In recent years Google has been trying to make the internet penetrate more in emerging economy countries. For this reason, the IT company introduced the Google Station, which is a free WiFi station in urban cities.
The Station had earlier been opened in countries such as India, Indonesia, Mexico and Thailand, so at the #GoogleForNigeria event held today in Lagos, the Station was announced in the country.
Google Station will provide free internet to people across selected areas in Lagos through a collaboration with Google and 21st Century Ltd, a fibre cable network provider.
According to reports, Google aims to open over 200 Stations in Nigeria by 2020, but at the moment, there would be only 6 Stations, which will be located in Lagos.
The 6 areas that the Google Station will be located are as follow.
- Murtala Muhammed 2 Domestic Terminal, Ikeja
- Ikeja City Mall, Alausa, Ikeja
- University of Lagos, Akoka
- Computer Village, Ikeja
- The Palms Shopping Mall, Lekki
- Landmark Centre, Oniru, Victoria Island
As for how Google would benefit from this initiative, this is Google and 21st Century Ltd’s intention: Before a user can connect to the free WiFi, the person would need to login through a portal and there, ads would be placed for users to see and click. Therefore, Google and 21st Century Ltd’s money will come from the advertisement.
If you live in Lagos close to any of the 6 Google Station locations or visit the location, you should try and connect to the free WiFi and enjoy Google’s speed.
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