Facebook on Thursday launched its Express Wi-Fi service in India, with which nearly 700 hotspots will be available across the four states of Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Meghalaya and Rajasthan. The social media giant also announced that it had partnered with Bharti Airtel to roll out 20,000 more hotspots countrywide “over the next few months”.
The company said it had been testing this “low-cost, high bandwidth” facility with a number of internet service providers since 2015. ISPs AirJaldi (Uttarakhand), Tikona (Gujarat), LMES (Rajasthan) and Shaildhar (Meghalaya) enable these hotspots in the four states.
Besides India, Facebook’s Express Wi-Fi connectivity solution is currently available in kenya, Indonesia, Tanzania and Nigeria, the company said in a statement. Anyone can use the hotspots by signing up with an Express Wi-Fi retailer and buying a daily, weekly or monthly data pack at the rates set by the ISPs. They can then connect to the Express Wi-Fi hotspot, register/create an account, login, and “start browsing or use any app on the entire internet”.
“Our Express Wi-Fi partnerships empower local Indian entrepreneurs to start businesses to offer internet access to their town or region. They also help Indians connect to the internet easily and for an affordable rate,” said Munish Seth, Facebook Asia-Pacific’s head of connectivity solutions.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!