Posted by - To monetise one of the biggest captive free public WiFi networks in the world
- Deploy a ‘super app’ for RailTel, for millions of monthly passenger base of the Indian Railways with the potential of becoming the largest app in the country for advertisers and marketers to leverage
- This is India’s first multi-year commercial agreement to monetise captive customers of public Wi-Fi networks through collaborative efforts
- The revenue potential from the project is expected to be upwards of Rs1000 crore
Mumbai: Global IT company 3i Infotech said that RaiTel Corporation of India has awarded a multi-year Wi-Fi Monetisation Project to the company. For this project, 3i Infotech will develop and deploy a super app for RailTel, which will provide the right platform for digital advertisers and marketers to mass-market, regional, and hyper-local advertisements or content.
The Wi-Fi Monetisation Project’s aim is to create a media platform that has a measurable and physical footprint across India, with the mission of connecting ‘Bharat’ in its entirety and bringing about a major transformation in the Indian railways.
RailTel Corporation of India, a Mini Ratna PSU under the Ministry of Railways is one of the largest neutral telecom infrastructure providers in India.
RailTel’s super app will provide easy access to Indian Railways‘ services or information, and value-added services such as infotainment, e-commerce, education, and premium content services along with free high-speed internet access to its users. The super app aims to become one of the largest in terms of users, usage and time spent in India.
The Wi-Fi Monetisation Project will cover more than 6108 railway stations across every state, city, town, and district of India, where RailTel has already made free public Wi-Fi networks available.
RailTel’s public Wi-Fi network records over 1.1 million unique users per day. With this collaborative deal, station Wi-Fi is set to enhance the digital experience for WiFi users. For this project, RailTel has signed a 5-year agreement with a consortium led by 3i Infotech.
Forensics Intelligence Surveillance and Security Technologies Private Limited (FISST) and Yellow Integrated Content & Communication (Yellow inc.) are the other members of the consortium.
The revenue will be generated by monetising Wi-Fi footfalls in one of the world’s largest integrated public Wi-Fi networks through targeted advertising solutions, content and infotainment services for railway passengers. This is India’s first multi-year commercial agreement to monetise captive customers of public Wi-Fi networks through collaborative efforts. With this, public Wi-Fi at railway stations is set to transform the digital experience of railway passengers.
As per the contract, the 3i Infotech-led consortium will have a revenue sharing understanding along with minimum revenue assurance to RailTel. The revenue streams proposed under the project include – ‘Captive Wi-Fi Network’, which is an active ecosystem to be upgraded for unlocking the advertising revenue.
The consolidated revenue potential is expected to be upwards of Rs 250 crore. The maximum revenue potential from the Wi-Fi Monetisation Project is pegged to be upwards of Rs. 1000 crore over a 5-year period.
“It is going to be an important partnership with RailTel. This is a landmark moment for us and railway passengers, with the sheer scale of digital enablement this project is aimed at,” said Thompson P. Gnanam, MD and Global CEO of 3i Infotech.
“This project is a strategic fit towards expanding our Edge Computing capabilities. Edge Application is the super app which will be developed by us for the Wi-Fi Monetisation Project. We hope to get good patronage from advertisers and marketers. With this win, we will aim to further expand our business in the telecom, media, and entertainment verticals as we foray into media technology,” added Gnanam.
According to Sanjai Kumar, Chairman and MD of RailTel, this public-private partnership on Wi-Fi network monetisation will truly transform the railway passengers’ experience, providing customers with a differentiated digital experience.
“Moreover, it will provide an opportunity for advertisers to tap into RailTel’s widespread integrated public Wi-Fi network at railway stations with the largest footfall of Wi-Fi users in the country to deliver customised services & content. This move will also aid to the cause of Govt. of India’s Digital India mission. It will also help RailTel to enhance its revenue stream,” added Kumar.