This is good news for the commuters who travel the Mumbai-Pune Expressway because the commuters on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway will soon be able to enjoy WiFi connectivity. The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation(MSRDC) has decided to provide high-speed WiFi coverage zones on the 94-km Mumbai – Pune expressway.
MSRDC also invited bids from telecom operators to provide and enable the WiFi zones along with the Expressway. The MSRDC also aims to strengthen cellular network on the expressway.
The Joint MD of MSRDC – Kiran Kurundkar said that we have invited telecom operators to give us a detailed plan on which areas can be made WiFi zones. The WiFi network will also help them and the state highway police to monitor CCTV footage along the expressway and at the toll booths in real time. The number of WiFi zones or hotspots and other modalities are yet to be finalised.
Kurundkar further said that the MSRDC also plans to strengthen the mobile network. There are a lot of shadow areas on the Mumbai – Pune expressway. We want telecom operators to install base transceiver stations (BTS) and other infrastructure so that there is continuous cellular network during the journey.
The Mumbai – Pune expressway was inaugurated in 2002 and now the expressway is used by more than 40,000 PCUs (Passenger Car Units) daily and the government is anticipating these numbers to increase in the near future. An official of MSRDC said that to control increasing traffic in near future, the MSRDC is widening the expressway. There is also a need to provide WiFi zones and better cellular connectivity.
