Bangalore: Vidhana Soudha, the state secretariat, and the prestigious Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIMB) are among the 120 "WiFi" enabled hotspots where broadband internet could be accessed through wireless in India's hi-tech city.

"We have made the Chief Minister's office, my office, the chief secretary's office, committee and conference rooms WiFi enabled," Karnataka IT Minister D B Inamdar told reporters at the launch of private internet service provider Sify's "WiZones" wireless internet service in the city.

WiFi, meaning wireless fidelity, helps computers, through a card, access internet without cable wires at designated areas of about 15 to 30 yards termed as "hotspots".

Sify Ltd President and COO George Zacharias said Bangalore had a penetration of over 15,000 laptops and was growing at a rapid rate.

According to industry estimates, the market for laptops is about 50,000 units in India with an annual growth of about 50 per cent.

Besides 70 Sify iway cyber cafes, Zacharias said, several hotels, restaurants and apartment complexes in the city would turn "WiFi" hotspots.

The bandwidth speed would be up to 384 Kbps (kilo bytes per second), he said, adding prepaid cards would help access internet for Rs 60 an hour.

"We will expand our WiFi services to other cities like Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai among others," Zacharias said.

PTI