Sugarbox partnered with Chennai Metro Rail Ltd to deliver, seamless, hyperlocal digital experiences when in-transit

• Putting commute time to good use: How metro passengers in Chennai are driving value from a made-in-India technology.
• In the past 15 months, more than 8 lakh metro commuters have consumed over 70000 GB digital content (November 2021 to mid-Feb 2023) 

March 2nd, 2023, Chennai: In today’s fast-paced life, everyone is trying their best to utilize their time to the fullest. Especially those long commute hours are an interesting option to catch onto all those missed calls or content in the digital universe. Add to this the benefit that the Chennai Metro Rail Ltd (CMRL) facilitated for lakhs of commuters in the city, reducing their commute time and cost. In addition to this, CMRL commuters could access digital information and services, without any interruption or extra cost.

In 2020, CMRL and Sugarbox, an Indian tech start-up, collaborated to offer seamless and affordable in-transit digital access, for commuters travelling in the metro. Present across the 52 trains, this hyperlocal cloud technology facilitated access to various digital content and services for passengers, without them incurring any additional data cost.

With over 70%, spending time connected to their handsets during commute, the desire to remain connected has now become an essential. Commuters on CMRL are now able to access a range of content such as games, movies, entertainment shows, podcasts, news and more, without incurring additional data cost. Apart from seamless streaming, the content can also be downloaded for viewing later (at another location). This patented technology offers a streaming speed of 100MbPS enabling seamless, buffer-free hyperlocal digital experiences, for commuters. 

“We are working towards democratizing digital access and ensuring that relevant content reaches audiences, at any time and any place. This partnership with CMRL, is a step forward in offering commuters the best standards in metro travelling. Any commuter, irrespective of their socioeconomic background, just needs a smartphone to consume digital content on Sugarbox. Our technology solution caches static content from brand partners closer to the end-user. Thus, augmenting digital access for audiences in connected, under-connected, and unconnected geographies”, said Rohit Paranjpe, CEO & Co-founder, Sugarbox.  

It is estimated that in an average travel time of 66 minutes, a commuter on an average spends 73% time on phone. While around 54% are consuming static digital content, such as watching movies, around 81% face poor connectivity experience.  

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