Bhubaneswar, Aug. 6: An Odisha-based private company will implement the Wi-Fi project on the Utkal University campus, said a varsity official.

"Ortel Communications, a leading broadband service provider in the state, has shown interest in the creation of proof of concepts for the Wi-Fi projects on the Utkal University campus," a senior official of the varsity said, adding that the company had submitted its expression of interest.

Higher education department secretary Gagan Kumar Dhal, who announced the decision to make the campus Wi-Fi-enabled in February this year, said the students could use the facility to access quality reference material on the Internet, enrol in online programmes, access e-libraries, smart classroom and smart campus services.

The Wi-Fi access will be free for the users for a few hours every day and can be accessed by them via mobile phone, laptops or other hand-held devices. The feedback received from this project will help making modifications and fixing glitches while working on the final architecture of the city Wi-Fi project.

Earlier, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) had conducted an assessment study for the Wi-Fi project at various college and universities.

Besides Utkal University, Berhampur University, Sambalpur University, North Odisha University and 46 government-funded colleges will also get the Wi-Fi facilities.

The universities are likely to receive free Wi-Fi with speeds up to 1Gbps, while the colleges will receive speed up to 10Mbps. Students will be given access to websites which are academically relevant, an official said.

In subsequent phases, the facility will be extended to government-aided, unaided and residential colleges. Besides the state government initiative, the ministry of human resources development has programmes such as the Campus Connect and the National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology that aim to make Internet accessible to students at various central, state-funded and private universities.

"It's good to know that the process has begun but we are getting impatient. It doesn't seem likely that the facility will be in place by this year. If it had, senior students like me could have reaped the benefits as well," said Amulya Patnaik, a postgraduate student.