Bharti Airtel has partnered with Google to launch Free Zone service that will offer Airtel subscribers with free access to Google services such as Google Search, feature phone friendly version of Gmail and Google Plus. Why free access only for Google products? This is a funny one. Airtel also states that the first page of a website linked from search results is provided at no data cost. The first link from the Google search result is an ad, which will be a revenue stream for Google. While this partnership will allow users to use more data on Airtel, Google on the other hand also seems to be making money out it. The financial details or revenue sharing model between the two companies have not been disclosed. This is not the first time Airtel has partnered with services to increase data usage, however, its partnership with Google only seems to be the one to even bring revenues along with increase in data usage. Airtel users can start using the service by visiting www.airtel.in/freezone or just accessing the Internet without having to sign in to the service. It also allows users to directly signup to Google's Gmail service or use their existing account. If one leaves the Free Zone to navigate deeper into a website or download an attachment, Airtel claims that it informs them about the data charges and provide an option to purchase data package. Previously, Airtel had partnered with Facebook to offer a free access to Facebook’s mobile site for all its users, for 2 months. In October 2011,…
