Google is teaming up with Airtel to offer an ultra high-speed broadband Internet service in India. It looks like the 4Mbps connection for consumers and the 50Mbps broadband service for small businesses was just the tip of the iceberg, and Airtel has plans to cross a milestone in the Indian ISP business. If you recall, Google had already shared its plans to test an experimental gigabit network in the US. In this, India being behind the tech curve has proved to be of benefit, Google said, stating that India can leapfrog other countries which have to struggle with old lines and infrastructure. However, this won't be simple to implement and Google stated as much.
Airtel, meanwhile, has offered Google all the basic support, to reach out to the Indian metros, through their networks. Google thus needs to set up the TiSP Access Nodes and the central server, and Airtel will provide all the intermediate cabling and connectivity.
Airtel says, this service will be first available only in the major metropolitan cities of India; though no details on pricing has been announced.
Interested in using this 1Gbps line? Use this link to register yourself. The service will roll out on a first come, first serve basis, starting from next week.