1 GB for 20 rupees, 'Wifi Dabba' makes it cheaper than Jio
The Banglore based start-up company called Wifi Dabba has taken the data-selling business to a next level. Thinking out of the box, the company has already built a wide customer base in Bangalore by providing data at the cheapest rates in the market. This is not the only peculiarity of the company though; it does business through tea-stalls or 'dabbas' in the city to sell data via WiFi.
Just one year back, the data prices skyrocketed with the introduction of 3G/4G services. Telecommunication companies were making huge amounts of money by providing these services. Then Reliance Jio appeared in the market and it changed everything. At first, Jio provided 1 GB 4G data per day for about three months without any cost to the customer. Later it revised the plans but still was the cheapest in the market. The other telcos had to follow the suit for their own survival. The arrival of Wifi Dabba, as the start-up wants to call itself, is definitely a game changer in this business. It is providing a new competition, although locally, to the telcos.
Wifi Dabba offers data starting from 100 MB for just 2 rupees. Hence anyone who can spear 2 rupees can use the Wifi Dabba data services. It offers data in the form of pre-paid tokens sold by small shops like tea stalls and local bakeries in Bangalore. The customers need not to download an app on their devices. They can simply connect to the wifi and use their token code as the password.
How does Wifi Dabba operate?
Wifi Dabba is a licensed Internet Service Provider and it provides data through small routers, called as "dabba" by the company. These routers are powered by optic fiber cables instead of airwaves. This makes the system more reliable. To get a dabba installed, the company partners with local cable operators who lay down the fiber cables. It takes about 7 days to get the connection installed and functional which the company is planning to reduce to 3-4 days. It has already installed about 350 of these routers across the city and has received some 1800 requests for new connections.
Bangalore coverage map of Wifi Dabba
The company mainly targets two user groups:
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Just one year back, the data prices skyrocketed with the introduction of 3G/4G services. Telecommunication companies were making huge amounts of money by providing these services. Then Reliance Jio appeared in the market and it changed everything. At first, Jio provided 1 GB 4G data per day for about three months without any cost to the customer. Later it revised the plans but still was the cheapest in the market. The other telcos had to follow the suit for their own survival. The arrival of Wifi Dabba, as the start-up wants to call itself, is definitely a game changer in this business. It is providing a new competition, although locally, to the telcos.
Wifi Dabba offers data starting from 100 MB for just 2 rupees. Hence anyone who can spear 2 rupees can use the Wifi Dabba data services. It offers data in the form of pre-paid tokens sold by small shops like tea stalls and local bakeries in Bangalore. The customers need not to download an app on their devices. They can simply connect to the wifi and use their token code as the password.
How does Wifi Dabba operate?
Wifi Dabba is a licensed Internet Service Provider and it provides data through small routers, called as "dabba" by the company. These routers are powered by optic fiber cables instead of airwaves. This makes the system more reliable. To get a dabba installed, the company partners with local cable operators who lay down the fiber cables. It takes about 7 days to get the connection installed and functional which the company is planning to reduce to 3-4 days. It has already installed about 350 of these routers across the city and has received some 1800 requests for new connections.
Bangalore coverage map of Wifi Dabba
- the lower income people like masons, barbers and others who have purchased their very first Android phones but don't want to spend Rs 300 or more just to get internet.
- the school going children who need occasional data access to download study material, etc.
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