Uber to offer free WiFi and Airtel Money payment option as part of India push
Uber has struck a deal with Bharti Airtel that will let Indians pay for their trips through the wireless carrier's mobile wallet. Airtel Money users can now link their accounts from within the Uber app and opt to use it for rides. 
As part of the partnership, Uber will also offer commuters free in-car high-speed internet, powered by Airtel 4G, in all of the Indian cities in which it operates.
BENGALURU/NEW DELHI: Taxi hailing app Uber has entered into a strategic partnership with Bharti Airtel in a bid to provide internet access to riders and leverage India's largest telecom player's 200 million customer base in India.As a part of the deal, Uber users get access to free 4G Wifi in Uber cabs starting with Mumbai on Saturday and an additional payment option Airtel money on the app. Drivers get subsidised mobile devices and data plans, the company said. The drivers will use an Airtel 4G enabled MiFi dongle which will have a battery life of 6 hours. Users will just have to click on ‘UberWiFi’ as an option and they will be logged on to the internet.“This partnership is built on our shared visions and strengths of broad, reliable networks and connecting people to their world, anytime, anywhere,” said Amit Jain, President, Uber India. Over the next few months, both companies will also be working on joint marketing campaigns."Our partnership with Uber is directly in line with our commitment to offer innovative and relevant services for our customers," said Srini Gopalan, director, consumer business, Bharti Airtel.Earlier this week, Ola , launched 'Ola Select,' on an invite basis to a few customers with benefits like free in-cab Wi-fi , upgrades at no extra cost, and a range of exclusive benefits from partner brands like Myntra, Snapdeal and Cleartrip.Drivers will be able to keep the phones charged for long distance rides by plugging the dongle into the cigarette lighter to keep them charged. This week, Uber also started a pilot in South Africa where riders hailing Uber Black are being offered free WiFi upto a limited time.Luxury Bus services across India and even Neighbouring countries such as Nepal already offer free WiFi on board with the help of a small VSAT terminal, which offers continuous internet access to passenger. Companies such as OnAir offer internet access to air passengers through such terminals which access web directly from the satellites. A few like GoGo offer air passengers wifi access by communicating with 3G towers on earth. However cab companies are using the local base stations to access the web.Last month, Uber announced that it is going to invest $1 billion in the Indian market in the next nine months. The San Francisco headquartered company also raised close to $100 million of funding from private equity firm Tata Opportunities Fund, last week.