Google Station Launches in Nigeria
In her effort to boost internet connectivity in developing countries, Google launched the Google Station service in Nigeria.
Google Station is a free and high quality internet WIFI service sponsored by Google.
Image: Twitter
Google station launches in Nigeria after Google has launched this type of service in four other countries; India, Indonesia, Mexico and Thailand.
Google Station is already live at the following stations in Lagos, Nigeria;
1. Ikeja City Mall Computer Village
2. MMA2 Domestic Airport
3. The Palms Mall
4. Landmark center
Google is working on expanding this free internet service to additional 5 cities in Nigeria targeting 200 locations within those cities before the end of 2019. Apart from Lagos, the service will also be available in Port Harcourt, Abuja, Kaduna, Enugu, Ibadan by the end of 2019.
How Google Station Works
Google partner with local service providers for infrastructure and locations while it offers a cloud-based platform and devices to provide and manage hot-spots. Google Station is targeting areas with high footfall such as malls, airports and schools.
Google Station is targeting mostly the middle class.
Will Google Station be Monetized by Google
According to Anjali Joshi, vice president of Google’s Next Billion User program, Google will monetize Google Station through local advertisers and share revenue with technical partners. This will boost Google’s revenue.
Google Station Internet Speed
Google Station’s speed will be about 30 megabits per second (Mbps). This far exceeds the 1.86 Mbps average internet speed in Nigeria, according to a global broadband speed league by UK analytics firm Cable.
You can check out the fastest and slowest internet speed by country here.
Google is well aware of Nigeria’s internet speed limitations: last year, during his first visit to Nigeria, Google CEO Sundar Pichai launched YouTube Go, an “offline first” version of the popular video sharing platform for users with slow internet connections according to quartz.
You can use any of these listed sites to check your internet speed.
If you’re already enjoying this free service, tell us about it and how fast the free internet service is.
Remember, Don Jazzy rolled out a free internet service for Lagosians in time past.