Cisco and Google Station Team to Scale Wi-Fi Access Globally

BARCELONA, Spain, Feb. 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Mobile World Congress Barcelona -- Cisco today announced that it is working with Google Station on a mission to include one billion people in the growth opportunities of the digital economy. The program will provide communities with limited connectivity around the world sustainable public Wi-Fi that is easily highly secure, accessible, fast, and reliable.

Today, connectivity and technology have become the foundation for many peoples' economic, social, and cultural opportunities. However, nearly half of the world's population remain unconnected, restricting their inclusion in economic growth opportunities. Nearly 10 percent of the world's population continues to struggle for basic needs daily, making it critical for partnerships between technology leaders, public, and private sectors.

Infrastructure and scalability issues, market and regulatory support, and sustainability challenges have all contributed to this glaring issue. In order to make Wi-Fi a sustainable business for ISPs, venues, and governments in these communities, Cisco and Google Station intend to work together to:

• Provide access to capital via Cisco financing
• Simplify operations by combining Cisco networking technology and integration services with Google network management
• Improve experience through highly secure, fast, reliable Wi-Fi that's easy to access

"We chose to work with Cisco on the Google Station initiative because they offer the networking technology, finance capabilities and global reach to enable sustainable public Wi-Fi," Mahesh Bhalerao, global director of partnerships, Next Billion Users at Google. "We share the belief that making Wi-Fi truly sustainable is an important puzzle piece in solving global connectivity issues."

"We are excited to partner with Google Station, ISPs, and governments to connect one billion people to new economic opportunities," said Scott Harrell, senior vice president and general manager, Enterprise Networking Business, Cisco. "By making public Wi-Fi sustainable, we are breaking down the barriers to widespread wireless access." 

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