In an effort to increase the internet penetration in the country, RailTel, the telecom wing of the Indian Railway has signed an agreement with the subsidiary of Google India to provide Wi-Fi facilities at 400 stations across the country.
In a written reply to Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha said that RailTel Corporation of India Ltd (RCIL), a PSU under Railway Ministry has signed an agreement with Mahataa Information India Pvt Ltd (MIIPL), an arm of Google Inc, to equip 400 stations with Wi-Fi in two phases.
The first phase will cover as many as 100 stations out of the total A1 and A categories. And the facility would be extended to 300 stations in the second phase. Non-suburban stations with an annual passenger earning of more than Rs 60 crore are categorised as A1 stations, while those with yearly passenger income from Rs 8 crore to Rs 60 crore fall under the category of A stations.
Going by the reports, Mumbai Central is expected to be among the first railway stations to boast of free Wi-Fi. The service will be free for the first 30 minutes after which users have to pay a particular amount for the usage, much like how users access free internet on the airport. Google has promised high-speed connectivity with the ability to download a movie in just four minutes.
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