‘Next Billion Users’: Cisco To Partner With Google For Bringing Free High-Speed WiFi To India

Global networking giant Cisco has partnered with Google towards its ‘Next Billion Users’ initiative in India, IANS has reported.

Working with the vision that Internet should be a fundamental right for the people, Cisco and Google will launch the first free high-speed WiFi hotspots at 35 locations in Bengaluru. The locations will include public spaces like bus stops, hospitals and government offices among others. The number will be increased to 200 by September, to be followed by 300 more in the next phase.

"We are excited to partner with Google to bring free, open, high-quality internet access to everyone in India," said Sameer Garde, President, Cisco India and Saarc.

"This also represents a significant growth opportunity, the demand for public Wi-Fi hotspots is expected to go up by 100X over the next 3 years, creating new markets for Cisco and our partners," he added.

Meanwhile, Google has assured that the will be network secure from online threats. "We are committed to security. It will run on https environment, the same environment in which you do online banking transactions," said Sajith Sivanandan, Managing Director and Business Head, Google Pay and ‘Next Billion User Initiatives’ India. The service will be supported through advertising revenue.

A TRAI report on the WiFI hotspot penetration had indicated that India needed an additional eight million hotspots to ensure that the country meets the global average of one Wi-Fi hotspot for every 150 people. The demand represents a huge market for networking and internet service providers.