Google’s quest for connecting the next billion starts in India with new Wi-Fi platform, Google Station

Last year when Sundar Pichai came to India for Google’s Google for India event, Pichai announced Wi-Fi connectivity at different railway stations across India in partnership with Railtel. So far Google has over 50 Wi-Fi stations across railway stations all over the country with 3.5 million monthly users. This has been an important move for Google considering how they are looking to connect the next billion with India playing a major role.

So at the Google for India event today, Google announced its new Wi-Fi platform, Google Station. The new platform will work with partners to roll out Wi-Fi hotspots offering carriers, system integrators (SIs), and venues an easy way to set up user-friendly Wi-Fi. With this new platform Google hopes to provide more people in India and around the world fast, reliable, and safe Wi-Fi. By extending the Wi-Fi station beyond railway stations in India, Google is looking at providing Wi-Fi connectivity in more of the places where people spend time, like malls, transit stations and cafes.

Large venue owners like malls, offices, cafes, bus stops, basically any venue with fibre connectivity can partner with Google in order to set up a Google Station. Inspired by the success of the partnership with RailTel and Indian Railways to provide Wi-Fi at railway stations, Google believes Google Station platform is the best way to provide fast affordable Wi-Fi to everyone and it makes for a fast, simple and scalable concept.

Google has opened the partnership for all and anyone interested can simply set up, maintain and monetize a Google station. As for the users depending on the Wi-Fi provider users will be either charged for the internet usage or will get ads or depending on the partnership with Google, users can also access internet for free from Google stations.