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Facebook Might Follow Google's Steps, Will Provide Free WiFi On Indian Railway Stations

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Stephen Lam / Reuters
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Facebook hasn't given up on its dream of connecting India. It is concentrating on other ways to give more people in India the access to the Internet. And for doing so they might be following the footsteps of Google by providing free WiFi on the Indian railway stations.

According to a report from Economic times, RailTel India is in talks with Facebook to provide free WiFi services. It is notable that the same company has partnered with Google for government's free WiFi project.

"Through this (Facebook) initiative, we will be able to offer data services up to a 10-km radius from a connected rail stop, which however can further be increased by up to 25 km via additional access points ," RK Bahuguna, chairman of RailTel told ET.

Facebook's plan is to install WiFi in the neighbouring villages as well apart from the railway station. So Passengers can have extended coverage. And the residents of the villages can be connected to the Internet.

Recent reports also suggested that Facebook is planning to launch their commercial Wifi service Express Wifi in India.

Google has a plan to install WiFi across 400 stations of India by next year. They have been receiving a tremendous response already. About 2 million users have used the WiFi services installed on the railway stations.

Right now, the Google WiFi is at 23 stations across the country. With 8 more Mumbai suburban stations added recently to it, the tally is now 31 stations.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.