Google Fiber, a high-speed broadband initiative currently operating in the US, may be coming to India soon according to a recent report. The brand is apparently in the process of setting up Wi-Fi hotspots at over 400 railway stations across the country.
The Google Fiber project is being undertaken in close partnership with Railtel, a PSU (Public Sector Undertaking) enterprise. The company owns a pan-India fiber optic network that runs along railway tracks through both rural and urban areas. The system covers more than 70% of the total population in India.
According to TelecomTalk, the pilot program is codenamed Project Nilgiri. The Indian Railways and Google will carry out the scheme in phases. The first phase consists of setting up a nationwide network of Wi-Fi hotspots in 400 locations within a time period of 4 months.
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As per an unnamed source, Google Fiber will provide unlimited data for free. To access it, a consumer has to verify their mobile number through entering a one-time password. The OTP will be sent via SMS. People get high internet speeds for the first 30 minutes of usage, following which the speed slows down.
The download speeds from Project Nilgiri are at the 7Mbps mark as of now, while upload rates are around 5Mbps. Wireless LAN Controllers (WLCs) are to be set up in Mumbai and Chennai in a few months, after which the latency should drop to 1-2ms. This will result in faster connectivity.
The Indian Railways currently offers Wi-Fi in select routes. Trains like the Rajdhani Express use satellite communication technology to provide data to its passengers. Google Fiber is supposedly planning to supply similar services across India in its second phase of growth.