3i Infotech Launches NuRe Bharat Network Consortium with RailTel to Connect India’s Rural Regions to Digital Medium with Free WiFi Solutions
- ByStartupStory | April 20, 2023
3i Infotech Limited has announced the creation of a consortium called NuRe Bharat Network (NBN), in partnership with RailTel Corporation of India, with the aim of connecting all urban, semi-urban, and rural regions across India to the digital medium by offering free captive WiFi solutions across the Indian Railway network. NBN is led by 3i Infotech, with Forensics Intelligence Surveillance and Security Technologies Private Limited (FISST) and Yellow Integrated Content & Communication LLP (Yellow Inc) as other members of the consortium.
The launch follows 3i Infotech’s recent announcement of a 5-year WiFi monetization deal from RailTel with a revenue potential of Rs 1000 crore. NBN intends to completely change the dynamics of reaching the world’s second-largest digital consumer by providing free WiFi service to 1.8 million users per day across 6,108+ railway networks in the country.
During the virtual launch, NBN revealed the interface and functioning of the captive portal and mobile app that will enable advertisers to connect with the primarily rural Bharat demographics, thereby utilizing a huge untapped opportunity. Sax Krishna, Head of NuRe Bharat Network, expressed his excitement about the partnership with RailTel, saying that “it gives us a platform to service India & Bharat through the means of providing socially applicable and commercially viable products and services.”
Manoj Tandon, Director of Project, Operations and Maintenance at RailTel Corporation of India Limited (RCIL), expressed his happiness and wished success to the new Joint Venture formed for the WiFi monetization project.
Ramu Bodathula, Head of Technology at NuRe Bharat Network, presented a technology stack walk-through of the application and expressed the company’s intention to go beyond the captive portal. “We will soon be launching the mobile app, which will provide beyond ‘Free Internet.’ It will also allow the advertisers to provide travel, infotainment, education, and e-commerce-based services,” he said.
The WiFi captive portal will allow users to access free WiFi for the first thirty minutes at railway stations across India, after which they may or may not extend the free service by watching advertisements. The portal will then switch to the paid medium. To access free WiFi, users need to connect to the WiFi network and provide login credentials. This platform will be available in multiple Indian languages apart from English.
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