iWorld
NDMC-MTNL tie up to provide free Wi-fi & FTTH
NEW DELHI: A fresh attempt is being made by the New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) to provide free Wi-Fi services in Connaught Place and Khan Market with a tie-up with the Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd, after the first attempt lost credibility with complaints of slow or no connectivity.
The New Delhi Municipal Council Smart City Limited, a public limited company wholly owned by NDMC, has signed a joint venture with Millennium Telecom Limited (MTL) — a subsidiary of MTNL — to develop telecom access networks in NDMC areas to provide FTTH (Fibre to the Home) to the residents.
Earlier, the NDMC had entered into an agreement in this regard with Tata Teleservices in 2014 to provide the service in inner and outer circles of Connaught Place, one of the significant business and leisure centres in the city.
Similarly, NDMC had partnered with Tata Docomo to provide the facility in Khan Market. At present, the service can be availed by 5,000 people with an average speed of 512 Kbps. The first 20 minutes within a 24-hour period are entirely free after which scratch cards can be purchased in various denominations in the market.
But senior officials admit that the service has not functioned smoothly, though it is claimed that it worked well initially..
The project has also been listed on the civic body’s “Smart City” agenda in the budget for 2016-17 presented last week. It plans to begin the new services in Connaught Place and then proceed to further areas.
NDMC had in 2015 announced that all the areas under its jurisdiction will soon be a Wi-Fi zone and had joined hands with Indus Towers Limited to replace 18,500 street-light poles in its areas with ‘NextGen digital poles’ which will be fitted with Wi-Fi access points, LED bulbs and CCTV cameras which, it claimed, is first-of-its kind initiative in the world.
However, the project had a setback when Reliance Jio approached the Delhi High Court challenging the tender process and the NDMC has therefore floated fresh tenders.
Also Read: Jio Fibre rolls out in Mumbai; Airtel FTTH, ACT to match pace
Also Read: TRAI ideas on public WiFi in three weeks; Mumbai gets 500 hotspots
iWorld
X launches XChat messaging app on iOS with calls and encryption
Standalone app marks shift from “everything app” vision, adds E2E messaging.
MUMBAI: From one big app to many small chats, X seems to be splitting its ambitions. X has rolled out its standalone messaging app, XChat, to iOS users, opening up a new front in its evolving product strategy. The app allows users to connect with existing X contacts through private and group messages, file sharing, as well as audio and video calls. The launch follows a limited beta phase, where the platform tested the product with a smaller user base to refine the experience. Now available publicly, XChat marks a notable pivot from earlier ambitions championed by Elon Musk to turn X into a single “everything app” combining messaging, payments, commerce and more.
Instead, the company under xAI ownership and backed by SpaceX appears to be building a suite of standalone applications, each targeting specific use cases while expanding its broader ecosystem.
At launch, XChat includes end-to-end encrypted messaging, PIN-based access, disappearing messages, and features such as message editing, deletion for all participants, and screenshot blocking. The company has also said the app is free from advertisements and tracking mechanisms, positioning it as a privacy-first alternative in a crowded messaging space.
However, security claims around the platform are likely to face scrutiny. Earlier iterations of XChat drew criticism from experts who argued it fell short of established encrypted platforms like Signal. With the wider rollout, the app is expected to undergo fresh evaluation to assess whether those concerns have been addressed.
Beyond messaging, XChat will also house X’s Communities feature, which is being discontinued on the main platform due to low usage and spam concerns. Migrating these users could provide an early boost to adoption, effectively turning XChat into both a communication and community hub.
The move underscores a broader recalibration at X less about cramming everything into one app, and more about spreading bets across multiple touchpoints, one message at a time.
