Google Will Launch Its First Public WiFi At Central Railway Station In Mumbai Today

Sundar Pichai’s announcement over Indian railway stations getting WiFi are finally materializing.

Mumbai’s Central Station will get its first public WiFi thanks to Google in partnership with the Railways telecom wing, RailTel.

This project will also initiate the free WiFi scheme in over 400 stations across India.

 

Google had initially announced that the WiFi service will be free and only a reduction in speed will happen over continuous usage.

Gulzar Azad, head of Access Programs in India, said, “The first hour will be free and then we will limit the speeds so as to give fair access to other passengers.” He also added that passengers would not be charged for WiFi usage.

 

Although Railway Ministry officials did confirm later that only the first hour of usage would be free.

After the first hour, all passengers availing the service would be charged around Rs 25-30/- after the first hour. Airports across India already have this facility where passengers can use free WiFi for up to 30 minutes before being charged.

 

The Indian Railways had already laid out more than 45,000 km of optic fibre back in September last year.

Marian Croak, vice president, access strategy and emerging markets, told HT, “The free Wi-Fi will work on the back of fiber already deployed by RailTel and will provide station wide access instead of closing it down to a particular point.”

 

She also added that the speed of the internet will be higher than that which is accessible across the country.

Even Google has clarified that the speed will be higher and better than in the country (that had been recently revised from 512 Kbps to 2 Mbps) and will allow users to stream and watch HD videos without any trouble.

 

This is the best way to make India the Digital India that we want.

News Source: Hindustan Times
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