RailTel launches prepaid wi-fi service at 4,000 railway stations; check plans
New Delhi, Mar 4: Railway PSU RailTel formally launched its paid wi-fi service plans on Thursday which will enable users to access high-speed internet at 4,000 railway stations across the country.
RailTel already provides free wi-fi service at more than 5,950 stations in the country, and the facility can be availed by anyone with a smartphone and an active connection after an OTP-based verification.
With the launch of these prepaid plans, a passenger can now use up to 30 minutes' free wi-fi per day at 1 mbps speed. But for higher speed of up to 34mbps, an user will need to choose a plan at a nominal fee.
The plans include Rs 10 for 5 GB data in a day, Rs 15 for 10 GB data in a day, Rs 20 for 10 GB data valid for five days, Rs 30 for 20 GB data valid for five days, Rs 40 for 20 GB data valid for 10 days, Rs 50 for 30 GB data valid for 10 days and Rs 70 for 60 GB data valid for 30 days.
"We did a detailed trial run of Prepaid Wi-Fi at 20 stations in Uttar Pradesh and based on the response and detailed testing, we are launched this plan at 4,000+ more stations across India. We intend to launch the prepaid plans for all the stations with our RailWire Wi-Fi this financial year," said RailTel CMD Puneet Chawla.
The plans have been designed to offer a flexible choice to users as per their needs. A number of payment options like net banking, e-wallet and credit cards can be used to purchase the plans online, he said.
Chawla said that before COVID-19, more than three crore people were using the service monthly. Once the situation normalises and footfall at stations becomes regular, a revenue of Rs 10-15 crore annually is expected from the paid wi-fi service, he added.
Indian Railway is the largest public transporter of the nation, and railway stations are melting pots of the whole cross-section of the society. Passengers use this wi-fi facility for streaming high definition (HD) videos, downloading movies, songs, games and do their office work online. The service has tremendously benefitted railway passengers, particularly the rural population.
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BJP's reaction to Rahul Gandhi's comments on EC fuels 'mistrust': Sharad Pawar
Pune (PTI): NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Tuesday claimed that BJP leaders routinely respond whenever Congress MP Rahul Gandhi questions the Election Commission's functioning, fuelling "mistrust" in the poll panel.
Responding to a question on Rahul Gandhi's criticism of the Election Commission of India over alleged "vote chori", Pawar said Gandhi and other Opposition leaders have raised key issues about the ECI's functioning.
"When Gandhi, the leader of opposition (in the Lok Sabha), raised the issue in Parliament, the institution concerned should have taken note of it. But what is happening is that when Gandhi raises questions and criticises the ECI, the ECI does not answer - it is the BJP and its leaders who respond," he told reporters here.
Instead of the Election Commission, the chief minister and other leaders are responding to such issues, the former Union minister noted.
"By doing this, they are actually contributing to the mistrust about the ECI, which is not good," he added.
Sharpening his attack on the issue of “vote chori” (vote theft), Gandhi last week accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of protecting those who destroyed democracy.
To buttress his allegation, the leader of the opposition cited data from two assembly constituencies in Karnataka and Maharashtra, where he claimed voters were deleted/added in a fraudulent manner.
The Election Commission has dubbed the allegations as incorrect and baseless, and said, “No deletion of any vote can be done online by any member of the public, as misconceived by Gandhi.”
