Launched in 2015, Google established its free Wi-Fi initiative in order to make the internet accessible to remote places in the world. According to Techcrunch, the program is now winding down.
Google Station was started in India and connected more than 400 railway stations to free Wi-Fi where people could go and use the internet without charge. Google was able to connect thousands of other places by working partners on ground and the program soon extended to Nigeria, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Brazil and Vietnam. Citing the reason for ending the program, VP of Payments and Next Billion Users at Google Caesar Sengupta said mobile data had become cheaper in India and many markets and it no longer see the reason to continue the program.
The initiative helped millions access the internet freely as they want but the program had not been profitable over the years and it wasn’t sustainable. Google tried to monetize the platform by showing ad when a user connects to the public Wi-Fi but eventually the Alphabet company couldn’t find a working business model to scale the program.
India is the pioneering market for Google Station and Google claimed it reached its goal of making the free Wi-Fi available to 400 railway stations. Google was able to achieve this in partnership with RaiTel, a state-owned service provider who made the program possible. Google may be planning to shut down the program but RaiTel will continue offering free Wi-fi service in all of these 400 railway stations.
In Nigeria, Google Station was launched in 2018 but the program has not enjoyed the success Google envisaged when it brought the program to Africa. Google began the program in Lagos and Abuja in Nigeria and had hoped it would reach 200 locations in cities in total by the end of 2019. According to Techpoint, Google Station had gone offline in major places in Lagos such UNILAG and Ikeja City Mall back in July 2019.
While RaiTel will be continuing the program in India, it is not looking certain it will be revived in Nigeria for a program that had gone offline for a long time.
