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With this launch, Google has successfully rolled out public Wi-Fi services across ten key railways stations enabling access to over 1.5 million Indians daily as part of the world's largest public Wi-Fi project.
Starting with the first launch at Mumbai Central in January this year, the list of stations now offering public Wi-Fi services includes Pune, Bhubaneshwar, Bhopal, Ranchi, Raipur, Vijayawada, Kacheguda (Hyderabad), Ernakulam Jn (Kochi) and Vishakhapatnam. As the project picks up pace, the target is to cover 100 of the country's busiest stations by end of 2016. The service will be formally inaugurated by Railways minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu soon.
"With the addition of Bhubaneshwar railway station, the network is now live in 10 stations across the country and we are scaling up our efforts to roll out quickly to cover some of smaller stations where connectivity is much more limited. As internet adoption grows in India, easy and affordable access to high-speed networks is the real need of the hour. With 100 stations live, this project will be the largest publicly accessible high speed Wi-Fi network in the country, but our real hope is that this project will set new benchmarks in delivering reliable and consistent connectivity in the country, said Gulzar Azad, head of Access Project, Google India in a statement.
Commenting on the launch, chairman and managing director of Railtel R K Bahuguna said, "As outlined by the Railways minister, modernising and improving the amenities available to passengers of Indian Railways is a big part of our focus. And, we are very proud to say that Indian Railways has taken the lead to offer the best Wi-Fi network experience available to passengers today in the country. And while the service will be free for a reasonable amount of time, our long-term goal is to make this project self-sustainable to allow for expansion to more stations and places, with RailTel and other partners, in the future."
