That 30-second Covid message is taking hours of our time
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Consumer groups say those pre-call covid messages are hugely problematic. They say the message being played across networks is estimated to be causing wastage of around 1.3 crore man-hours a day, and invariably holds up or delays distress calls from going through during emergencies.
Agencies
The association added that energy resources would also be squandered as mobile users would end up recharging their cellphones more frequently to use up an estimated 3 crore additional hours a day listening to the Covid-19 messages.
When’s the last time India wanted to tune out after Amitabh Bachchan started speaking? But when India’s billion-plus mobile users spend hours every day for months listening to 30-second covid messages, then even the famous baritone of the iconic actor, who lends his voice to one of the message variants, can’t prevent fatigue.
PM- WANI is the right tool to achieve the objectives of creating millions of inter-operable Wi-Fi Hotspots in India : Consumer Voice Advisor
It took almost seven years after the internet was first thrown open to the public in 1995 to reach 1 percent of India’s population, and another nine years for this figure to cross 10 percent.
Dec 18, 2020 10:29:50 IST
The Union Cabinet, on 9 December, approved the establishment of public Wi-Fi networks across the country. It was really heartening to see that most of the suggestions given (by the writer of this column) to the TRAI during the consultation process initiated in 2016, were heeded. Public WiFi will be provided through Public Data Offices (PDOs) via a Central government scheme called the Prime Minister’s Wi-Fi Access Network Interface (PM-WANI).