Analysis of performance of free Wi-fi in Indian railways

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to analyse the performance of free Wi-Fi in Indian Railways by understanding the General awareness of the citizens regarding the service, frequency of usage of the service, Speed of the connection, confidence on the security, privacy and net-neutrality of the network, the potential challenges and subsequently, assess the potential of the policy to increase the Non-Fare Revenue and passenger traffic of Indian Railways. The genesis of this policy happened with the decision of Indian Railways to contribute towards fulfilment of the Digital India Mission, by providing 400 stations with free Wi-Fi facility. The need of this policy is discussed by showing (i) the stark difference of internet penetration between developing and developed nations as well as rural and urban India, (ii) how development is correlated to internet penetration, (iii) need to increase the proportion of Indian Railway’s Non-fare Revenue, (iv) changing customer’s needs and wants, (v) emerging trends in technology and its impact on Governance, Society and Economy. This paper discusses Secondary data from various sources like case studies, reports, use cases and press releases; and also derives insights from Primary data taken through a survey of 459 random users of Indian Railways which uncovers the awareness, experience, perception and suggestions of the customers regarding the policy. This paper sheds light on the impact of the policy on the welfare of citizens and economic opportunities for Indian Railways. The recommendations from this study are: 1. Increase Non-Fare Revenue of Indian Railways through Freemium model for accessing Wi-Fi, Data mining from user data, Content on Demand (CoD) services in trains and stations. 2. The range of the Wi-Fi routers or the number of Access Points should be increased to cover the complete platform and waiting areas. 3. IT help-desks may be launched at stations for people not having smartphones. 4. IR should ensure that the network is secure, net neutral and protects data of the users with the utmost care, and through advertisements and audit reports, it should also signal the same to customers to boost the confidence of the users and the target customers. 5. Creation of Smart stations on the Wi-Fi infrastructure to increase the Quality of Service in Indian Railways. 6. The provision of Wi-Fi in trains in addition to the stations to facilitate uninterrupted end to-end connectivity of the internet.