RailWire Wi-Fi goes Live at all Kashmir Valley Railway Stations 

On the World Wi-Fi Day, RailTel has successfully completed the work of providing public Wi-Fi at all 15 Railway stations, including Srinagar, of the Union Territory of Kashmir. RailTel’s Public Wi-Fi, being provided under the brand name of RailWire, is available at 15 stations (Baramula, Hamre, Pattan, Mazhom, Budgam, Srinagar, Pampore, Kakapora, Avantipura, Panzgam, Bijbehara,  Anantnag,  Sadura, Qazigund, Banihal) of UT of  Kashmir which are spread out in  four District HQs – Srinagar, Budgaon, Banihal & Qazigund.
Wi-fi was already available at 15 stations in the Union Territory of Jammu (Kathua, Budhi, Chhan Arorian, Hira Nagar, Ghagwal, Samba, Vijaypur, Bari Brahman, Jammu Tawi, Bajalta, Sangar, Manwal, Ram Nagar J&K, Udhampur and Katra) which are in  four District HQ- Jammu, Sambha, Udhanpur & Katwa.
RailTel was entrusted by the Ministry of Railways to provide public Wi-Fi at all the Railway stations. The vision was to convert the Railway platform into a platform for digital inclusion. Today, the Wi-Fi Network is spread over 6000+ Railway stations across  the country and this is one of the largest integrated wi-fi network in the world.   The mission is to provide Wi-Fi at all (except the halt ones) Railway stations and only few stations are left to reach the mark. 
In his message on this occasion, Piyush Goyal, Hon’ble Minister of Railways, Commerce & Industries and Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution said, “Wi-Fi plays a significant role in connecting the people, and is bridging the digital divide between rural and urban India at a rapid pace. Indian Railways, in association with its RailTel Corporation of India Ltd, is playing a key role in bringing high speed Wi-Fi to every corner of the country. Today, on World Wi-Fi Day, I am delighted to announce that Srinagar and 14 stations of the Kashmir Valley have become a part of one the largest integrated public Wi-Fi network in the world connecting 6000+ stations across the country. With this, all the stations of Valley now have public Wi-Fi. It is a crucial step for Digital India mission and will go a long way in connecting the unconnected. I convey my appreciation to the team Indian Railways and RailTel, which has worked tirelessly to achieve this remarkable feat.”

Commending Indian Railways and RailTel for achieving this commendable feat, Dr. Jitendra Singh, Hon’ble MoS(IC) DONER,MoS, PMO,DOAE, DOS, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievance &Pension  said, “ Today Wi-Fi is playing an important role in connecting communities &  spurring innovative solutions to help bridge the digital divide. Owing to the pandemic, the need to be virtually connected is higher than ever. Indian Railways is playing a significant role in bridging the rural divide through the station Wi-Fi network created by its CPSU RailTel. I am very happy to note that 15 stations in the Kashmir Valley in Jammu & Kashmir are now live with are now live with RailWire Wi-Fi. This will be an added amenity for the people of the region and the country. I wish everyone a very Happy World Wi-Fi day.”

Wi-Fi is being provided under the brand name of Railwire- the retail broadband service of RailTel. Passengers use this facility for streaming High Definition (HD) Videos, download of movies, songs, games, and do their offices work online. Designed to offer users the best Internet experience, RailWire Wi-Fi at Railway stations will be available to any user who has a smartphone with working mobile connection for KYC considerations.
Access to Wi-Fi not only connect communities but also opens up a world of opportunity for innovation and growth. This year’s World Wi-Fi Day celebration stresses on the need to accelerate access to affordable Wi-Fi to bridge the Digital Divide. India has a stark Digital Divide between Urban and rural India. RailWire Wi-Fi at stations is helping to connect the unconnected as more 5000 stations of this public Wi-Fi network are located in rural India with poor connectivity. 

Talking about the success of the Wi-Fi network, Sh. Puneet Chawla, CMD/RailTel said, “RailTel has invested a significant amount of capex in building this network and to monetize this we have launched paid wi-fi plan across all Wi-Fi stations. Post 30 minutes of free usage @1mbps throughput, users have to purchase prepaid plans for high speed wi-fi by paying a very nominal fee. We are also going to monetize the network through advertisement-based revenue for which we are coming out with an EOI shortly.”
RailTel also envisages to extend the Wi-Fi / broadband services to nearby villages using its POPs at the already existing station Wi-Fi. Under the mission of Hon’ble PM of connecting all villages of India within 1000 days, RailTel has submitted a proposal to department of Telecom, to connect feasible villages of Jharkhand and Maharashtra which is under favourable consideration of the DOT.

About RailTel
RailTel, a "Mini Ratna (Category-I)" Central Public Sector Enterprise, is one of the largest neutral telecom infrastructure providers in the country owning a Pan-India optic fiber network covering several towns & cities and rural areas of the country. Along with a strong a reliable network of 59500+ RKM of Optic fibre , RailTel has two MeitY empaneled tier III data centers as well. With its Pan India high-capacity network, RailTel is working towards creating a knowledge society at various fronts and has been selected for implementation of various mission-mode projects for the Government of India in the telecom field. RailTel offers a bundle of services like, MPLS-VPN, Telepresence, Leased line, Tower Co-location, Data center services etc. RailTel is also working with the Indian Railways to transform railway stations into digital hub by providing public Wi-Fi at railway stations across the country and  6021  stations are live with RailTel’s RailWire Wi-Fi.