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Google Station is a new platform that aims to make public Wi-Fi better

Google Station is a new platform that aims to make public Wi-Fi better

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Google has announced a new public Wi-Fi initiative called Google Station, promising "fast Wi-Fi for everyone." The platform is an extension of work done in India providing Wi-Fi to millions of users at train stations in partnership with RailTel and Indian Railways, and Google wants to make similar arrangements around the world.

Google Station sees the company attempt to expand those partnerships to just about anywhere you can think of — cafes, malls, phone carriers, and so on will be able to work with Google to set up high-quality, secure, easily accessible Wi-Fi with minimal trouble. They’ll be able to monetize Google Station hotspots in various ways, including access fees and ads, or they can make them free.

Caesar Sengupta, VP for Google’s next billion users, tells The Verge that about 15,000 people in India get online for the first time every day with the company’s railway Wi-Fi hotspots. 3.5 million people use the service every month, which is currently available at 52 stations and set to expand to 100 this year.

Google is soliciting partners for Google Station right now.