelines
Consumers who do not register themselves will get disconnected by their ISPs
No new connections will be activated before the subscriber’s details are registered by the ISP
Existing customers have been given time till June 23 to comply with the requirements

Thomas K Thomas

New Delhi, May 1 Consumers accessing the Internet using Wi-Fi will have to get themselves registered if they want to continue using the technology.

The Department of Telecom has ordered Internet Service Providers to ensure that details of customers using Wi-Fi should be maintained in a centralised server to prevent unauthorised persons from accessing the Net in a hotspot.

The move follows recent incident of terrorists sending emails using Wi-Fi hotspot of an American citizen staying in Mumbai. Consumers who do not register themselves will get disconnected by their ISPs.

DoT has issued detailed guidelines for ISPs to enable secure use of Wi-Fi services under the de-licensed frequency band. “Insecure Wi-Fi networks are capable of being misused by anti-social elements without leaving any trail. Therefore, DoT has instructed ISPs to follow a procedure for securing Wi-Fi networks in the country,” said a DoT official.

At hotspot

Once the guidelines are implemented then consumers will not be able to simply walk into hotel lobbies, restaurants, coffee shops or airport malls and start accessing the Internet using the Wi-Fi hotspot in that location. DoT has asked ISPs to enable such access by issuing bulk login IDs and passwords at each hotspot.

Consumers will have to give ID proof for getting a temporary password and login ID before they can start surfing.

For regular customers visiting these locations, DoT has allowed ISPs to issue password and login ID on the subscriber’s mobile phone, which can be used for a period of one year. DoT has, however, barred service providers from allowing simultaneous multiple login using a single password.

No new Wi-Fi connections, corporate or individual, will be activated before the subscriber’s details are registered by the ISP. Even those customers who currently use Wi-Fi modems for limited mobility within their home, office or campus will have to get themselves registered. All existing customers have been given time till June 23 to comply with the requirements.

Security concerns

While ISPs said that the DoT order was fair considering security concerns, they said that the guidelines may be tough to implement. “We support the Government in its efforts to secure the country but there are costs involved here, which may not be possible for all ISPs to bear. In other countries, the Government usually invests on its technology and in setting up processes but here ISPs have to bear the cost of setting up a central authentication mechanism,” said Mr Rajesh Chharia, President, Internet Service Providers Association of India.

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