RailTel to provide affordable internet in Jharkhand, Maharashtra villages

RailTel is planning to provide affordable internet to people living in the villages of Jharkhand and Maharashtra, the corporation’s digital arm said in a statement on Friday.

A proposal in this regard has been submitted with the Department of Telecom and is under evaluation, the PSU under the Ministry of Railways which has connected over 6,000 railway stations across the country through its public wi-fi network said.

RailTel has been a pioneer in transforming railway stations into platforms of digital inclusion by providing state-of-the art public wi-fi. The network is one of the largest integrated wi-fi networks in the world connecting over 6,060 stations across country of which 80 per cent are in rural areas.

”More than 2.1 crore unique users per month used to access station wi-fi network (pre-covid times). We intend to use the rural PoPs at these stations to deliver broadband services to villages in Jharkhand and Maharashtra in a 10 km radius in the first phase and in second phase, bringing affordable internet to village homes,” the official said.

”A proposal for providing internet in villages of Jharkhand and Maharashtra has already been submitted with the Department of Telecom and is under evaluation,” the official added.

On the occasion of International Internet Day Puneet Chawla, CMD of RailTel said: “We have created a ‘PM-WANI’ app which will help people connect seamlessly with available public wi-fi networks. This app is under testing with CDoT.” “The deployment of mobile app based PM-WANI compliant public wi-fi network is essential for delivery of easy to access and affordable internet, a key enabler to fulfil the vision of our prime minister of having a digitally connected India, where wi-fi services are available in every village,” he said.

He said it will facilitate ease of doing business and encourage local shops and small establishments to become wi-fi providers.

It will help in harnessing the entrepreneurial spirit of village youth and generating job opportunities and facilitating transparency in delivery of citizen centric services, he said. PTI