With the aim to provide internet to individuals and corporates across Bengaluru, Wi-Fi Dabba will deploy around 100 supernodes in 2020. The low-cost internet service provider (ISP) will offer speed of up to 1GBPS with pre-paid plans that cost as low as Re 1 per GB.
The supernodes Wi-Fi Dabba will not use fiber and will bring down the cost to one-tenth of fiber cable installation. It will use lasers that make a mesh over the city using a proprietary technology that has been completely built in-house. These lasers will be eye-safe and can communicate over distances of up to 2 km with no latency. The supernode will include weather sensor, CCTV, and other devices to monitor the conditions around it.
Karam Lakshman, CEO and CTO of Wi-Fi Dabba said, “Supernodes are revolutionary not because of what they cost but how they compare in price with legacy technology. Fibre is the key word in the ISP fraternity currently, but it is also the most expensive part of the ecosystem. To be an ISP, one needs to buy lots of fiber, which is both expensive and delicate and needs permissions to initiate the infrastructure proceedings and manage a huge maintenance crew for all the localities. On the contrary, supernodes will cost us 1/10th of what it would cost to set up a legacy ISP that uses fiber.”
Wi-Fi Dabba has developed proprietary hardware, software and networking as they do not rely on third-party hardware, software or infrastructure. It also helped the Bengaluru-headquartered company save on vendor margins. Currently, they are working towards creating a virtual topology map of Bengaluru that’ll be helpful in pre-emptively deciding the most optimal locations to install the supernodes.
Shubhendu Sharma, COO, Wi-Fi Dabba says, “India is currently the fastest growing economy and internet connectivity is pivotal to the development of any and every sector. We firmly believe in net neutrality and internet access is a fundamental human right. The concern is not moving from one technology to another but to empower every internet user with flawless speed and have maximum coverage; be it for watching a live stream or having a business video call in any corner of a corporate building”.
Founded in 2017 to offer “Super Cheap, Super Fast, Internet access”, Wi-Fi Dabba has installed over 1,000 hotspots in Bengaluru offering internet connectivity at Rs 2 for 200 MB. It provides connectivity to over 10,000 co-living spaces in the city. The company aims to expand its services across Bangalore and tier-III and tier-IV towns in Karnataka and Maharashtra. As Wi-Fi Dabba aims to raise series A funding, it is in talks with institutional investors in the US and India for the same.
