Google plans to install high-speed public Wi-Fi in 400 train stations across India. The project, which will initially be free but has the long-term goal of being self-sustainable, was unveiled during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Google’s U.S. headquarters.
Google is partnering with Indian Railways, which operates one of the world’s largest railway networks, and RailTel, which provides Internet services via a fiber network along many of these railway lines. The company expects to bring the first stations online in the coming months, and promises the network will “expand quickly” to cover 100 of the busiest stations in India “before the end of 2016.” the remaining stations will follow in “quick succession.”
