Google launches free Wi-Fi service in India with Mumbai Central Station

From today, Google has started offering free, high-speed Wi-Fi service in India's Mumbai Central Station in Mumbai. This kicks off the Internet giant's ambitious plan of setting up Wi-Fi at 400 train stations across the country, in order to expand its presence in India's market.

India has the world's second-largest number of Internet users after China, but only a third of the country's population has Internet access. It is these Indians that Google, and Facebook's controversial Free Basics platform, are planning to connect.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai had first announced that the company would set up Wi-Fi in Indian railway stations after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to its California campus last September. It plans to get 100 of the country's busiest train stations online in 2016, and 300 in its second phase. After Mumbai, Google will start Wi-Fi in the cities of Allahabad, Jaipur, Patna and Ranchi next. Read more...