Think it’s hard finding free wifi in India? This app says think again

Photo credit: Swaminathan.

In India, wifi exists in the most unexpected of places, from cricket stadiums to train stations to… KFC? “You wouldn’t even know it,” says Ravi Pratap Maddimsetty. “They have thirty minutes of free wifi at all 360 KFC outlets across India.”

This eliminates the usual public wifi sign-up procedure.

That’s not something I had any idea about, which Ravi explains is a common problem in India. He runs beacon technology startup Mobstac with Sharat Potharaju, and decided to tackle the gargantuan issue with its latest app, WiFire.

WiFire crowdsources information about free public wifi and allows users to quickly jump on those networks. This eliminates the usual sign-up procedure, which can take several minutes as you key in your phone number or email address in order to get a one-time password.

If that wifi network is not in the app, you can be the one to do the good deed and add it to the list for other people to use in the future.

The app authenticates users by collecting basic aspects of their digital identity, like email addresses and phone numbers. These are then plugged in automatically whenever there’s an open wifi zone.

Users are incentivized to add wifi zones to the app with rewards and a leadership scoreboard. They can also differentiate which passwords are shared by marking public and private networks. The app currently works across multiple Indian cities.

So, why did two founders of a beacon technology startup decide to launch a free wifi app?

“Wifi is now a part of Maslow’s hierarchy right next to food, sex, and water,” Sharat says. “It’s become a critical need.”

Wifi problems

Photo credit: Ryan.

There are lots of reasons why 3G and 4G can’t be the only internet options for India’s smartphone users. Most people are very cautious about data usage and, as Ravi explains, the networks often lack enough bandwidth to deal with all the demand, making connections slow.

It’s not that internet providers are greedy and don’t want to offer free wifi. They have their own incentives, like data collection and more opportunities to make money off of people getting online.

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