PM-WANI Wi-Fi Scheme Franchise Costs : Registration and Business Plan

Introduction to PM-WANI Wi-Fi Scheme Franchise.

In today's digital age, internet access is no longer a luxury but a necessity, particularly in a country like India, where internet penetration rates are still relatively low. To bridge this gap, the Government of India launched the PM-WANI initiative, which aims to provide affordable Wi-Fi access to citizens across the country. With its low franchise fee and promise of high impact, the PM-WANI franchise business has caught the attention of entrepreneurs and small business owners. But just how much does it cost to start a PM-WANI franchise business? In this article, we'll break down the costs and provide insights into what it takes to bring affordable internet access to India.

PM-WANI Wi-Fi is a government initiative aimed at providing affordable and reliable internet access to rural areas in India. The franchise model allows entrepreneurs to become a part of this initiative and earn profits while providing a valuable service to their community. With the increasing demand for internet connectivity, opening a PM Wani Wi-Fi franchise can be a lucrative business opportunity.

Understanding the PM-WANI Wi-Fi Scheme Franchise Cost and its investment model.

The cost of starting a PM-WANI Wi-Fi Scheme Franchise costs can be broken down into two main categories.

• Public Data Office Aggregator (PDOA) Business Investment Model

• App Provider Business Investment Model

1. Public Data Office Aggregator (PDOA) for PM-WANI Wi-Fi Scheme Franchise Investment Model:

Public Data Office Aggregator (PDOA): PDOA provides user interface for the user to buy a plan and keep track of the data consumption of the user.

What does a PDOA do? A PDOA is an aggregator of multiple access points (PDOs) who are the Wi-Fi service providers in the last mile. This is similar to the way services are offered by Ola who aggregates multiple taxis or Oyo who aggregates multiple hotels. The PDOA will earn revenue from PDOs by offering them the features of plans, accounting, authorization, and a captive portal to the PDO.

What is the Business Model for a PDOA? PDOA’s main investment will be a creation of complete backend system for hosting internet plans/coupons, authorization and accounting (AA), payment collection, WANI token handling module and storage for log to ensure Lawful Interception (LI) compliance. The solution to achieve these functions can either be developed by PDOA in an ownership model or sourced from market on subscription basis under service model from any of the platform as a Service (PaaS) provider. Similarly, the software solution can be hosted on own server or hosted on cloud through cloud service provideronsubscription/rental basis.

Under ownership model PDOA needs to arrange the following infrastructure/resources to provide its services to PDOs getting aggregated to its platform, under PM-WANI framework:

• Own server to host PDOA software

• Own PDOA software stack

• Internet Bandwidth so that solution can be accessed on the internet

• Payment Gateway Account for customers to make online payment

• Domain Name to access the solution on internet

• SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) Certificate for secured communication

• Manpower to run the operations

What revenues are expected from PM-WANI Wi-Fi Scheme Franchise?

PDOA sells internet plans through its portal. Whenever a user tries to access a WANI compliant public Wi-Fi hotspot (PDO access point), he/she is directed to the concerned PDOA portal. The portal offers various plans in terms of coupons and the user can select the value of the coupon desired to be purchased. Therefore, user makes payment to PDOA for accessing the access point of a PDO.After purchasing a plan from PDOA a user can log into access point hosted by a PDO.

As the money is collected by PDOA from users by selling them a plan online, PDOA retains a share of this revenue based on the agreement between a PDO and PDOA. PDOA pays back this money back to PDOs based on the usage of internet by users from the access point of a PDO. PDOA retains a share of revenue for delivery of its services to PDOs.

This share is mutually negotiated between a PDO and PDOA as per the agreement. The revenue share between PDOA and PDOs varies for each PDOA depending upon the services and support provided by the PDOA to PDOs. The number of PDO served by the PDOA is directly proportional to the PDOAs revenue. A typical share of 90: 10 between PDO and PDOA is assumed to calculate the revenue of a PDOA.

2. App Provider for PM-WANI Wi-Fi Scheme Franchise Investment Model

What is a App Provider ?

App Provider, who will develop an application to register users and ‘discover’ and display PM-WANI compliant Wi-Fi hotspots in the proximity for accessing the internet service and also authenticate the potential Broadband users. Startups and wallet providers can become App Providers

What is the Business Model of App Provider?

App Provider’s main investment will be creation of backend system for KYC based authentication, OTP based verification through some SMS gateway, WANI token handling module and log storage for LI compliance. The App can be developed by an entrepreneur or a white label App cab be taken from market and customized with own logo etc. There are providers who offer “software solution deployment” as service as Platform as a Service (PaaS) providers. To run the backend either own server and bandwidth can be installed or again taken from a cloud provider. In case of cloud operations, the software solution will be hosted on some cloud service provider’s system on rental basis.

Overall, APP Provider needs to arrange the following infrastructure:

• Own infrastructure to host solution or Cloud Infrastructure

• SMS Gateway Account (and Bulk SMS Pack)

• Domain Name

• SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) Certificate

  A typical cost for a cloud operation model is provided as below

What will be the earning of PM-WANI Wi-Fi Scheme APP Provider Franchise?

App Provider’s earning is only by offering Advertisement and Location based services after collaborating with the advertisers, local agencies/shops etc. APP Provider can also earn additional revenue by offering various solutions on the APP platform- for example analytics and survey for various agencies. Revenue generation can be achieved based on various innovative ideas an entrepreneur can implement in the App.

Based on the typical costs above, the entrepreneur will have to generate a revenue of Rs 18,667 per month to cover all the costs, including 12% return on capital employed in the business by the entrepreneur, from services like advertisement etc. provided to users on the App to achieve break even for the business.

Benefits of Starting a PM-WANI Wi-Fi Scheme Franchise Business

The context of the PM-WANI franchise business is the Indian government's initiative to provide affordable internet access to citizens across the country. Despite India's growing economy and large population, internet penetration rates remain relatively low. The PM-WANI initiative aims to address this gap by encouraging the establishment of public Wi-Fi access points across the country.

The PM-WANI Wi-Fi Scheme franchise business model is a way for entrepreneurs and small business owners to become a part of this initiative by setting up and operating public Wi-Fi access points. The franchise model is a relatively new concept in the context of PM-WANI, but it has the potential to play a significant role in expanding the reach of affordable internet access in India.

By breaking down the costs associated with starting a PM-WANI Wi-Fi Scheme franchise business, we can provide entrepreneurs and small business owners with a better understanding of what it takes to become a part of this initiative and bring affordable internet access to more people in India.

Conclusion

Overall, the cost of starting a PM-WANI Wi-Fi Scheme franchise business is relatively low compared to other franchise opportunities, making it an attractive option for entrepreneurs and small business owners. However, it's important to do thorough research and due diligence to ensure that the investment aligns with your business goals and financial capabilities.

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