1 GB for 1 Rupee: Two Youngsters Emerge as Tough Competitor for Jio!

A Bengaluru based start-up, WiFi Dabba, could emerge as a tough competitor for Reliance Jio with the former offering 1 GB data for just 1 Rupee.

“When we started … we believed the key issue was in last mile connectivity and pricing. So, we worked as ISP aggregators, buying connections from players who use fibre technology,” WiFi Dabba's founder Karam Lakshman told The Indian Express.

“We realised that fibre is the key issue so worked on developing a solution for the middle mile — supernodes,” he added.

Unlike other companies, WiFi Dabba doesn't depend on third-party hardware, software and networking infrastructure. The start-up has its own of all the above and that allows cost savings on vendor margins.

“The cost saving is so high we are able to offer Gigabit internet at the price of solving a Captcha Code puzzle,” Karam Lakshman said.

"Data cost in India is very high at present. We believe that even after the launch of Jio there is a lot of room for price wars to happen and we are certain that we can drop the prices even further," Wifi Dabba’s cofounder Shubhendu Sharma told TOI.

Launched in 2016, the same year as Jio launched its services, WiFi Dabba is planning to roll-out its services first in Bengaluru and then across the country depending on the demand.