RailWire | 09 Dec 2019

Why in News

• Railways has successfully completed the work of providing free public Wi-Fi at 5500 stations across the country. The Wi-Fi is being provided under the brand name of RailWire and is one of the largest Wi-Fi networks in the world.

Key Points

• Indian Railways mandated RailTel, a Miniratna Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) under the Ministry of Railways, to provide free high-speed Wi-Fi at the Railway stations for the digital inclusion.
• It was started in January 2016 from Mumbai Central station.
• RailTel has partnered with Google, Tata Trust, Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) for the project and also got funding from Universal Service Obligation Fund (Department of Telecommunications).

Significance

• Bridges the digital divide between rural and urban India.
• Students can utilise their waiting time to download study materials.
• Vendors can use the service for digital payment transactions.
• Daily passengers can use their time in learning new skills and net-surfing.

Source: PIB