2 Million Using Free Wi-Fi at Indian Railway Stations, Says Google CEO

Advertisement
By Press Trust of India | Updated: 29 July 2016 18:27 IST
About two million people are logging on to free Wi-Fi deployed by Google and RailTel at major railway stations across India every month, chief of the global search giant Sundar Pichai said.

"We are working with the Indian Railways and RailTel to bring high-speed wireless access to the entire Internet to millions of Indians who travel through India's top railway stations," the India-born executive said during an investor call.

He added that there are "already two million people logging in every month and they are using as much as 15 times the data they would otherwise use in a full-day on their cellular networks".

Advertisement

The Internet giant had teamed up with RailTel, the telecom arm of the Indian Railways, to provide free Wi-Fi at 23 stations across the country.

These include Mumbai Central, Pune, Bhubaneswar, Bhopal, Ranchi, Raipur, Vijayawada, Kacheguda, Ernakulum Junction, Vishakhapatnam, Jaipur, Patna, Guwahati, Ujjain, Allahabad and Chennai Central.

Advertisement

By the end of the year, Google aims to provide high-speed public Wi-Fi service at 100 railway stations across India under this project.

According to government data, India had a total Internet subscriber base of 342.65 million as of March 2016.

Advertisement

A majority of users log on using their cellular networks. Bharti Airtel has 90.53 million Internet subscribers while Vodafone, Idea Cellular and Reliance had 67.55 million, 44.03 million and 39 million users, respectively.

State-run BSNL had 34 million Internet subscribers on its network.

Advertisement

Pichai, who made the comments while announcing Alphabet's (Google's parent company) second-quarter results, said mobile phones have changed the way people consume information.

"Our investment in mobile underlines everything we do... (from) search and YouTube to Android and advertising. Mobile is the engine that drives everything."

He added that through Google's "deep investments in machine learning and artificial intelligence", the company is building the engine that drives its future.

Alphabet saw its quarter's revenues grow 21 percent to $21.5 billion while net income was at $4.9 billion.

 

Get your daily dose of tech news, reviews, and insights, in under 80 characters on Gadgets 360 Turbo. Connect with fellow tech lovers on our Forum. Follow us on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News for instant updates. Catch all the action on our YouTube channel.

Advertisement

Related Stories

Popular Mobile Brands
  1. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra Could Cost More Than Expected, Listing Suggests
  2. These OnePlus Smartphones Could Receive the ColorOS 17 Update in India
  3. Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 Leak Reveals Major Chipset Upgrade Before Galaxy Unpacked
  4. OnePlus N6x Design, Colour Options Teased Ahead of India Launch
  1. Offline UPI Payments With NFC Support Could Launch in India Soon
  2. Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra's Privacy Display Feature Gets a Major Upgrade in One UI 9 Beta
  3. OnePlus N6x Design, Colour Options Teased in New Marketing Material Ahead of Imminent Launch in India
  4. OnePlus 11, Nord 4, and Newer Models Tipped to Receive the Android 17-Based ColorOS 17 Update in India
  5. Redmi Note 17 Pro Max Appears on Thailand's NBTC Certification Database, Might Launch Soon
  6. Apple’s First Foldable iPhone Reportedly Appears in iOS 27 Beta Code With a Multi-Battery Setup
  7. X for Android App Undergoes Major Design Overhaul, Enhanced Performance and Reliability
  8. Samsung Galaxy Buds Able to Reportedly Skip Galaxy Unpacked Launch; Could Debut in October
  9. Dell Alienware 16X Aurora, Alienware 16 Area-51 and Alienware 18 Area-51 Launched in India: Price, Specifications
  10. Samsung Galaxy A55, Galaxy A35 One UI 9 Test Builds Reportedly Spotted Ahead of Android 17 Rollout
Download Our Apps
Available in Hindi
© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2026. All rights reserved.