3i Infotech Limited unveiled the consortium entity NuRe Bharat Network (NBN), in a partnership with RailTel Corporation of India’s WiFi monetization project as the lead consortium partner. The other members of the consortium are Forensics Intelligence Surveillance and Security Technologies Private Limited (FISST) and Yellow Integrated Content & Communication LLP (Yellow Inc).
NBN aims to connect all urban, semi-urban, and rural regions, further connecting India and Bharat to the digital medium by offering free captive WiFi solutions across the Indian Railway network. NBN will completely change the dynamics of reaching through to the world’s second-largest digital consumer in a simplified manner.
The launch comes at the back of a recent announcement made by the company for bagging a 5-year WiFi monetization deal from RailTel, with Rs 1000 crore revenue potential. At the virtual launch, 3i Infotech also revealed the interface and functioning of the captive portal and mobile app that will help the advertisers leverage their services to connect with the 1.8 million users per day across 6,108+ railway networks in the country by providing free WiFi service to the users. Speaking on the momentous occasion, Mr Sax Krishna, Head of NuRe Bharat Network said, “We are excited to be a part of such an impactful partnership with RailTel as it gives us a platform to service India & Bharat through the means of providing socially applicable and commercially viable products and services. The captive portal and application will open the space for advertisers to connect with the growing India, primarily rural Bharat demographics, thereby utilizing a huge untapped opportunity.”
“The partnership model will also be a major proof point for us to exhibit and demonstrate our capabilities across the Edge ecosystem including Edge Space, Computing and Analytics through the combination and convergence of edge with the WiFi network, we will be able to deploy our fundamental design with the engines of growth in a much better way that we have put together in the form of a company,” he further added.
At the launch of NuRe Bharat Network, Mr Manoj Tandon, Director of Project, Operations and Maintenance, RailTel Corporation of India Limited (RCIL) shared his happiness and wished all success to the new Joint Venture formed for the WiFi monetisation project.
Ramu Bodathula, Head of Technology, NuRe Bharat Network presented the technology stack walk-through of the application and expressed, “We want to go beyond the captive portal and hence, 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.”
The WiFi captive portal will allow a user to access free WiFi for the first thirty minutes at railway stations across India, after which, the user may or may not extend the free service by watching advertisements. Then, the portal will 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.
The platform will unlock opportunities for advertisers to reach out to the digital consumer via smart advertising solutions and data insights. Thus, the NBN will be a pivotal contributor in the digital and e-commerce sector, poised to cross US$350 billion by 2030 and become a key advertising platform for larger national brands, upcoming MSMEs and local businesses.
