Users complain that the free Wi-Fi available in public places like various heritage areas, hospitals, airports, parks, and museums in the country is not very effective. Jagdish Kharel, the newly appointed Minister of Communications and Information Technology of the Interim Government, decided to provide free Wi-Fi in public places in Kathmandu Valley within two months and in 10 places including major cities of seven provinces within five months after assuming office on Monday.

Experts have given mixed reactions on the modality of its implementation, its long-term impact and the impact it could have on the telecom sector.

Although the issue of providing free internet in public places is not new, service providers and experts have pointed out that its implementation is challenging. Since 2074/75, Kathmandu Metropolitan City has been providing free WiFi service in heritage areas and parks in collaboration with service providers like Worldlink.

Worldlink has been providing free Wi-Fi at more than 16,000 locations across the country and Nepal Telecom has also been providing free Wi-Fi at places like hospitals and airports. However, in most of the places, such services are not effective and some iPhones are not connected due to security reasons as 'unprotected'. 

According to Gajendra Kumar Thakur, spokesperson of the Ministry of Communications, the scheme will be implemented under Service Providers' Social Responsibility (CSR). The government will not invest in it. At the time of the Minister's decision, the presence and agreement of the Chairman of Nepal Telecommunication Authority is also believed by the Ministry to facilitate the implementation. "The service will start in Kathmandu Valley in two months and in 10 major cities including the capital of seven provinces within five months," said spokesperson Thakur.

However, there seems to be a contradiction between this announcement by the Minister of Communications and the authority's latest move. Only on July 11, the authority issued a notice warning the service providers not to operate free WiFi hotspots. An official of a service provider organization said, "The authority sent us a letter to stop free Wi-Fi only a short time ago saying that the consumption of mobile data has decreased and the operator has incurred losses. Now, after the minister's decision, giving instructions to do the same shows political instability." Telecom expert Veshraj Kandel has written on Facebook, 'Free WiFi service works well initially because the number of users is low. As the number of subscribers increases, the traffic also increases and the speed of the Internet slows down. The service will be in name only.' 

According to him, even if such a service can be provided in small places, it is challenging for both technical and financial reasons to run free Wi-Fi widely. "As the number of users increases, Wi-Fi coverage shrinks and the speed decreases. We need to invest in bandwidth and equipment to support it. Who will bear that cost?" he asked.

The staff of another service provider organization says that currently users are not looking for free internet but quality service at a reasonable price. "Earlier, due to free WiFi provided by ISPs, the mobile service providers Nepal Telecom and Ncell have lost about 14 billion rupees," he said, "rather than providing free internet in more places, it would be better if the service providers were encouraged to strengthen the quality of the overall telecommunication service or improve the quality of the currently available WiFi hotspots." Service providers say it takes at least 35-45 days to build a network, complete the tender process, import and connect equipment. "The minister's intention is good, but it seems that he has announced it without some research," said an official of a service provider organization.