Malappuram municipality pioneered India’s 1st free Wi-Fi project, now it turns towers to scrap

Malappuram: Sky-high cellular stations that once symbolised Malappuram's dreams of a digital future are now being razed to the ground. The structures were erected as part of a pioneering free Wi-Fi project that had attracted national attention. It was a first-of-its-kind initiative by an urban civic body in the country. With the technology becoming redundant, the Wi-Fi towers are being dismantled and prepared for sale as scrap. The towers on top of the municipal complex near Kottappadi Market and near Kunnummal Town Hall are among those being removed.

The municipal council had decided to dismantle the structures after they remained unused for nearly nine years. The signal towers will be cut into pieces and auctioned and sold as scrap metal. The climax of the project is a stark contrast to the grand vision with which it was launched in 2015.

At a time when the idea of “Internet for Everyone” was still gaining momentum, Malappuram, already known as India’s first e-literate district, sought to cross another digital milestone. The municipality announced that it would become the first municipality in the country to provide free internet connectivity to its nearly 70,000 residents through a Wi-Fi network.

The ambitious project was inaugurated in August 2015 by then Industry Minister P K Kunhalikutty. The project, with a total estimated cost of around ₹1.50 crore, was implemented with financial support from the State IT Department and technical support from RailTel Corporation of India. In the initial phase, the municipality handed over ₹50 lakh to RailTel for implementation.

The plan was much more than simply providing free internet. The high-speed connectivity, with an average speed of around 200 Mbps, was initially planned for both the uphill and downhill areas of the town before being extended to all parts of the municipality. Wi-Fi access points were installed across the municipal area.

Residents were required to register with the municipality to access the free Wi-Fi. Applications were invited ahead of the inauguration, and the first 5,000 applicants were provided usernames and passwords on the day of the launch. College students studying in Malappuram but residing outside the municipal limits were also allowed to use the service.

The response was significant. Around 7,000 people used the free Wi-Fi service for nearly seven months. The municipality’s digital dream did not end with free internet. As part of the same project, it introduced an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system and an e-tutor programme. The EMR was conceived as a centralised online medical record of each municipal resident, designed to be accessible from anywhere in the world.

The free Wi-Fi network was also intended to become a gateway to education. Students were to receive free educational services, including video lessons and unlimited practice questions, accessible from anywhere within the municipal limits. A round-the-clock e-tutor service, described at the time as a programme that could revolutionise IT-enabled learning in Kerala.

For Malappuram, it was a bold attempt to use public infrastructure to reduce the digital divide and provide ordinary people with access to technology and education. However, the same infrastructure is being dismantled as the technological landscape has changed dramatically. Mobile internet has become widespread, and public Wi-Fi is no longer the novelty it was in 2015.

Jithesh G Anil, vice-chairman of the municipality, said the project was abandoned after the municipality found it was not financially viable. "The subsequent municipal council cited lack of funds for not continuing it. There had also been concerns over the years about the safety of the unused structures. The towers, left exposed to heavy rain and strong winds, could deteriorate and eventually collapse, posing a risk to the public, critics had pointed out," he said.

He said the project was launched with good intentions. However, unexpected revolutionary changes in the technology sector made the facility outdated. “We examined the possibility of using the facility for any other project, but found it impractical. The municipality incurred an initial expenditure of only ₹50 lakh on the project, which provided free Wi-Fi to thousands of people in the municipality for more than a year,” he said.

Meanwhile, former Malappuram municipal chairman K P Musthafa, who was closely associated with the project at its inception, said the dismantling marks an unfortunate end to what he describes as a “dream project.”

“It was a dream project aimed mainly at breaking the monopoly of mobile giants and supporting ordinary people by providing free Wi-Fi. Apart from free Wi-Fi, the e-learning programme and the medical-record project were major attractions. Many people benefited from the project, and data for the medical-record system had also been prepared during the initial stage,” said Musthafa.

He expressed disappointment that the succeeding municipal council did not continue the initiative.

“It is very unfortunate that the next municipal council did not continue the project. They cited lack of funds. But the municipality could have easily arranged funds by utilising the excess amounts available in project implementation,” he said.

Musthafa also questioned the decision to dismantle the towers instead of exploring new uses for the infrastructure. “The municipality could utilise the infrastructure facilities, including the towers installed in different parts of the town, for other advanced purposes. If the municipality can find an innovative idea to make use of the existing infrastructure, there is no need to dismantle it,” he said.