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New Delhi : Wi-Fi services have been provided at 715 railway stations as on December 14, 2018. Wi-Fi services are proposed to be provided on 5,734 railway stations.

RailTel Corporation of India Limited (RCIL), a Public Sector Undertaking under Ministry of Railways, has entered into an agreement with M/s. Mahataa Information India Private Limited (M/s. MIIPL), an Indian subsidiary of Google Inc., for providing free Wi-Fi at 438 A1 and A category stations. The complete cost has been shared by RCIL and MIIPL. RCIL has also entered into Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Universal Services Obligation Fund (USOF) / Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Ministry of Communications, for providing Wi-Fi services at 200 rural railway stations. Free mobile Wi-Fi services at 715 railway stations have been used by 1.3 million unique users till the month of October 2018.

The cost of providing Wi-Fi at 438 stations, where RCIL has entered into agreement with M/s. MIIPL, is shared by RCIL & M/s. MIIPL and no fund has been provided by Government. However, the cost of providing Wi-Fi at 200 rural stations, where RCIL has entered into an agreement with Ministry of Communications, the funds of Rs 27.77 crore have been provided by Ministry of Communications under USOF.

Of the 5,734 railway stations, where Wi-Fi services are proposed, 366 are located Bihar, 449 in Andhra Pradesh, 2 in Arunachal Pradesh, 225 in Assam, 109 in Chhattisgarh, 25 in Delhi, 352 in Gujarat, 117 in Haryana, 42 in Himachal Pradesh, 29 in J&K, 191 in Jharkhand, 159 in Karnataka, 110 in Kerala, 363 in Madhya Pradesh, 489 in Maharashtra, 428 in Tamil Nadu, and 565 in West Bengal.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on December 19, 2018.

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