Google Outpaces Facebook on Getting India Connected to Internet
- More than 2 million people are connected to web each month
- Facebook testing program for affordable mobile internet access
Passengers use smartphones next to a charging station at a railway station in Mumbai.
Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
When it comes to connecting India’s population to the internet, Google Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai is having better luck than his Facebook Inc. counterpart, Mark Zuckerberg.
Google began offering free Wi-Fi at about two dozen train stations in the country earlier this year, and now has 2 million people using the service each month, Pichai said in a recent earnings call. Millions more will gain access as the service expands to 100 locations by the year end. The search provider’s goal is to reach 400 stations.