Google Wi-Fi Passport launches in Indonesia, offers cheap Internet access

Google has rolled out a service in Indonesian capital Jakata, which allows users to hop on Wi-Fi hotspots for free or at affordable rates. The service, called Wi-Fi Passport, is exclusively for Android users via an app.

"It's way quicker than congested 3G connections, and there's no need to keep entering passwords or re-registering on hard-to-use Web sites either," said Google on its site. Users are allowed usage of up to 3GB of data in a single day, or 7GB over seven days, and 10GB over 30 days.

Currently voucher codes that allow free usage for the first 10 days are available at promotional events. Otherwise, the service costs 20,000 rupiah (US$1.86) for 20 days or 50,000 rupiah (US$4.65) for 50 days via Google's partner MOGPlay.

As part of Google's push to get "the next billion" online and using its services, various initiatives it's launched so far include Free Zone which debuted in the Philippines, which allows Web access on featurephones for free as long as they visit the site via Google Search. It also launched the service in India via a tie-up with telco Airtel.

In June, the Web giant kicked off Project Loon, where a string of networked balloons helped deliver broadband signals to people living in rural and remote areas.