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Power Law company profile

WIOM

Telecom · New Delhi, India · Founded 2021

WIOM operates as a telecommunications company, providing affordable and unlimited internet access primarily to middle and lower-middle-income households in India. The company was originally founded in 2015 as i2e1 by Satyam Darmora, Nishit Aggarwal, Ashutosh Mishra, and Maanas Dwivedi. Initially, i2e1 focused on a business-to-business model, enabling cafes and offline retailers to offer high-speed internet to their customers for a low price. A significant milestone occurred in 2020 with the launch of the Indian government's Prime Minister's Wi-Fi Access Network Interface (PM-WANI) scheme, which is designed to increase public Wi-Fi hotspot proliferation. This prompted a strategic pivot; the company rebranded to WIOM in 2021 and shifted its focus to a business-to-consumer model. This change led to a 20-fold expansion within a year. The founding team possesses a strong technical and business background, with members having graduated from premier institutions like the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIM). Their journey began with the idea that providing unlimited internet access could empower individuals to achieve their dreams. WIOM functions as an aggregator of internet operators, utilizing a platform-led, asset-light distribution model. It doesn't build its own infrastructure but partners with local internet operators and even allows individuals to resell their unused data. This is facilitated by proprietary software installed on standard Wi-Fi routers, turning homes into potential public hotspots. This approach aligns with the PM-WANI framework, under which WIOM operates as a licensed Public Data Office Aggregator (PDOA). Revenue is generated through a sharing model with its partners, who receive a percentage of the revenue from shared connections, and by selling budget-friendly, unlimited internet plans directly to consumers. Subscription options are flexible, with daily, monthly, and yearly plans available at price points as low as ₹10, making it highly accessible. The company targets a significant market gap, as home Wi-Fi penetration in India is only around 10%, compared to the global average of 80-85%. By identifying regions with lower-middle-income demographics using geo-mapping and AI-based tools, WIOM focuses its efforts on underserved urban and semi-urban areas in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and Meerut. The service provides speeds of 50 Mbps and beyond. WIOM has secured substantial funding, including a Series A round of ₹140 crore ($17 million) in July 2023 and a subsequent growth equity round of $40 million in June 2025, which valued the company at $200 million. Keywords: PM-WANI, Public Data Office Aggregator (PDOA), internet service provider, affordable internet, broadband India, asset-light telecom, Wi-Fi hotspots, last-mile connectivity, internet sharing, decentralized internet, rural internet, urban internet access, telecom startup, middle-income households, lower-income households, Satyam Darmora, internet aggregator, digital divide India, unlimited data plans, community Wi-Fi