Google to provide free high-speed wi-fi at 400 rail stations in India

SAN JOSE, USA: During PM Narendra Modi’s visit to Google's U.S. headquarters yesterday, the company CEO Sundar Pichai has announced a new project to provide free high-speed public Wi-Fi in 400 train stations across India.

Google will collaborate with Indian Railways, and RailTel, which provides Internet services via its extensive fiber network along many of these railway lines for this project.

Recalling his young days when he used to travel by train from Chennai Central station to Kharagpur, the IIT Kharagpur alumnus Pichai pointed at the huge scope and scale Indian Railways has to offer. This will rank it as the largest public Wi-Fi project in India, and among the largest in the world, by number of potential users, said he.

The project will cover 100 of the busiest stations in India before the end of 2016, and the remaining stations soon after.

The service will adopt a self-sustainable model so that it can be replicated in more stations and other places, said Pichai.