Archive · 9 Aug 2026
Chennai beaches get 107 Wi-Fi poles, 45 minutes free daily
Chennai is a big city in India with famous beaches.
Soon, people visiting those beaches will get free Internet on their phones.
The city is setting up special poles that send Wi-Fi signals.
There will be 107 new poles along the coast.
Most of them, 75, will be at Marina Beach.
The other poles will be at Besant Nagar and Tiruvanmiyur.
People will be able to use the free Internet for up to 45 minutes every day.
The companies that provide Internet will pay for the poles.
This is happening because many old Wi-Fi spots in the city are not working well.
The city also wants to fix old poles and keep people's information safe from hackers.
Greater Chennai Corporation plans to install 107 new Wi-Fi-enabled smart poles along Chennai's coastline.
The free public Wi-Fi is expected to go live in September, offering up to 45 minutes of Internet access daily.
Marina Beach will get 75 poles, Besant Nagar 20 and Tiruvanmiyur 10, installed through Airtel.
The project follows complaints that existing Chennai public Wi-Fi networks often connect but fail to provide Internet access.
GCC will overhaul nearly 2,600 existing smart poles across about 900 locations and has directed ISPs to repair damaged infrastructure.
- Who
- Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) and private internet service providers including Airtel, ACT Fibernet and Reliance Jio.
- What
- Installation of 107 new Wi-Fi-enabled smart poles providing up to 45 minutes of free Internet daily at Chennai beaches.
- When
- Expected to become operational in September.
- Where
- Chennai's coastline, at Marina Beach, Besant Nagar and Tiruvanmiyur.
- Why
- To expand public Wi-Fi access and address complaints about poor connectivity, with infrastructure funded by service providers' Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives.
Chennai Corporation and service providers
Users and beach visitors
Expanding vs. fixing existing Wi-Fi
Chennai Corporation and service providers
The corporation is expanding public Wi-Fi to new beach locations with 107 poles, saying the network will provide reliable connectivity and expanded coverage.
Users and beach visitors
Users complain that existing networks often connect but fail to access the Internet, and connectivity at the 2021 smart-pole locations has deteriorated over time.
Open network safety
Chennai Corporation and service providers
Free open Wi-Fi is valuable for calls, cab booking, digital payments and reaching family in crowded beach areas.
Users and beach visitors
Users call for strong safeguards to prevent hacking, data theft and other security breaches on open public networks.
- New Wi-Fi poles
- 107
- Locations
- Marina Beach (75), Besant Nagar (20), Tiruvanmiyur (10)
- Free daily Internet
- Up to 45 minutes
- Launch
- Expected September
- Provider for new poles
- Airtel
- Funding
- Service provider CSR initiatives
- Existing smart poles
- About 2,600 across roughly 900 locations
- 2021 rollout
- 49 locations with 30 minutes free access after OTP verification