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Delhi Launches First Part of its Metro-Wide WiFi on Board System

(06 Jan 2020, BWCS Staff)

Delhi Metro has launched high-speed WiFi on its Airport Express train services and promised a swift roll out to the rest of the network. The free WiFi service is being installed and operated by the New Delhi-based Maxima Digital and Techno Sat Comm Consortium backed by Russian telco MaximaTelecom – which itself is behind the on-train WiFi services on the Moscow and St Petersburg Metros.

The Airport Express Line connects New Delhi Railway Station in the heart of India’s capital to terminal T3 of Indira Gandhi International Airport. It runs for 22.7km and comprises six stations. Over the past few years ridership figures have risen steadily on the route. By August of last year, it was reported that the service carried an average of 50,000 passengers per day.

According to Farhad Rustamov of Maxima Digital, the company has laid 24km of fibre-optic cabling with 44 base stations along the track in order to provide uninterrupted coverage. Maxima says that in the coming days it will be working with its partners to bring on-train WiFi to the rest of the sprawling Delhi Metro system which comprises eleven lines and a total 391km of track.  

To log onto the system, commuters will have to go through a quick identification process (One Time Password verification) via their mobile phone. Apart from the on-train WiFi services, the Delhi Metro has collaborated with Rail Tel Corporation, to provide free WiFi services at four metro stations, including Rajiv Chowk, Kashmere Gate, Central Secretariat and Hauz Khas. The Delhi Metro carries an average of 4.7 million passengers daily.  

Last month the local City administration announced the much-vaunted launch of its free public WiFi system. Initially this has seen 100 WiFi hotspots go live at bus stops across the city. However, by the middle of this year, the City Council says there will be over 4,000 bus stops equipped with WiFi hotspots, each with a serving radius of around 80m. A further 7,000 WiFi spots will be later be installed at various locations across the City. Users will be restricted to a data limit of 1.5GB per day.

The metro in Delhi is one of the world’s newest and rapidly growing subway systems. It ranks among the top 20 subway systems by ridership, growing by 6% every year. Delhi today is the fastest growing city in Asia, with 11 million inhabitants and India is predicted to be the third largest economy globally by 2030.

On-train WiFi services, trackside networks, the growing market for passenger WiFi and on-board entertainment will be the main subjects of BWCS’s WiFi on Trains Conference later this year. For information on speaking and sponsorship opportunities at the 2020 event, please contact Ross.Parsons@BWCS.com .

Please sign up at www.Traincomms.com for the Conference Brochure and our Free News Service.

The 2020 conference (www.Traincomms.com ) is sponsored by Icomera, Nomad Digital, Xentrans, Fluidmesh and RADWIN.

Also, for Wireless Suppliers who may be interested, BWCS has launched a brand new conference on the growing market for private wireless networks and 5G services at Ports – please see www.PortComms2020.com where the full programme is now available.

 



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