Can I become both a PDOA and an App Provider?
Yes, the same entity can be both a PDOA and an App Provider.
What are the steps involved in becoming a PDOA or App provider?
The steps involved in becoming a PDOA or App Provider are as follows:
1.Registration at Saral Sanchar
2.Signup at Central Registry
3.Login to Central Registry and do the following:
a.) Apply for Certification
b.) Add valid Security Certificate(s)
c.) Add Wi-fi Hotspot details
d.) Add Captive portal and Authentication URLs as per PM-WANI framework
Where in India can a PDOA or App Provider operate?
Once successfully registered and integrated in the PM-WANI framework, the PDOA or App Provider will have permission for PAN India operations.
Which services are allowed under the PM-WANI framework?
All broadband services over WANI compliant Wi-Fi Hotspots are allowed.
Which services are not allowed under the PM-WANI framework?
All entities in the PM-WANI ecosystem i.e. the PDOAs, App Providers, and the Central Registry are prohibited from providing switched telephony service.
Can the operation of a PDOA or an App provider be suspended for some reason?
Yes. The DoT reserves the right to suspend the operation of this registration at any time.
What are the security conditions to be fulfilled by entities of the PM-WANI framwork?
Following security conditions are defined:
a) PDOA shall make necessary provisions for storage of user data for one year to ensure compliance with legal provisions, as required.
b) The user data privacy will be ensured by App Providers and PDOAs. Complete user data and usage logs will be stored within India.
c) Subject to terms and conditions of the Registration, App Providers, PDOAs and the Central Registry Provider will take all necessary steps to safeguard the privacy and confidentiality of any information about a third party to whom they provide the service.
How do I get WiFi?
You can download an App Provider’s app, get authenticated and open the app. In the vicinity of the public Wi-Fi Hotspot, the app on the mobile phone will show various available networks. You can then choose the Public Wi-Fi network of choice, pay an amount ‘either online or through voucher’ and use the network till the balance is exhausted.
What is a PDO?
Public Data Offices (PDO) are internet booths who will establish, maintain, and operate only WANI compliant Wi-Fi Access Points and deliver broadband services to subscribers. Keeping in mind the model of PCO (Public Call Office) booths across India, PDOs are designed with a similar business model. It facilitates ease of doing business and encourage local shops and small establishments to become Wi-Fi providers.
Who can become a PDO?
Any entity can be a PDO. NO REGISTRATION will be required. It will install Wi-Fi Access point. Any Village level entrepreneur (VLE), Grocery shops owner, Tea stalls, Kirana shops, Vegetable shops, restaurant owner etc. all can become PDO and start selling internet broadband over Wi-Fi.
Advantage of becoming a PDO?
◼ Employment creation in Rural & Urban areas
◼ Disposable incomes in the hands of small and medium entrepreneurs
◼ Boost the GDP of the country.Proliferation of Broadband Services through public Wi-Fi is a step towards digital India and consequential benefit thereon.
How do I become a PDO?
Becoming a PDO does not need any registration. PDO needs to partner with a PDOA for purchasing an access point compatible with its PDOA stack and with an ISP to arrange the backhaul for the access point.
How do I communicate with the PDOA?
To communicate with the PDOAs there are two options: Option 1: Visit https://pmwani.gov.in. Click on the PDO Portal option provided in the main page. Fill the enquiry form available. This enquiry is forwarded to all the PDOA’s registered with the Central Registry. The interested PDOA will contact the PDO.
Option 2: Visit https://pmwani.gov.in. In the main page, dashboard is
provided for the no. of PDOA, providing the number of PDOAs registered
with the Central Registry. Click on the number, it displays the list of the
PDOA’s and provides their office address, e-mail address and telephone
number. PDO can mail or call the PDOA.
Can I have the details of few active PDOAs?
What kind of engagement does the PDO have with the PDOA?
As per the WANI framework, PDOs will have commercial agreement with PDOA for Aggregation, Authorization, Accounting, and other related functions.
What is the investment to be done by the PDO?
The PDO has to do one time investment for purchasing an access point and its installation. Further PDO has to spend monthly for the backhaul.
Who will be benefitted by the Wi-F service offered by me?
It will be beneficial to people who have very low-purchasing power and have the need of high-speed internet access. It will bring benefit to:
Village Level entrepreneurs, artisans, ladies making handmade articles who want to sell their goods through e-commerce web sites.
• Students who want access to educational content for their education. Students will no longer suffer due to unavailability of teachers. They can make use of various online educational platforms and have a much better learning experience.
• People in service-oriented profession such as carpentry, electricians to register themselves with web sites where they can get information regarding job opportunities and attend interviews at the comfort of their villages without the need to travel.
• Farmers who can learn about the new agricultural practices and can connect with experts for guidance. Everyone as they can get more details w.r.t the Government schemes that are launched for their benefit.
Why will someone buy Wi-Fi coupons when mobile data (3G/4G) is available?
Is the PDO liable for meeting any security or compliance requirement?
The PDO is not liable to meet any security or compliance requirement. It is the responsibility of the PDOA to supply the access point which has been tested with its PDOA stack and certified by PM-WANI Central Registry.
How is the revenue shared with the PDO, if the customer pays via Net banking/Debit card/ UPI/Credit card to PDOA?
The PDOA has to share the revenue with the PDO as per the agreement between the PDO and PDOA.
Can I use my home broadband connection as a backhaul for my PDO?
As per the WANI framework, PDOs need to have agreement/declaration with licensed Telecom Service Providers (TSP) or Internet Service Providers (ISP) for retailing of internet bandwidth.
Can I buy any commercial off the shelf equipment and start providing services under WANI scheme?
PDO should only buy the access point recommended by the associated PDOA and certified by the PM-WANI Central Registry. As per the WANI framework, PDOs will have commercial agreement with licensed Telecom Service Providers (TSP) or Internet Service Providers (ISP) for internet connectivity and with PDOA for Aggregation, Authorization, Accounting, and other related functions.
What are the security conditions to be fulfilled by entities of the PM-WANI framwork?
Following security conditions are defined: a) PDOA shall make necessary provisions for storage of user data for one year to ensure compliance with legal provisions, as required. b) The user data privacy will be ensured by App Providers and PDOAs. Complete user data and usage logs will be stored within India. c) Subject to terms and conditions of the Registration, App Providers, PDOAs and the Central Registry Provider will take all necessary steps to safeguard the privacy and confidentiality of any information about a third party to whom they provide the service.
Can I become an App Provider?
Yes, if you are a company registered under the Companies Act 2013. App Provider will comply with the applicable FDI guidelines for telecommunication sector.
Where should I apply for Registration to become an App Provider?
The applicant company, for registration as an App Provider has to apply for registration with DoT on Saral Sanchar(Simplified Application For Registration and Licenses) Portal of DoT. After successfully registering at Saral Sanchar, registration at Central Registry has to be done next.
What information is required during registration on Saral Sanchar Portal of DoT?
The following details are to be provided while registering: 1. Corporate Identity Number(CIN) of Applicant Company 2. Name of Applicant Company 3. Complete postal address (with Telephone and Email) of Corporate Office and Registered Office 4. Name of the Authorized Representative (His/Her designation, telephone
and email ID)
5. Copy of the board resolution authorizing the Authorized
Representative to apply for the registration
6. If FDI (Foreign Equity: Direct + Indirect) in the Indian company
exceeds 49%, then the copy of the approval of the Government of India.
What is the timeline for Registration at Saral Sanchar?
The registration to App Provider will be granted by DoT within seven working days. The registration certificate will be automatically generated after seven working days (deemed registration). The registration will be subject to the conditions of relevant and
applicable laws.
How will I know if my registration is successful at Saral Sanchar Portal?
A certificate will be issued to you by Saral Sanchar Portal.
Why should I signup at Central Registry?
The App Provider is required to signup on Central Registry in order to maintain its Network element information as per PM-WANI Framework. It is needed for certification of systems so that the system interoperates with all other PDOAs or App Providers participating in the ecosystem.
What information is required during signup at Central Registry?
The following details are to be provided by the App Provider while signup: 1. Registration Number (obtained from SARAL SANCHAR Portal of DoT) 2. Mobile number of Authorized Contact Person (Same as given in SARAL SANCHAR) 3. e-mail ID of Authorized Contact Person(Same as given in SARAL SANCHAR) 4. Password for login
What is the timeline of Signup at the Central Registry?
Signup will happen immediately on Central Registry. Once the mobile number and emailId are verified through OTP, Central Registry contacts the SARAL SANCHAR portal and confirms the data provided . If the registration number, emailId and mobile number are matching with the records as provided in SARAL SANCHAR, login credentials are granted, else signup process fails and has to be tried again.
How will I know the status of my signup at the Central Registry?
Successful notification will be sent to the email ID and mobile number of the applicant App provider provided during signup.
What can be the possible reasons for failure of Signup at the Central Registry?
The possible reasons for failure of Signup could be: 1. Record pertaining to registration number provided could not be found in SARAL SANCHAR. 2. Mobile number mismatch with mobile number of authorized contact person in SARAL SANCHAR for the registration number. 3. email ID mismatch with email ID of authorized contact person in SARAL SANCHAR for the registration number. 4. OTP validation failed.
What to do if my signup at the Central Registry fails?
Signup has to be tried again at the Central Registry by correcting the relevant parameters as indicated to the user during signup process.
What to do after signup at the Central Registry is successful?
You need to login to the portal. After login, on the left side tab, an option for certification will be given. Click on certification, to see the checklist. You need to provide compliance of the software as per the checklist, upload the relevant documents and submit the same.
What will the Central Registry check while certifying me as a WANI Compliant App Provider?
The Central Registry will verify the compliance of App Provider to the parameters as per certification checklist suggested in the TRAI document (Annexure XV of Report on TRAI Public Open Wi-Fi pilot).
What are the key things to be taken care of when submitting the reports required for certification?
Following things should be taken care of when submitting the report : 1)First page of the report should be on the company letter head, providing the details of the external lab/company venue where the tests where conducted, time period when the tests were conducted and details of the authorized contact person for the test report along with his designation, contact details(e-mail ID and mobile number), signature and company seal. 2)Test reports should clearly provide the compliance criteria demonstrated by the test case, test setup, test procedure and test results. 3)Logs captured as part of test report should have the system date and time.
How will I know about the certification status?
After providing the compliance, within 10 working days the App Provider will receive the notification on its registered mobile number and email ID regarding the certification status.
What can be the reasons for rejection of certification?
Reasons for rejection of certification can be: 1. Non-compliance to requirement. 2. Report submitted does not furnish all the details required.
What to do if my certification is rejected?
Within 20 working days, you can apply for resubmission for certification. After 20 working days, it would be taken as fresh application for certification.
How will App Provider verify KYC of users registering on their App?
App Provider verifies the identity of the user by asking them to provide a mobile number, to which an OTP is sent.If the user enters the same OTP as sent through SMS, user identity is esatblished.The KYC would have to be done by the App on a periodic basis.
How will App Provider maintain details of multiple devices of same user after he has successfully registered on the App?
The WANI Compliant App allows the end user to provide a list of MACIds that are associated with him or her. This list can be updated by the user as per his requirement.
How can the App help the user to determine the MACId of device that he/she plans to connect?
App will be able to auto-read the MACId of the device in which it is loaded.
What function apart from user verification, does the App Provider need to perform?
User data privacy will be ensured by the App Provider. Complete user data and usage logs will be stored within India.
Can I become a PDOA?
Yes, if you are any company registered under the Companies Act 2013.Please visit DOT website(https://dot.gov.in/pm-wani) for more details. PDOA will comply with the applicable FDI guidelines for telecommunication sector.
Where should I apply for Registration to become a PDOA?
The applicant company, for registration as a PDOA has to apply for registration with DoT on Saral Sanchar(Simplified Application For Registration and Licenses) Portal of DoT(https://saralsanchar.gov.in/). After successfully registering at Saral Sanchar, signup at Central Registry has to be done next.
What information is required during registration on Saral Sanchar Portal of DoT?
The following details are to be provided while registering: 1. Corporate Identity Number(CIN) of Applicant Company 2. Name of Applicant Company 3. Complete postal address (with Telephone and Email) of Corporate Office and Registered Office 4. Name of the Authorized Representative (His/Her designation, telephone and email ID) 5. Copy of the board resolution authorizing the Authorized Representative to apply for the registration 6. If FDI (Foreign Equity: Direct + Indirect) in the Indian company exceeds 49%, then the copy of the approval of Government of India.
What is the timeline for Registration at Saral Sanchar?
The registration to PDOAs will be granted by DoT within seven working days. The registration certificate will be automatically generated after seven working days (deemed registration). The registration will be subject to the conditions of relevant and applicable laws.
How will I know if my registration is successful at Saral Sanchar Portal?
A certificate will be issued to you by Saral Sanchar Portal.
Why should I signup at the Central Registry?
The PDOA is required to signup at the Central Registry in order to maintain its network element information as per PM-WANI Framework. It is needed for certification of systems so that the system will interoperate with all the PDOAs or App Providers participating in the ecosystem.
What information is required during signup at the Central Registry?
The following details are to be provided by the PDOA while signup: 1.Registration Number (obtained from SARALSANCHAR Portal of DoT) 2.Mobile number of Authorized Contact Person (Same as given in SARAL SANCHAR) 3.e-mail ID of Authorized Contact Person(Same as given in SARAL SANCHAR) 4. Password for login
What is the timeline of Signup at the Central Registry?
Signup will happen immediately on Central Registry. Once the mobile number and emailId are verified through OTP, Central Registry contacts the SARAL SANCHAR portal and confirms the data provided . If the registration number, emailId and mobile number are matching with the records as provided in SARAL SANCHAR, login credentials are granted, else signup process fails and has to be tried again.
How will I know the status of my signup at the Central Registry?
Successful notification will be sent to the email ID and mobile number of the applicant PDOA provided during signup.
What can be the possible reasons for failure of Signup at the Central Registry?
The possible reasons for failure of Signup could be: 1. Record pertaining to registration number provided could not be found in SARAL SANCHAR. 2. Mobile number mismatch with mobile number of authorized contact person in SARAL SANCHAR for the registration number. 3. email ID mismatch with email ID of authorized contact person in SARAL SANCHAR for the registration number. 4. OTP validation failed.
What to do if my signup at the Central Registry fails?
Signup has to be tried again at the Central Registry by correcting the relevant parameters as indicated to the user during signup process.
What to do after signup at the Central Registry is successful?
You need to login to the portal. After login, on the left side tab, an option for certification will be given. Click on certification, to see the checklist. You need to provide compliance of the software as per the checklist, upload the relevant documents and submit the same.
What will the Central Registry check while certifying me as a WANI Compliant PDOA ?
The Central Registry will verify the compliance of PDOA to the parameters as per checklist available in the TRAI document on Public Open Wi-Fi Framework(Architecture&Specification). The document is available on DoT website(https://dot.gov.in/pm-wani).
What are the key things to be taken care of when submitting the reports required for certification?
Following things should be taken care of when submitting the report : 1)First page of the report should be on the company letter head, providing the details of the external lab/company venue where the tests where conducted, time period when the tests were conducted and details of the authorized contact person for the test report along with his designation, contact details(e-mail ID and mobile number), signature and company seal. 2)Test reports should clearly provide the compliance criteria demonstrated by the test case, test setup, test procedure and test results. 3)Logs captured as part of test report should have the system date and time.
How will I know about the certification status?
After providing the compliance, within 10 working days the PDOA will receive the notification on the registered mobile number and email ID regarding the certification status.
What can be the reasons for rejection of certification?
Reasons for rejection of certification can be: 1. Non-compliance to requirement. 2. Report submitted does not furnish all the details required.
What to do if my certification is rejected?
Within 20 working days, you can apply for resubmission for certification. After 20 working days, it would be taken as fresh application for certification.
After successful certification, what would be the next step for me to become an active player of the WANI ecosystem?
After successful certification, PDOA would have to login to the PM-WANI portal and provide the following details: 1. Upload Security certificates 2. Upload Data of Wi-Fi Hotspots/ Add Wi-Fi Hotspots individually.
Can I surrender my Registration as a PDOA?
Yes, a PDOA may surrender it’s Registration, by giving 60 days notice to the DoT and 30 days notice to its associated PDOs.
