Google in collaboration with RailTel has rolled out free public WiFi service in Dibrugarh Railway station of Assam on Thursday making it the 400th station with this facility. The service was launched as a key initiative under Digital India programme.
According to a Google official statement, the project has succeeded in its mission of bringing connectivity to millions of unconnected Indians, leveraging on the nationwide optic fiber network backbone created by RailTel.
RailTel is the telecom arm of Indian Railways.
Within the first year of the project's launch, 100 of the busiest railway stations across India were brought online, enabling 15,000 people to experience the internet for the first time every day, it said.
Google India Director Partnership Next Billion Users K Suri said, "With over 8 million monthly unique users connecting to the network, this is a lighthouse project for India and every growing economy that is looking to bring the benefit of connectivity to everyone in their country".
K Manohar Raja, Executive Director at RailTel said the endeavour has been able to bridge the experience divide by providing one of the fastest public WiFi networks in the world.
The service offers thirty minutes of free access to the internet, allowing users to consume about 350 MB of data per session on an average.
Further, the statement said while majority of the users are in the 19-34 age group, efforts to help older and first time users with on-ground support staff has helped millions to experience the internet for the first time.
