VC-backed TELiBrahma & Indian Railways Launch BluFi In Bangalore

The Bangalore Division of Indian Railways has joined hands with RailTel and TELiBrahma, a provider in the mobile advertising solutions space, to launch BluFi services in the city's railway station.

BluFi is a combination of Bluetooth application and Wi-Fi connectivity, which allows passengers to receive content like videos, downloadable games, wallpapers and also railway information by switching on the Bluetooth of their mobile phones.

Free Wi-Fi connectivity has also been provided by RailTel as part of the RailWire retail broadband initiative. To use the connection, a passenger will only have to send a request for Internet access and send his mobile number and the password will be SMSed to that number.

Ravi BR, COO and co-founder of TELiBrahma, said, "The objective of enabling BluFi at the Bangalore City Railway Station is to improve passenger experience. BluFi will bring a wide range of information to passengers that will help provide an entertaining and informative transit at the station.

Last November, TELiBrahma raised $5 million in its Series C round of funding. TELiBrahma's previous investors, Inventus Capital and Ojas Venture Partners, also participated in that round.

The Bangalore-based firm was launched in 2004 and offers innovative mobile solutions for retailers and brands, using Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. It also has an augmented reality-based mobile browser called intARact that helps brands create better campaigns and engage with users.

The company also raised Rs 1.6 crore in seed funding from Karnataka Information Technology Venture Capital Fund (KITVEN) and another $2 million from Inventus Capital and Ojas Venture Partners in 2008 in its series A round of funding.

RailTel Corporation of India Ltd (RailTel) is a government undertaking operating under the Ministry of Railways. The corporation was formed in Sept 2000 with the objective to create nationwide broadband telecom and multimedia network.