Express Wi-Fi: Facebook, Airtel collaborate for 20,000 Wi-Fi hotspots in India

Despite the failure of its controversial "Free Basics" programme in India, Facebook has not given up hope to win hearts in the country. The social networking giant, on Thursday, launched yet another service, which will offer Internet access through public hotspots in rural areas.

As part of the new project, called "Express Wi-Fi", Facebook has joined hands with Bharti Airtel to set up as many as 20,000 hotspots in various parts of the country over the next few months. Facebook, which has a user base of 213 million in India, has plans to collaborate with telcos like Reliance Jio, Vodafone and the government-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) to launch more public Wi-Fi hotspots in India.

"India's population is about 1.3 billion people, but only 390 million are connected to the Internet. Express Wi-Fi is part of our global initiative and we want to expand Internet connectivity to underserved locations," Facebook Asia Pacific Head of Connectivity Solutions Munish Seth told PTI.

Express Wi-Fi won't be free like Free Basics- which provided access to select websites at no cost. The new service will work on a paid model. Besides, there won't be any restriction to any particular websites. Consumers will be able to log onto public Wi-Fi hotspots using daily, weekly or monthly data packs sold through local entrepreneur-retailers.

Facebook started testing Express Wi-Fi in India in 2015. The service is currently available through nearly 700 hotspots across four Indian states, including Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Meghalaya.

According to Facebook, it will only provide the platform and solutions while the Internet service provider or the telecom operator will decide on the pricing, and handle the data.