Category: Broadband

India lags in fixed broadband, but ahead in mobile: ESCAP

NEW DELHI: India had just over 100 million fixed broadband subscriptions in 2015 as compared to Iran and Japan which had more than 250 million.

There were only 1.3 fixed broadband subscribers per 100 inhabitants in the country as against South Korea which had 40.2 per 100 inhabitants and China and Hong Kong which had 31.9. India stood at the 40th place, even below its immediate neighbours Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

However, a map of fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants in Asia and the Pacific in 2015 shows India as the most developed country in this regard.

These facts were revealed by the State of ICT in Asia and The Pacific 2016 Report by the Information and Communications Technology and Disaster Risk Reduction Division of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

South and South-West Asia, Sri Lanka, Turkey, India and the Islamic Republic of Iran progressed well in both online services and telecommunications infrastructure development between 2008 and 2014. Other countries such as Bangladesh and Maldives performed well predominantly in the development of the telecommunications infrastructure.

India has risen from just under 4 to around 5.5 out of seven in online services index among South Asian countries between 2008 and 2014.

India was also among the top active mobile broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants in the Asia-Pacific region in 2015 with 120 million subscribers in 2015, the study showed.
Disaster Risk Reduction Division.

In 2015, China announced the One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative, based on six economic corridors corresponding to the Silk Road. These economic corridors (China-Mongolia-Russia Corridor; New Eurasia Land Bridge; China-Central Asia-West Asia; China-Pakistan; Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar; and China-Indochina Economic Corridor) aim to promote connectivity of these economies with China through infrastructure, trade and investment based on the original Silk Road’s pathway.

The Global NGO Online Technology Report found that there are diverse regional differences in how NGOs worldwide utilize online technology. Within Asia Pacific, the report notes that the NGOs’ use of online technology varies greatly from subregion to subregion. For instance, India has hundreds of thousands of NGOs likely to come online in the next five years, while internet access throughout South-East Asia is growing as smartphone sales soar across the country. In Australia and Oceania, Europe and North America, NGOs’ use of web and e-mail communications, online fundraising tools, and social media is high, but NGOs in Asia, Africa and Latin America lag behind.

Lack of a robust internet infrastructure is suggested to be a potential cause for this NGO divide. The report remarks that social, economic and political factors have either hastened or hindered the development of the infrastructure, and thereby also the uptake by the NGO sector.

In a discussion on net neutrality, the paper says “Free Basics, formerly known as Internet.org, has sparked discussions in India and is one such case of net neutrality. This initiative pursues telecom companies in emerging markets, such as India — the world’s second largest market — to provide their customers free access to Facebook and entailing websites willing to play by its rule.”

TechCrunch notes that these Facebook rules make it difficult to build competing social network or messaging applications. In February 2016, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) announced the prohibition of internet services such as Free Basics, claiming that they offer discriminatory tariffs for data services on the basis of content. While this may be a victory for neutrality supporters, others might be disappointed with the outcome as the goal of the Facebook initiative is to connect people who may otherwise not have internet access. The ruling will be in place for two years but may be open for review — it is still an open question whether the project will succeed in the long term.”

The competition for spectrum has significant impact on the cost and affordability associated with broadband networks and access. As observed in the cases of the recent fourth generation (4G) spectrum auctions in India and Thailand, the quests for bandwidth and frequency would intensify along with the demand for mobile access and services, and subsequent need for more extensive broadband infrastructure.

The report says Asia-Pacific countries are expanding their investments in the ICT infrastructure. For instance, in July 2015, the Chinese State Council announced the plan to develop underground telecommunication networks connecting 10 cities, which will be funded by the USD 160 billion bond programme designed for infrastructure projects.

A mobile operator in India announced its plan to invest USD 9 billion for their mobile broadband network expansion in the next three years.

Maldives will soon have USD 25 million nationwide fibre optic submarine networks of 1,200 kilometres to provide high-bandwidth services throughout the island nation. A mobile operator in Brunei announced plan for a nationwide Wi-Fi network rollout through more than 60 hotspots.

The report found that connectivity still constrains not only ICT development but also various socioeconomic development opportunities. For instance, an UNCTAD report found that despite the unparalleled promise of the digital economy, the main barrier to B2C transactions in Asia and the Pacific appear to be the low internet penetration, the relatively poor postal reliability, and the low number of secure servers, which are essential for online shopping sites.

China has demonstrated an exponential increase in fixed and mobile broadband, while slowest growths have been detected among LDCs, LLDCs and SIDs. The persistent challenge is that one-third of ESCAP member-countries have made only negligible progress over the last 15 years. In these countries, broadband access is still largely unavailable and unaffordable, while the gap as compared to the fast-growing economies is widening. Some sub-regions, such as Central Asia, seem to have made more holistic progress. The report also conducted descriptive statistical analysis using standard deviation on fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants so as to statistically understand the digital divide.

The results showed that Europe is the only region that has demonstrated a reduction in the broadband digital divide, while in Asia and the Pacific, it
is in fact widening.

Despite the increasing spotlight on newer technologies such as the IoT that aims to connect millions of devices and machines worldwide, the region still suffers from the lack of ICT connectivity, and mobile devices are mainly used for communication and entertainment.

The report found that some countries have focused on broadband access expansion over online content and service development, but, in the long run, both infrastructure and content should be developed in tandem. The telecommunications investment seems to co-relate with fixed broadband subscriptions more strongly than with mobile broadband, indicating the investment-intensive nature of the fixed broadband infrastructure, which is a prerequisite for e-commerce.

The report also found that weak regulatory framework might be associated with slow broadband growth.

Regional broadband initiatives, such as the Asia-Pacific Information Superhighway, have become an essential and strategic development intervention that will shape the future of the region, the report concludes.

September 12, 2016
June 16: ACT continues to lead wireline broadband subscriber additions

BENGALURU: Atria Convergence Technologies Private Limited (ACT, ACT Broadband) continued to lead wireline broadband internet (wireline broadband) subscribers in the calendar year 2016 with 1.6 lakh subscribers added between 1 January 2016 and 30 June. As per the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) data, ACT had 8.6 lakh subscribers as on 31 December 2015 (December 15, or 1 January 2016), and it closed with 10.2 lakh subscribers on 30 June, 2016 (June 16).

Further, as per TRAI data, the top five players in India in the wireline broadband internet space in pecking order are the public sector Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Bharti Airtel Limited (Airtel), public sector Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL), ACTand You Broadband (You BB).

Among these these, only BSNL and Airtel could be termed as national players at present. BSNL, Airtel and MTNL also provide wireline telephony voice and data and mobile services while Airtel also has a direct to home (DTH) segment. ACT started off as an MSO with operations concentrated in a few major cities and towns located mainly in South India. It started internet services (ACT Broadband) a little later and has grown its broadband internet subscriber base over time thorough organic as well as acquisition growth, to the extent that it is quite likely the biggest private wireline broadband player in South India. You BB offers broadband operations in a few cities in Maharashtra, Gujarat, the NCR region, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

ACT was followed by Airtel which added 1.5 lakh subscribers in the calendar year 2016 until June 16. Airtel had 16.7 lakh wireline broadband subscribers on 1 January, 2016. In June 16, it had 18.2 lakh subscribers. Among the top five wireline broadband players in India, You Broadband (You BB) was the next with 50 thousand subscriber added during the corresponding period. The other two players among the top five – the public sector telecom companies – reported a decline in subscribers in the same period.

You BB began the year with 5.1 lakh subscribers and, as on 30 June 2016, it had 5.6 lakh subscribers. BSNL, the largest wireline broadband player in India, opened 2016 with 99.2 lakh subscribers, but lost 40,000 subscribers until 30 June 2016. MTNL lost 20,000, and had a tally of 11 lakh subscribers until 30 June, 2016.

Please refer to figure 1 below for wireline broadband subscriber data of the top five players:

Overall, the top five wired broadband players added three lakh subscribers (37.04 percent of the total wireline broadband subscriber additions) between 1 January 2016 and 30 June as opposed to the overall growth of 8.1 lakh subscribers during the same period. Please refer to Fig 2 below:

In March 16, the largest-ever number of wired broadband subscribers were added – in absolute numbers as well as in month-over-month (m-o-m) percentage terms. In all, 2.3 lakh wired broadband subscribers were added, with m-o-m growth of 1.37 percent in March 16. The combined subscription numbers of the top five wired broadband players also had the largest-ever subscriber additions in terms of absolute numbers at 1 lakh and at 0.71 percent in terms of m-o-m growth in March 16.

June 16 has seen the second-largest growth in terms of number of wireline broadband subscribers in the current calendar year to date with a m-o-m growth of 0.93 percent and addition of 1.6 lakh subscribers. The top five players saw a m-o-m growth of 0.43 percent
in June 16.

The subscriber numbers share of the top five wired broadband players has reduced from 87.62 percent in March 15 to 83.03 percent as on June 16. During the same period, the all-India wireline internet subscriber base has grown 11.60 percent from 155.2 lakh to 173.2 lakh. The combined numbers of the top five players have increased by less than half of that in percentage terms — by 5.43 per cent from 136.4 lakh to 143.8 lakh. The top five have added 7.4 lakh subscribers during these 16 months, with ACT and Airtel contributing a major chunk to the growth.

Other wireline broadband players in India

MSOs in India have started providing internet services on the back of their television cable networks using DOCSIS technology. In general, they have started reporting double-digit YoY increase in internet subscribers and revenue. The television cable players see broadband services improving their Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) numbers. Three of the major MSOs and a regional MSO — Hathway, Siti Cable, Den Networks, Ortel Communications, respectively, whose results are available in the public domain have been showing steady growth in their broadband segment over the past few quarters. All the four have been reporting growth in ARPU.

Overall broadband subscriber numbers for June 2016 including wireless and mobile

Overall, as per the reports received by TRAI from the service providers, the number ofbroadband subscribers (including wireless, mobile, dongles) increased from 159.76 million (15.976 crore) at the end of May 16 to 159.80 million (15.98 crore) with a monthly growth rate of 0.03 percent at the end of June 16. Wireless broadband subscriber numbers that use mobiles and dongles for internet access have dropped m-o-m by 0.09 percent to 141.94 million (14.194 crore) in June 16 from 142.06 million (14.206 crore) in May 16. Fixed wireless subscribers that access the internet through wi-fi, wi-max, point-to-point radio and VSAT have increased 0.83 percent in June 16 to 0.55 million (5.5 lakh) from 0.54 million (5.4 lakh) in May 16.

The top five service providers constituted 84.38 percent market share of the total broadband subscribers at the end of May 16. These were Airtel (40.61 million or 4.061 crore), Vodafone (32.28 million or 3.228 crore), Idea Cellular (27.02 million 2.702 crore), BSNL (20.56 million 2.056 crore) and Reliance Communications Group (14.38 million 1.438 crore).

TRAI’s definition of broadband is internet download speeds greater than or equal to 512 Kpbs.

Comments
ACT must have equalled or replaced the public sector MTNL as the third largest wireline broadband services provider in the country at the time of writing of article. However, the Reliance Jio disruption is bound to happen. Also, given the fact that the public sector telecom giant and largest wireline broadband services provider, BSNL, plans to take Jio head-on with attractive offers for broadband consumers, the wireline broadband ecosystem is in for interesting upheavals in the near future.

As mentioned above, the Cable MSO and LCO fraternity has been banking on higher ARPUs that broadband internet carried on its cable network can offer. Investments into Docs is 2.x and 3.x have been made, and the number of users subscribing to these services has been growing, as is evident from the quarterly results of some of the listed players. The cable TV industry has still to learn to make profits, and is riding on the hope that cable internet is one of the paths to healthy top and bottom lines.

The consumer will probably become king for the first time since internet services were introduced in the country at the fag-end of the previous century.

Notes:(1) The unit of currency in this report is the Indian rupee – Rs (also conventionally represented by INR).The Indian numbering system or the Vedic numbering system has been used to denote money values. The basic conversion to the international norm would be:
(a) 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10,000,000 = 10 million = 1 crore.
(b) 10,000 lakh = 100 crore = 1 arab = 1 billion.

(2) TRAI reports indicate data in millions of numbers up to 2 decimal places. Hence it is assumed in this report that a figure of 0.47 million (4.7 lakh) subscribers for You BB for July 2015 would be granular to the nearest 10,000. While percentages have been mentioned up to two decimal places, the accuracy may vary, depending upon the exact number.
(3) Industry sources say that TRAI numbers in the case of ACT for May 2015 are incorrect at 0.66 million and the correct number would be 0.693 million. This paper considers the number as 6.93 lakh or 0.693 million.
(4) MSOs have a number of subsidiaries and alliances, hence broadband numbers are split as applicable. The consolidated subscription numbers of these entities could be larger. Hathway is a case in point.

September 12, 2016
June 16: ACT continues to lead wireline broadband subscriber additions

BENGALURU: Atria Convergence Technologies Private Limited (ACT, ACT Broadband) continued to lead wireline broadband internet (wireline broadband) subscribers in the calendar year 2016 with 1.6 lakh subscribers added between 1 January 2016 and 30 June. As per the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) data, ACT had 8.6 lakh subscribers as on 31 December 2015 (December 15, or 1 January 2016), and it closed with 10.2 lakh subscribers on 30 June, 2016 (June 16).

Further, as per TRAI data, the top five players in India in the wireline broadband internet space in pecking order are the public sector Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Bharti Airtel Limited (Airtel), public sector Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL), ACTand You Broadband (You BB).

Among these these, only BSNL and Airtel could be termed as national players at present. BSNL, Airtel and MTNL also provide wireline telephony voice and data and mobile services while Airtel also has a direct to home (DTH) segment. ACT started off as an MSO with operations concentrated in a few major cities and towns located mainly in South India. It started internet services (ACT Broadband) a little later and has grown its broadband internet subscriber base over time thorough organic as well as acquisition growth, to the extent that it is quite likely the biggest private wireline broadband player in South India. You BB offers broadband operations in a few cities in Maharashtra, Gujarat, the NCR region, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

ACT was followed by Airtel which added 1.5 lakh subscribers in the calendar year 2016 until June 16. Airtel had 16.7 lakh wireline broadband subscribers on 1 January, 2016. In June 16, it had 18.2 lakh subscribers. Among the top five wireline broadband players in India, You Broadband (You BB) was the next with 50 thousand subscriber added during the corresponding period. The other two players among the top five – the public sector telecom companies – reported a decline in subscribers in the same period.

You BB began the year with 5.1 lakh subscribers and, as on 30 June 2016, it had 5.6 lakh subscribers. BSNL, the largest wireline broadband player in India, opened 2016 with 99.2 lakh subscribers, but lost 40,000 subscribers until 30 June 2016. MTNL lost 20,000, and had a tally of 11 lakh subscribers until 30 June, 2016.

Please refer to figure 1 below for wireline broadband subscriber data of the top five players:

Overall, the top five wired broadband players added three lakh subscribers (37.04 percent of the total wireline broadband subscriber additions) between 1 January 2016 and 30 June as opposed to the overall growth of 8.1 lakh subscribers during the same period. Please refer to Fig 2 below:

In March 16, the largest-ever number of wired broadband subscribers were added – in absolute numbers as well as in month-over-month (m-o-m) percentage terms. In all, 2.3 lakh wired broadband subscribers were added, with m-o-m growth of 1.37 percent in March 16. The combined subscription numbers of the top five wired broadband players also had the largest-ever subscriber additions in terms of absolute numbers at 1 lakh and at 0.71 percent in terms of m-o-m growth in March 16.

June 16 has seen the second-largest growth in terms of number of wireline broadband subscribers in the current calendar year to date with a m-o-m growth of 0.93 percent and addition of 1.6 lakh subscribers. The top five players saw a m-o-m growth of 0.43 percent
in June 16.

The subscriber numbers share of the top five wired broadband players has reduced from 87.62 percent in March 15 to 83.03 percent as on June 16. During the same period, the all-India wireline internet subscriber base has grown 11.60 percent from 155.2 lakh to 173.2 lakh. The combined numbers of the top five players have increased by less than half of that in percentage terms — by 5.43 per cent from 136.4 lakh to 143.8 lakh. The top five have added 7.4 lakh subscribers during these 16 months, with ACT and Airtel contributing a major chunk to the growth.

Other wireline broadband players in India

MSOs in India have started providing internet services on the back of their television cable networks using DOCSIS technology. In general, they have started reporting double-digit YoY increase in internet subscribers and revenue. The television cable players see broadband services improving their Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) numbers. Three of the major MSOs and a regional MSO — Hathway, Siti Cable, Den Networks, Ortel Communications, respectively, whose results are available in the public domain have been showing steady growth in their broadband segment over the past few quarters. All the four have been reporting growth in ARPU.

Overall broadband subscriber numbers for June 2016 including wireless and mobile

Overall, as per the reports received by TRAI from the service providers, the number ofbroadband subscribers (including wireless, mobile, dongles) increased from 159.76 million (15.976 crore) at the end of May 16 to 159.80 million (15.98 crore) with a monthly growth rate of 0.03 percent at the end of June 16. Wireless broadband subscriber numbers that use mobiles and dongles for internet access have dropped m-o-m by 0.09 percent to 141.94 million (14.194 crore) in June 16 from 142.06 million (14.206 crore) in May 16. Fixed wireless subscribers that access the internet through wi-fi, wi-max, point-to-point radio and VSAT have increased 0.83 percent in June 16 to 0.55 million (5.5 lakh) from 0.54 million (5.4 lakh) in May 16.

The top five service providers constituted 84.38 percent market share of the total broadband subscribers at the end of May 16. These were Airtel (40.61 million or 4.061 crore), Vodafone (32.28 million or 3.228 crore), Idea Cellular (27.02 million 2.702 crore), BSNL (20.56 million 2.056 crore) and Reliance Communications Group (14.38 million 1.438 crore).

TRAI’s definition of broadband is internet download speeds greater than or equal to 512 Kpbs.

Comments
ACT must have equalled or replaced the public sector MTNL as the third largest wireline broadband services provider in the country at the time of writing of article. However, the Reliance Jio disruption is bound to happen. Also, given the fact that the public sector telecom giant and largest wireline broadband services provider, BSNL, plans to take Jio head-on with attractive offers for broadband consumers, the wireline broadband ecosystem is in for interesting upheavals in the near future.

As mentioned above, the Cable MSO and LCO fraternity has been banking on higher ARPUs that broadband internet carried on its cable network can offer. Investments into Docs is 2.x and 3.x have been made, and the number of users subscribing to these services has been growing, as is evident from the quarterly results of some of the listed players. The cable TV industry has still to learn to make profits, and is riding on the hope that cable internet is one of the paths to healthy top and bottom lines.

The consumer will probably become king for the first time since internet services were introduced in the country at the fag-end of the previous century.

Notes:(1) The unit of currency in this report is the Indian rupee – Rs (also conventionally represented by INR).The Indian numbering system or the Vedic numbering system has been used to denote money values. The basic conversion to the international norm would be:
(a) 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10,000,000 = 10 million = 1 crore.
(b) 10,000 lakh = 100 crore = 1 arab = 1 billion.

(2) TRAI reports indicate data in millions of numbers up to 2 decimal places. Hence it is assumed in this report that a figure of 0.47 million (4.7 lakh) subscribers for You BB for July 2015 would be granular to the nearest 10,000. While percentages have been mentioned up to two decimal places, the accuracy may vary, depending upon the exact number.
(3) Industry sources say that TRAI numbers in the case of ACT for May 2015 are incorrect at 0.66 million and the correct number would be 0.693 million. This paper considers the number as 6.93 lakh or 0.693 million.
(4) MSOs have a number of subsidiaries and alliances, hence broadband numbers are split as applicable. The consolidated subscription numbers of these entities could be larger. Hathway is a case in point.

September 12, 2016
Hungama partners with Videocon’s Connect Broadband

MUMBAI: India’s leading on-demand digital entertainment destination launched an exclusive entertainment service for Connect Broadband.

With this association, Connect broadband users across the cities of Punjab will be able to stream and download unlimited music, movies, videos and games at www.hungama.com/connect or chose the bundled offering of Hungama Play and Hungama Music apps along with their broadband plans through a single sign in and enjoy the benefits across all platforms.

Speaking on the association, Siddhartha Roy, CEO – Hungama.com said, “We are excited to partner with Connect Broadband the largest broadband service provider in Punjab and bring our on-demand entertainment services for their consumers. Across our destinations – Hungama Play, Hungama Music, we offer the biggest entertainment catalog and an extensive Punjabi catalog of movies, songs and music videos. With this partnership we bring to Punjab the best in entertainment and data with an unmatched experience.”

Commenting on the development Arvind Bali, CEO – Connect Broadband said: “We have joined hands with Hungama in a bid to do more for our customers and to provide them with more content and more entertainment. It is an attempt to go that extra mile for our loyal customers and to do a little more that we can, to keep them entertained, happy and satisfied. We want our customers to rely on us for content, speed, connectivity and of course entertainment.”

Hungama’s diverse library of over 3.5 million content pieces includes some of the biggest Bollywood, Hollywood and regional films including popular Punjabi titles Vaapsi, Channo Kamli Yaar Di, Dildaariyan, Hero Naam Yaad Rakhi, Jatt Juliet and many more. In addition, Hungama’s platform also houses a vast music library spanning decades of Indian and international hits along with fun and immersive games.

Hungama has forged similar partnerships in India with ACT Fibrenet, MTNL, BSNL, Hathway, Tata Photon and Sri Lanka Telecom.

August 23, 2016
Hungama partners with Videocon’s Connect Broadband

MUMBAI: India’s leading on-demand digital entertainment destination launched an exclusive entertainment service for Connect Broadband.

With this association, Connect broadband users across the cities of Punjab will be able to stream and download unlimited music, movies, videos and games at www.hungama.com/connect or chose the bundled offering of Hungama Play and Hungama Music apps along with their broadband plans through a single sign in and enjoy the benefits across all platforms.

Speaking on the association, Siddhartha Roy, CEO – Hungama.com said, “We are excited to partner with Connect Broadband the largest broadband service provider in Punjab and bring our on-demand entertainment services for their consumers. Across our destinations – Hungama Play, Hungama Music, we offer the biggest entertainment catalog and an extensive Punjabi catalog of movies, songs and music videos. With this partnership we bring to Punjab the best in entertainment and data with an unmatched experience.”

Commenting on the development Arvind Bali, CEO – Connect Broadband said: “We have joined hands with Hungama in a bid to do more for our customers and to provide them with more content and more entertainment. It is an attempt to go that extra mile for our loyal customers and to do a little more that we can, to keep them entertained, happy and satisfied. We want our customers to rely on us for content, speed, connectivity and of course entertainment.”

Hungama’s diverse library of over 3.5 million content pieces includes some of the biggest Bollywood, Hollywood and regional films including popular Punjabi titles Vaapsi, Channo Kamli Yaar Di, Dildaariyan, Hero Naam Yaad Rakhi, Jatt Juliet and many more. In addition, Hungama’s platform also houses a vast music library spanning decades of Indian and international hits along with fun and immersive games.

Hungama has forged similar partnerships in India with ACT Fibrenet, MTNL, BSNL, Hathway, Tata Photon and Sri Lanka Telecom.

August 23, 2016
May-16: ACT leads wireline broadband subscriber additions

BENGALURU:Atria Convergence Technologies Private Limited (ACT, ACT Broadband) continued to lead wireline broadband internet (wireline broadband) subscribers in calendar year 2016 with 1.3 lakh subscribers added since 1 January 2016 until 31 May 2016. As per TRAI data, ACT had 8.6 lakh subscribers as on 31 December 2015 (Dec-15, or 1 January 2016), and it closed with 9.9 lakh subscribers on 31 May 2016 (May-16). At the time of writing this paper, ACT’s subscriber base should have crossed the 10 lakh (1 million) mark.

As per The Telecom regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) data, the top five players in India in the wireline broadband internet space in pecking order are the public sector Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Bharti Airtel Limited (Airtel), public sector Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL), Atria Convergence Technologies Private Limited (ACT, ACT Broadband) and You Broadband (You BB).

Among these 5, only BSNL and Airtel could be termed as national players at present. BSNL, Airtel and MTNL also provide wireline telephony voice and data and mobile services while Airtel also has a direct to home (DTH) segment. ACT started off as an MSO with operations concentrated in a few major cities and towns located mainly in South India. It started internet services (ACT Broadband) a little later and has grown its broadband internet subscriber base over time, to the extent that it is quite likely the biggest private wireline broadband player in South India. You BB offers broadband operations in a few cities in Maharashtra, Gujarat the NCR region Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

ACT was followed by Bharati Airtel Limited (Airtel) which added 1.2 lakh subscribers in calendar year 2016 until May-16. Airtel had 16.7 lakh wireline broadband subscribers on 1 January 2016. In May-16, it had 17.9 lakh subscribers. Among the top 5 wireline broadband players in India, You Broadband (You BB) was next with 40 thousand subscriber adds during the same period. The other two players among the top five wireline broadband internet subscribers in the country – the public sector telecom companies –reported decline in subscribers between the same period.

You BB began the year with 5.1 lakh subscribers and as on 31 May 2016 it had 5.5 lakh subscribers. BSNL, the largest wireline broadband player in the country, opened 2016 with 99.2 lakh subscribers, lost 30,000 subscribers until 31 May 2016. MTNL lost 20,000 wireline broadband subscribers and had a tally of 11 lakh subscribers until 31 May 2016.
Please refer to figure 1 below for wireline broadband subscriber data of the top five players:

Overall, the top 5 wired broadband players have added 2.4 lakh subscribers (36.92 percent of total wireline broadband subscriber additions) between 1 January 2016 and 31May 2016 as opposed to the overall growth of 6.5 lakh subscribers in the country during the same period. Please refer to Fig 2 below:

In Mar-16, the largest ever number of wired broadband subscribers were added – in absolute numbers as well as in month-over-month (m-o-m) percentage terms. 2.3 lakh wired broadband subscribers were added, with m-o-m growth of 1.37 percent in Mar-16. The combined subscription numbers of the top 5 wired broadband players also had the largest ever subscriber additions in terms of absolute numbers at 1 lakh and at 0.71 percent in terms of m-o-m growth in Mar-16.

Thesubscriber numbers share of the top five wired broadband players in the country has reduced from 87.62 percent in Mar-15 to 83.45 percent as on May-16. During the same period the all India wireline internet subscriber base has grown 10.57 percent from 155.2 lakh to 171.6 lakh. The combined numbers of the top five players have increased by less than half of that in percentage terms – by 4.99 per cent from 136.4 lakh to 143.2 lakh. The top five players have added 6.8lakh subscribers during these 15 months, with ACT and Bharti Airtel contributing a major chunk to the growth.

Other wireline broadband players in India

MSOs’ in India have started providing internet services on the back of their television cable networks using Docsis technology. In general, they have started reporting double digit YoY increase in internet subscribers and revenue. The television cable players see broadband services improving their Average Revenue per User (ARPU) numbers. Three of the major MSOs and a regional MSO – Hathway, Siti Cable, Den Networks, Ortel Communications respectively whose results are available in the public domain have been showing steady growth in their broadband segment over the past few quarters. All the four have been reporting growth in average revenue per user (ARPU).

Overall broadband subscriber numbers for May 2016 including wireless and mobile

Overall, as per the reports received by TRAI from the service providers, the number ofbroadband subscribers (including wireless, mobile, dongles) increased from 151.09 million (15.109 crore) at the end of Apr-16 to 159.76 million (15.976 crore) at the end of May-16 with a monthly growth rate of 0.89 percent. The top five service providers constituted 84.32 percent market share of the totalbroadband subscribers at the end of May-16. These service providers were Airtel (40.80 million or 4.08 crore), Vodafone (31.55 million or 3.155 crore), Idea Cellular (25.70 million or 2.57 crore), BSNL (20.76 million 2.076 crore) and Reliance Communications Group (15.91 million or 1.591 crore).TRAI’s definition of broadband is internet download speeds greater than or equal to 512 Kpbs.

Notes:(1) The unit of currency in this report is the Indian rupee – Rs (also conventionally represented by INR).The Indian numbering system or the Vedic numbering system has been used to denote money values. The basic conversion to the international norm would be:
(a) 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10,000,000 = 10 million = 1 crore.
(b) 10,000 lakh = 100 crore = 1 arab = 1 billion.

(2) TRAI reports indicate data in millions of numbers up to 2 decimal places. Hence it is assumed in this report that a figure of 0.47 million (4.7 lakh) subscribers for You BB for July-2015 would be granular to the nearest 10,000. While percentages have been mentioned up to two decimal places, the accuracy may vary, depending upon the exact number.
(3) Industry sources say that TRAI numbers in the case of ACT for May-2015 are incorrect at 0.66 million and the correct number would be 0.693 million. This paper considers the number as 6.93 lakh or 0.693 million.
(4) MSOs’ have a number of subsidiaries and alliances, hence broadband numbers are split as applicable. The consolidated subscription numbers of these entities could be larger. Hathway is a case in point.

August 2, 2016
May-16: ACT leads wireline broadband subscriber additions

BENGALURU:Atria Convergence Technologies Private Limited (ACT, ACT Broadband) continued to lead wireline broadband internet (wireline broadband) subscribers in calendar year 2016 with 1.3 lakh subscribers added since 1 January 2016 until 31 May 2016. As per TRAI data, ACT had 8.6 lakh subscribers as on 31 December 2015 (Dec-15, or 1 January 2016), and it closed with 9.9 lakh subscribers on 31 May 2016 (May-16). At the time of writing this paper, ACT’s subscriber base should have crossed the 10 lakh (1 million) mark.

As per The Telecom regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) data, the top five players in India in the wireline broadband internet space in pecking order are the public sector Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Bharti Airtel Limited (Airtel), public sector Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL), Atria Convergence Technologies Private Limited (ACT, ACT Broadband) and You Broadband (You BB).

Among these 5, only BSNL and Airtel could be termed as national players at present. BSNL, Airtel and MTNL also provide wireline telephony voice and data and mobile services while Airtel also has a direct to home (DTH) segment. ACT started off as an MSO with operations concentrated in a few major cities and towns located mainly in South India. It started internet services (ACT Broadband) a little later and has grown its broadband internet subscriber base over time, to the extent that it is quite likely the biggest private wireline broadband player in South India. You BB offers broadband operations in a few cities in Maharashtra, Gujarat the NCR region Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

ACT was followed by Bharati Airtel Limited (Airtel) which added 1.2 lakh subscribers in calendar year 2016 until May-16. Airtel had 16.7 lakh wireline broadband subscribers on 1 January 2016. In May-16, it had 17.9 lakh subscribers. Among the top 5 wireline broadband players in India, You Broadband (You BB) was next with 40 thousand subscriber adds during the same period. The other two players among the top five wireline broadband internet subscribers in the country – the public sector telecom companies –reported decline in subscribers between the same period.

You BB began the year with 5.1 lakh subscribers and as on 31 May 2016 it had 5.5 lakh subscribers. BSNL, the largest wireline broadband player in the country, opened 2016 with 99.2 lakh subscribers, lost 30,000 subscribers until 31 May 2016. MTNL lost 20,000 wireline broadband subscribers and had a tally of 11 lakh subscribers until 31 May 2016.
Please refer to figure 1 below for wireline broadband subscriber data of the top five players:

Overall, the top 5 wired broadband players have added 2.4 lakh subscribers (36.92 percent of total wireline broadband subscriber additions) between 1 January 2016 and 31May 2016 as opposed to the overall growth of 6.5 lakh subscribers in the country during the same period. Please refer to Fig 2 below:

In Mar-16, the largest ever number of wired broadband subscribers were added – in absolute numbers as well as in month-over-month (m-o-m) percentage terms. 2.3 lakh wired broadband subscribers were added, with m-o-m growth of 1.37 percent in Mar-16. The combined subscription numbers of the top 5 wired broadband players also had the largest ever subscriber additions in terms of absolute numbers at 1 lakh and at 0.71 percent in terms of m-o-m growth in Mar-16.

Thesubscriber numbers share of the top five wired broadband players in the country has reduced from 87.62 percent in Mar-15 to 83.45 percent as on May-16. During the same period the all India wireline internet subscriber base has grown 10.57 percent from 155.2 lakh to 171.6 lakh. The combined numbers of the top five players have increased by less than half of that in percentage terms – by 4.99 per cent from 136.4 lakh to 143.2 lakh. The top five players have added 6.8lakh subscribers during these 15 months, with ACT and Bharti Airtel contributing a major chunk to the growth.

Other wireline broadband players in India

MSOs’ in India have started providing internet services on the back of their television cable networks using Docsis technology. In general, they have started reporting double digit YoY increase in internet subscribers and revenue. The television cable players see broadband services improving their Average Revenue per User (ARPU) numbers. Three of the major MSOs and a regional MSO – Hathway, Siti Cable, Den Networks, Ortel Communications respectively whose results are available in the public domain have been showing steady growth in their broadband segment over the past few quarters. All the four have been reporting growth in average revenue per user (ARPU).

Overall broadband subscriber numbers for May 2016 including wireless and mobile

Overall, as per the reports received by TRAI from the service providers, the number ofbroadband subscribers (including wireless, mobile, dongles) increased from 151.09 million (15.109 crore) at the end of Apr-16 to 159.76 million (15.976 crore) at the end of May-16 with a monthly growth rate of 0.89 percent. The top five service providers constituted 84.32 percent market share of the totalbroadband subscribers at the end of May-16. These service providers were Airtel (40.80 million or 4.08 crore), Vodafone (31.55 million or 3.155 crore), Idea Cellular (25.70 million or 2.57 crore), BSNL (20.76 million 2.076 crore) and Reliance Communications Group (15.91 million or 1.591 crore).TRAI’s definition of broadband is internet download speeds greater than or equal to 512 Kpbs.

Notes:(1) The unit of currency in this report is the Indian rupee – Rs (also conventionally represented by INR).The Indian numbering system or the Vedic numbering system has been used to denote money values. The basic conversion to the international norm would be:
(a) 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10,000,000 = 10 million = 1 crore.
(b) 10,000 lakh = 100 crore = 1 arab = 1 billion.

(2) TRAI reports indicate data in millions of numbers up to 2 decimal places. Hence it is assumed in this report that a figure of 0.47 million (4.7 lakh) subscribers for You BB for July-2015 would be granular to the nearest 10,000. While percentages have been mentioned up to two decimal places, the accuracy may vary, depending upon the exact number.
(3) Industry sources say that TRAI numbers in the case of ACT for May-2015 are incorrect at 0.66 million and the correct number would be 0.693 million. This paper considers the number as 6.93 lakh or 0.693 million.
(4) MSOs’ have a number of subsidiaries and alliances, hence broadband numbers are split as applicable. The consolidated subscription numbers of these entities could be larger. Hathway is a case in point.

August 2, 2016
BIF bats for OTT regulations & level-playing field for all in Net Neutrality debate

NEW DELHI: Broadband India Forum (BIF) has put its weight behind proposals to regulate OTT services, saying they too should be guided by same principles as ISPs and telecom service providers (TSP).

“There should be level playing field between the ISP/TSPs and the OTT players. OTT players need to be brought under the same regulatory regime as the ISP/TSPs,” BIF has said in a submission on a pre-consultation paper on Net Neutrality to telecoms and broadcast regulator TRAI.

TRAI has been seeking comments since March 2015 from stakeholders on the issue of Net Neutrality and related matters like OTT, zero-rating plans and possible regulations.

Since last year, several such papers have been issued by the regulator in an effort to finalise recommendations that could possibly go on to become industry regulations. BIF briefly alluded to this “piecemeal approach and not addressing the larger subject in one go” as this was fuelling ambiguities.

Batting for plans like zero-rating offered by some Indian telcos earlier and Facebook’s FreeBasic — since then outlawed by TRAI — the Forum says, “At our stage of development, our highest need is internet adoption and increased data usage and whatever facilitates that, needs to be heartily supported”.

Free Data should be permitted and it should be left to the service providers (ISP/TSPs) to decide whether they want to enter into such arrangement with the content providers or not basis their business case and requirement of technical development, BIF says.

In India, OTT services are flowering every day, keeping in step with Asian trends.

Some OTT services, available in India, include Star’s Hotstar, Zee’s dittotv, Viacom18’s Voot, Sony’s SonyLiv, Arre, Times group’s Box TV, Asian companies-owned Hooq and Viu and global giants like Netflix, apart from the likes of WhatsApp, Skype, YouTube and Hike.

No ex-ante regulation is required since there is enough competition and the market is vibrant enough, says the Forum, adding in case of violations, on ex-post basis, TRAI can examine tariff plans on a case by case basis after giving a reasonable opportunity to the operators of being heard.

Dwelling on the economics of broadband infrastructure, BIF highlights efficient services would require investments up to Rs 500,000 crore over the next 3-5 years. Moreover, as per Government commitments, the Digital India initiative itself will require investments to the tune of Rs. 113,000 crore.

“It was the flexibility of service pricing that was permitted to the TSPs that led to mass adoption of voice services. A similar approach is warranted for ensuring adoption of data services. However, entrepreneurs are reluctant to start a new Internet based businesses when online customers are limited due to low adoption of data services,” BIF has said, adding that consumers are unwilling to invest in “expensive data plans” in the absence of adequate local content.

Interestingly, BIF’s stand that telecoms is a capital–intensive sector where government mandates may hamper private investments, in some way, is also echoed by Hong Kong-based Asian organisation CASBAA.

“We do not believe TRAI or the government should adopt policies that result in reducing or rationing of funds for (telecom) network investment. Advocates of `networks for all, open to all’ sometimes tend to forget that capable networks are costly, and they will not build themselves,” CASBAA had said in its submission to TRAI on Net Neutrality last year.

Cautioning against replicating some existing regulation that may impede innovation, CASBAA had said TRAI and the government must avoid seeing the online content industry as another facet of the mature television content supply industry, ripe for extension of the same regulatory approaches governing the “traditional” TV industry.

“This would be a colossal mistake, especially at this new stage of development of online content supply in India. Overregulation will constrain development of newer business models which could be of great benefit to consumers and to India’s overall economic development,” the Asian industry organisation had said, hinting that a holistic view needs to be taken by regulators.

Similarly, BIF in its recent submission has said the question of modernization of communications regulation…should be reviewed holistically and periodically to ensure same services are treated in a technologically neutral way, while protecting consumer rights and achieving the objectives of Digital India.

The Forum has taken the initiative to define Net Neutrality in the Indian context and some key characteristics of Net Neutrality, amongst others, as:

– No Blocking
– No Throttling
– Open Internet
– No improper prioritization (paid or otherwise)
– Open, easy and non-discriminatory access
– Recognition of at least four categories of traffic and different traffic management techniques for different categories but having the same within each category
– Equitable regulatory treatment of similar or near-similar services
– Permission of zero rating systems.

(1 USD = 67.4874 INR)

July 8, 2016
BIF bats for OTT regulations & level-playing field for all in Net Neutrality debate

NEW DELHI: Broadband India Forum (BIF) has put its weight behind proposals to regulate OTT services, saying they too should be guided by same principles as ISPs and telecom service providers (TSP).

“There should be level playing field between the ISP/TSPs and the OTT players. OTT players need to be brought under the same regulatory regime as the ISP/TSPs,” BIF has said in a submission on a pre-consultation paper on Net Neutrality to telecoms and broadcast regulator TRAI.

TRAI has been seeking comments since March 2015 from stakeholders on the issue of Net Neutrality and related matters like OTT, zero-rating plans and possible regulations.

Since last year, several such papers have been issued by the regulator in an effort to finalise recommendations that could possibly go on to become industry regulations. BIF briefly alluded to this “piecemeal approach and not addressing the larger subject in one go” as this was fuelling ambiguities.

Batting for plans like zero-rating offered by some Indian telcos earlier and Facebook’s FreeBasic — since then outlawed by TRAI — the Forum says, “At our stage of development, our highest need is internet adoption and increased data usage and whatever facilitates that, needs to be heartily supported”.

Free Data should be permitted and it should be left to the service providers (ISP/TSPs) to decide whether they want to enter into such arrangement with the content providers or not basis their business case and requirement of technical development, BIF says.

In India, OTT services are flowering every day, keeping in step with Asian trends.

Some OTT services, available in India, include Star’s Hotstar, Zee’s dittotv, Viacom18’s Voot, Sony’s SonyLiv, Arre, Times group’s Box TV, Asian companies-owned Hooq and Viu and global giants like Netflix, apart from the likes of WhatsApp, Skype, YouTube and Hike.

No ex-ante regulation is required since there is enough competition and the market is vibrant enough, says the Forum, adding in case of violations, on ex-post basis, TRAI can examine tariff plans on a case by case basis after giving a reasonable opportunity to the operators of being heard.

Dwelling on the economics of broadband infrastructure, BIF highlights efficient services would require investments up to Rs 500,000 crore over the next 3-5 years. Moreover, as per Government commitments, the Digital India initiative itself will require investments to the tune of Rs. 113,000 crore.

“It was the flexibility of service pricing that was permitted to the TSPs that led to mass adoption of voice services. A similar approach is warranted for ensuring adoption of data services. However, entrepreneurs are reluctant to start a new Internet based businesses when online customers are limited due to low adoption of data services,” BIF has said, adding that consumers are unwilling to invest in “expensive data plans” in the absence of adequate local content.

Interestingly, BIF’s stand that telecoms is a capital–intensive sector where government mandates may hamper private investments, in some way, is also echoed by Hong Kong-based Asian organisation CASBAA.

“We do not believe TRAI or the government should adopt policies that result in reducing or rationing of funds for (telecom) network investment. Advocates of `networks for all, open to all’ sometimes tend to forget that capable networks are costly, and they will not build themselves,” CASBAA had said in its submission to TRAI on Net Neutrality last year.

Cautioning against replicating some existing regulation that may impede innovation, CASBAA had said TRAI and the government must avoid seeing the online content industry as another facet of the mature television content supply industry, ripe for extension of the same regulatory approaches governing the “traditional” TV industry.

“This would be a colossal mistake, especially at this new stage of development of online content supply in India. Overregulation will constrain development of newer business models which could be of great benefit to consumers and to India’s overall economic development,” the Asian industry organisation had said, hinting that a holistic view needs to be taken by regulators.

Similarly, BIF in its recent submission has said the question of modernization of communications regulation…should be reviewed holistically and periodically to ensure same services are treated in a technologically neutral way, while protecting consumer rights and achieving the objectives of Digital India.

The Forum has taken the initiative to define Net Neutrality in the Indian context and some key characteristics of Net Neutrality, amongst others, as:

– No Blocking
– No Throttling
– Open Internet
– No improper prioritization (paid or otherwise)
– Open, easy and non-discriminatory access
– Recognition of at least four categories of traffic and different traffic management techniques for different categories but having the same within each category
– Equitable regulatory treatment of similar or near-similar services
– Permission of zero rating systems.

(1 USD = 67.4874 INR)

July 8, 2016
RJIL issues INR 2,000 crore 5-year NCDs

MUMBAI: Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (RJIL), a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), today issued INR 2,000 crore of 5 year Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs), bearing a coupon of 8.32% per annum, payable annually. The issue has been assigned a rating of AAA by CRISIL and ICRA. The proceeds of the issuance shall be utilized by RJIL for rolling out a state-of-the-art digital services business in India.

RJIL is the first issuer outside the financial services industry in India, to raise funds digitally through the EBP route. This is also the largest debt issuance in the Indian market by any issuer since the electronic bidding platform has been mandated by SEBI for private placement of debt, effective 1st July this year.

The transaction was fully subscribed within minutes of opening and was eventually over-subscribed with a total book size in excess of INR 3500 crores, Reliance Jio said. Key investors include the prominent asset management companies and banks.

“We are overwhelmed by the response that we have received for our maiden issuance on the BSE-BOND platform. It reinforces the faith investors have in our next generation digital services business. The launch of the EBP platform is a significant step towards the development of market infrastructure for Indian Corporate Bond market. It will make the debt issuance process significantly more smooth and transparent for issuers as well as investors” said Soumyo Dutta, Treasurer, Reliance Industries Limited.

July 7, 2016