RailTel which is a PSU under the Ministry of Railways, signed a five-year contract with a consortium led by 3i Infotech Ltd, a global information technology company based at Mumbai, a company statement said.
The other members of the consortium are Forensics Intelligence Surveillance and Security Technologies Private Limited (FISST) and Yellow Inc.
Under the contract, the revenue will be generated by monetising Wi-Fi footfalls in one of the world’s largest integrated public Wi-Fi networks through targeted advertisements and extending multimedia infotainment services for rail passengers.
This is India’s first multi-year commercial agreement to monetise captive customers of public Wi-Fi network through collaborative efforts, the statement said.
As per the contract, 3i Infotech-led consortium will pay ₹14 crore per year or 40 percent of revenue earned (whichever is higher) to RailTel.
The revenue will be largely led by advertising and supported by content/services-based revenue and the consolidated revenue potential from the project is expected to be upwards of ₹250 crore over five-year period, as per 3i Infotech’s estimate.
RailTel’s public Wi-Fi network is now available at 6,108 railway stations across India and records more than 1.1 million unique users per day. With this collaborative deal, station Wi-Fi is set to evolve digital experience to users, the statement said.
RailTel had posted consolidated income of ₹440 crore for the quarter ended September 2022. This is against a 14 per cent growth of consolidated income of ₹385 crore in the first quarter of this fiscal year. The company's consolidated income for the half year stands at ₹825 crore as against income of Rs.696 Crore for the corresponding period of previous financial yea
