Google Shuts Down Free Wifi Hotspots At Major Railway Stations In India

Back in 2016, Google set up at some major stations in India free WiFi hotspots to help people from areas with poor connectivity to use the internet. However, Google has decided to shut down its Station program.

The project connected not only 400 stations across India but also more than 5,000 around the world in countries like Mexico, South Africa, Brazil, Vietnam, and Thailand.

In a recent interview, Google’s Caesar Sengupta confirmed this shutdown. He also shared the main reasons behind this decision including problems with scaling the setup, necessary infrastructure, and technical hiccups.

Google even tried to make some money from this project through ads. But the biggest reason why the company had decided to shut down the service was that people in India can now access to cheaper LTE data. Thus they don’t need to use the service.

While the Station’s initiative might have been pulled off by Google, commuters can still access free internet with the help of Indian Railway’s RailTel. Google and RailTel worked together to bring internet access to more than 400 stations until May 2020.

A statement from RailTel revealed that in this partnership, while Google provided technology support and Radio Access Network, RailTel was in charge off the internet bandwidth and physical infrastructure.

However, Railtel has been making efforts in bringing internet access to more than 5,600 stations in the country. They have promised that passengers will get to continue using an uninterrupted internet connection.

>>> Commuters Can Now Access Free WiFi On Delhi Metro Trains