Tech Telecom

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu today asked RailTel to adopt a “stand alone” approach to providing digital connectivity in far-flung areas. Congratulating RailTel on its annual day, Prabhu said it plays a crucial role in providing digital connectivity across the country and has become the backbone of the telecommunication network.

“We are facing challenges as India is a very big country. Some villages in the far-flung areas face difficulty in having connectivity”, he said.

RailTel, railways’ telecom PSU, is at the forefront in providing nation-wide Broadband Telecom and Multimedia Network in all parts of the country in addition to the modernisation of train operations and administration network systems for the Railways. RailTel has pan-India optic-fiber network covering almost all important cities and villages and can be used for providing education, telemedicine facility and entertainment in remote areas also.

“We must have rural connectivity. Some villages in far-flung areas need stand alone solution to get digitally connected and Railtel should do that,” Prabhu said.

Speaking on the occasion, Google Vice-President Rajan Anandan said, “We are excited to provide very high-speed free Wi-Fi service in partnership with RailTel. It is an important milestone.”

RailTel is in association with Google to provide free Wi-Fi service at 400 stations till 2018.  Google Vice-President said, “Once we provide Wi-Fi at 400 stations there will be about 300 million Indians who go through the stations and will have access to very high-speed Wi-Fi service.” He also said, “300 million population is very large as India’s total Internet population is about 350 million so we are incredibly excited about it,”.

Experience at Railway stations will never be the same again to people using internet services and gadgets. Some people arrives early and some have to wait because of delay, cancellation and other reasons. People can use free Wi-Fi services to stay connected to their dear ones, or can manage work by staying connected.

Share your views about the service and your experiences at Wi-Fi-enabled stations.