Chennai is now wi-fi-enabled

Software solutions and services provider Zylog Systems India Ltd on Sunday announced the launch of its wireless internet service “Wi5” in the city, making Chennai the first ‘wi-fi-enabled city’ in India. While cities like Bangalore, Mumbai and Pune have wi-fi ‘hotspots’ or wi-fi connections at homes or malls provided through routers, Zylog Systems has adopted a mesh network architecture, which means that wi-fi internet broadband connection will be accessible seamlessly even as one is travelling on the roads of Chennai. The service works by the setting up of intelligent wi-fi nodes atop select buildings across the city, making the area a wi-fi zone. This essentially means that every house will not need a separate router to gain wi-fi internet access. However, users will still need a wi-fi-enabled laptop or personal computer or a separate wi-fi card to access this service. In the initial phase, the company has rolled out the wi-fi services in Besant Nagar, Adyar and parts of Ashok Nagar and T Nagar. It has also enabled seamless wi-fi connectivity on the IT corridor from Madhya Kailash to Siruseri, which means unlimited connectivity even while travelling on the IT corridor at any point of time. Called the “Metro wi-fi”, Zylog’s wi-fi model will work like the telephony network and will work on radio frequencies, like a mobile phone. Zylog will complete ‘wi-fying’ Chennai in the next 12-15 months and will extend this service to other major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Kolkata in the next 24 months. “This wi-fi connection will work through nodes, which will be installed across the city. This means you can access your internet anywhere in the city without the need of a router. One just needs to log in to the “Wi5” website and you are online,” Ramanujam Sesharathnam, managing director, Zylog systems India said. Users can access highspeed broadband through their laptops, desktops or mobile devices by subscribing to the service. “We’ve installed 250 ‘Wi5’ nodes across the city. Another 4,000 nodes will be installed. We are now looking at rolling it out next in places like Velachery and Anna Nagar,” he said. The company will offer “Wi5” at speeds of one Mbps, two Mbps and 4 mbps. Zylog’s Chief Technology officer J Shivkumar points out that since users will log into “Wi5” website, their network will be secure.