Indonesia’s Internet elite were at the Ciputra Artpreneur Center in Jakarta this morning for the Google for Indonesia (#Google4ID) event put on by the Indonesian arm of the global tech giant. The news that seems to have attendees the most excited was the announcement that Google Station, the company’s new free high-speed public Wi-Fi initiative, would soon be rolled out in major cities in Indonesia and eventually throughout the country.
Maka akan segera kami hadirkan Google Station: Platform Wi-Fi publik yg memiliki akses ke koneksi yg cepat, simple, dan secure. #Google4ID pic.twitter.com/YHCOZiLDb3
— Google Indonesia (@googleindonesia) August 24, 2017
https://twitter.com/amasna/status/900567418384162816
Indonesia is only the second country that Google has announced it would bring the service to (the first being India). Google has partnered up with local infrastructure service provider FiberStar and Internet service provider CBN to bring Google Station to public spaces throughout the archipelago, starting with Jakarta, Surabaya, Denpasar and Bandung.
Bekerja sama @FiberStarID dan @CBNinternet, Google Station akan hadir di Jakarta, Surabaya, Denpasar, Bandung dan kota lainnya. #Google4ID pic.twitter.com/mQOEFngF9l
— Google Indonesia (@googleindonesia) August 24, 2017
The initiative was inspired by Google’s Railwire project, which brought free high-speed public wi-fi to hundreds of train stations in India last year (with speeds of up to 24 Mbps).
Google says the aim of the project is to make it possible to set up high-quality, secure, easily accessible Wi-Fi with minimal trouble while bringing the Internet to millions of new users throughout the country. But make no mistake, this is not a charity initiative. The tech giant and its local partners will monetize Google Station hotspots through various means including access fees and ads.
We haven’t seen any exact timelines for the rollout but it seems like the plan is for Google Station to come to Java and Bali first before eventually expanding to the rest of Indonesia.
