Tag: ACT

Broadband subs growth slows further, wireline broadband loses subs

BENGALURU: The growth of broadband subscribers has been slowing over the past few months. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India data for the month of May 2017 (as on 31 May 2017) indicates that wireless internet subscribers increased by just 0.22 percent in May-17 to 272.85 million from 265.43 million in April 2017. Top five broadband internet service providers constituted 88.23 percent market share of the total broadband subscribers at the end of May-17. These service providers were Reliance JioInfocom Ltd (117.34 million), Bharti Airtel (53.30 million), Vodafone (40.43 million), Idea Cellular (24.63 million) and BSNL (21.59 million).

As on 31 May, 2017, the top five Wireless Broadband Service providers were Reliance JioInfocomm Ltd or Jio (117.34 million), Bharti Airtel (51.21 million), Vodafone (40.42 million), Idea Cellular (24.63 million) and Reliance Communications (14.46 million). Month-on-Month (MoM) growth in May-17 as compared to April-17 was:

Please refer to the figures below:

Overall growth of mobile broadband subscribers in May-17 with respect to April-17 was: 3.12 percent; Jiogrew by 4.2 percent; Airtel grew by 2.07 percent; Vodafone by 1.69 percent; Idea Cellular by 2.24 percent and Reliance Communications grew by 3.29 percent. The upside of the growth numbers was that both Idea Cellular and Reliance Communications witnessed positive subscriber growth in May-17 as opposed to de-growth in the previous month (April-17) as compared to March-17.

In the meantime, wired broadband internet subscribers declined 0.11 percent in May-17 to 18.23 million from 18.25 million in April-17. As on 31 May, 2017, the top five Wired Broadband Service providers were BSNL (9.80 million), Bharti Airtel (2.09 million), Atria Convergence Technologies (1.20 million), MTNL (0.99 million) and You Broadband (0.64 million). Among the top 5 wired broadband internet service providers the government run providers – Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Limited (MTNL) lost subscribers, Airtel saw no change, while the minnows ACT and You Broadband both gained subscribers in May17 as compared to April 17

In CY-17 until May-17, ACT has added the largest number of wired internet subscribers at 80,000, followed by Airtel with 50,000 additions. You BB added 40,000 subscribers, while BSNL lost 150,000 and MTNL lost 50,000 subscribers during the same period.

Notes: (1) The Indian numbering system or the Vedic numbering system has been used at some places in this paper/charts to denote numerical 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 0.51 million (5.1 lakh) subscribers for You BB for Dec-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) 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.

July 17, 2017
ACT still leads in wired sub addition, Idea & BSNL lose wireless subs

BENGALURU: Atria Convergence Technologies Pvt. Ltd (ACT) continued to lead in wired broadband internet subscribers additions in calendar year 2017 (CY-17) until 30April 2017 (Apr-17) as per data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). ACT added 70,000 subscribers, of which 20,000 were added inApril 2017 followed by Indian telecom major Bharti Airtel Limited (Airtel) and You Broadband which added 10,000 subscribers each during the same period.

The MukeshDhirubhaiAmbani led Reliance Industries Limited juggernaut Reliance JioInfocom Limited (Jio) continued as the company with the largest wireless broadband internet subscriber base in the country – all of it being wireless so far. Having overtaken the incumbent biggest wireless broad band internet player until Oct-16, Airtel, Jio had a subscriber base of 112.55 million (1125.5 lakh) in Apr-17. Its peers in the wireless internet space – Idea and BSNLbled subscribers. Idea Cellular lost 2.95 million (29.5 lakh) subscribers in the month of April 2017, while BSNL lost 1.22 million (12.2 lakh) subscribers during the same period.

1.1 lakh (0.11 million) wired broadband internet subscribers were added in CY-17 as per TRAI data. Among the wireline ISP’s,BSNL is the biggest player by far with 99.7 lakh subscribers. BSNL lost 10,000 wired broadband subscribers in CY-17.The second largest wireline ISP in India is Airtel, which closed Apr-17 with 20.9 lakh wireline subscribers, after adding just 10,000 subscribers to its wireline internet subscriber base during Apr-17 and 50,000 in CY-17. The third largest wireline broadband internet services provider was regional private player ACT Broadband with a subscriber base of 11.9 lakh at the end of Apr-18. The government run Mahanagar Sanchar Nigam Limited (MTNL) lost 40,000 subscribers in CY-17 and had a subscriber base of 10 lakh at the end of Apr-17. The fifth player in the list of top five wireline broadband internet service providers in the country is another regional player – You Broadband or You BB. The minnow’s subscriber base grew by 10,000 to 0.63 million (6.3 lakh) in Apr-17 vis-à-vis Mar-17. Please refer to the figure below:

The wireless broadband internet subscriber basein India in CY-17 grew 22.12 percent (48.07 million) from 217.36million to 265.43million in Apr-17. It was 251.71 million in Mar-17. During the same period, the wireless broadband subscriber base of the top five service providers grew by 52.09 million, indicating in general that though the overall wireless subscriber base grew, a number of subscribers switched loyalties and moved to 4 of the 5 top players – (Idea Cellular has lost subscribers, the other 4 players have gained in CY-2017).

The top five service wireless internet service providers subscriber base grew 3.44 percent (52.9 million) between Mar-17 and Apr-17. The top five wireless service providers constituted 88.04 percent market share (87.48 percent in Mar-17) of the total broadband subscribers at the end of Apr-17. These service providers were Jio(112.55 million), Airtel (52.25 million), Vodafone (39.76 million), Idea Cellular (24.09 million) and BSNL (21.58 million).

Please refer to the figure below for subscriber base of top 5 wireless broadband internet service providers:

Among the top 5 wireless broadband internet services providers in the country, Jio has shown the highest growth. Please refer to the figure below for growth of top 5 wireless broadband internet service providers in the country:

Notes: (1) The Indian numbering system or the Vedic numbering system has been used at some places in this paper/charts to denote numerical 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 0.51 million (5.1 lakh) subscribers for You BB for Dec-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) 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.

June 15, 2017
Jio juggernaut rolls on, wired segment wobbles

BENGALURU: In November 2016, the MukeshAmbani run ‘world’s biggest startup’ – Reliance Jio or simply Jio, became the largest private broadband internet services provider (ISP) in the country as per data revealed by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) for month of November 2016 (Nov-16) with 5.223 crore subscribers. Jio’s subscriber base is wireless. Over the next 31 days until the end of calendar year 2016 (CY-16) and the month December 2016 (Dec-16), Jio juggernaut added another 1.993 crore subscribers to reach a base of 7.216 crore subscribers.In the press release announcing Reliance Industries numbers for the quarter ended 31 December 2016 (Q3-17), Ambani said, “I delighted by our country’s eagerness to adopt to a digital life as witnessed by the recordbreakinglaunch of Jio. Its comprehensive ecosystem has enabled millions of Indians to lead a richerlife through its offerings.”

Jio is now far ahead of the number two player Bharti Airtel Limited (Airtel) which saw further erosion of its wireless subscriber base to 4.153 crore from 4.190 crore in Nov-16. Among the other three players in the top five private wireless ISP’s list, Idea Cellular saw its subscriber decline in Dec-16 to 2.704 crore from 2.84 crore in Nov-16. Vodafone, the third largest wireless ISP saw a small growth in its subscriber base in Dec-16 to 3.501 crore from 3.487 crore in Nov-16, while Reliance Communications reported a steady 1.608 crore subscribers in both Nov-16 and Dec-16. The government run Bharat Sanchar Limited (BSNL), which is actually the fourth largest wireless ISP in terms of subscribers saw its base erode to 2.036 crore in Dec-16 from 2.039 crore.The top five service providers constituted 83.93 percent market share of the totalbroadband subscribers at the end of Dec-16.

Wireline Broadband Internet

Besides wireless broadband, a number of players also offer wired or wireline broadband services. Among the wireline ISP’s BSNL is the biggest player by far with 99.5 lakh subscribers. BSNL’s combined wireless and wireline subscribers is 3.301 crore, which would make it the third largest ISP in terms of subscribers. The second largest wireline ISP in India is Airtel which closed 2016 with 20.4 lakh wireline subscribers, after adding just 10,000 subscribers to its wireline internet subscriber base. Airtel’s combined wireless and wireline subscriber base was 4.357 crore as on 31 December 2016. The third largest wireline broadband internet services provider was regional private player ACT Broadband lost 20,000 subscribers in Dec-16 to reach a subscriber base of 11.2 lakh. The government run Mahanagar Sanchar Nigam Limited (MTNL) also lost 10,000 subscribers in Dec-16 to a lowered subscriber base of 10.4 lakh. The fifth player in the list of top five wireline broadband internet service providers in the country is another regional player – You Broadband or You BB. There was no change in the minnow’s subscriber base of 6 lakh in Dec-16 vis-à-vis Nov-16.

Overall, the internet subscriber base in the country grew 8.89 percent (by 1.882 crore) month-on-month (m-o-m) to 23.609 crore in Dec-16 with from 21.827 crore Nov-16. Wireline broadband subscriber base grew 0.48 percent (by 80,000) m-o-m to 1.814 crore in Dec-16 from 1.806 crore in Nov-16 and grew by 16.3 lakh from 1.651 crore as on 31 December 2016 or 1 January 2016. Please refer to figure A below.

Leading the growth in subscriber additions in CY-16 (Jan-16 until Dec-16)were private wired broadband players Bharti Airtel , and regional player ACT with additions of 3.7 lakh and 2.6 lakh subscriber additions respectively in CY-16. Airtel’s wired broadband subscriber base grew 22.16 percent, while ACT’s base grew by 30.23 percent during the same period (CY-16 until Dec-16). In CY-15 (1 January 2015 to 31 December 2015), Airtel had added 2.6 lakh wired broadband subscribers and grown by 18.44 percent, while ACT had added 2.5 lakh subscribers and had grown at a blazing 40.98 percent. By Sep-16, Airtel had already exceeded the number of subscribers it had added in CY-15, while ACT had crossed its CY-15 performance in Oct-16.

Figure B below indicates the m-o-m subscriber growth in CY-16. As is obvious, though the wireline subscriber base grew 0.48 percent, the combined subscriber base of the top five wireline ISP’s shrank by 0.14 percent (reduced by 20,000) in Dec-16 as compared to Nov-16.

The top five players have had a slower rate of growth as compared to the all India growth in CY-16 until Dec-16. The share of the top five players among all India wired broadband subscriber additions has fallen in CY-16 until Dec-16 from 85.28 percent as on 1 January 2016 to 81.31 percent as on 31 December 2016. The share of these players was 88.45 percent as on 1 January 2015.

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 and triple digit year-over-year (y-o-y) 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 Networks Limited, Den Networks Limited , Ortel Communications Limited respectivelywhose results are available in the public domain have been showing steady growth in their broadband segment over the past few quarters.

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 0.51 million (5.1 lakh) subscribers for You BB for Dec-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) 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.

February 20, 2017
Jio Fibre rolls out in Mumbai; Airtel FTTH, ACT to match pace

MUMBAI: The rollout of Reliance Jio fibre has begun. Jio has started laying Jio Fibre in Mumbai. It will soon help provide a speed of up to 100mbps. People living in several buildings in Mumbai would be able to subscribe to the service.

Jio however is not the only company that upping its FTTH game. Most of the major internet service providers as well as startups such as ACT are offering new FTTH plans in select areas. Airtel too is planning to expand its FTTH services. Late last year, Airtel used ‘V Fibre’ technology to start FTTH service in Chennai, assuring 100mbps speed to subscribers and also offered three months of free service, India Today reported.

The wireless 4G services of Jio are happening. A part of its upcoming plans is soon to come Fibre To The Home (FTTH) service. In November 2016, the company had stated that it would soon plan to “disrupt” the broadband market. Reliance already has an extensive backbone of the fibre network across the length and breadth of India.

Jio has established up Jio Fibre connectivity inside a number of buildings and people are already using it. For the first three months, the service is reportedly free. Although Jio had earlier planned to deliver speeds of up to 1 GBPs with its FTTH service; however users are receiving a speed between 70mbps and 100mbps. Jio may prepare to ramp up speed in a few days.

In November, Reliance had stated that it planned to bundle fast broadband service with multimedia services. Jio Fibre is being offered for free; however there would be a one-time charge of Rs 4500 for the router that it is installing in user homes.

Also Read :

‘Broadcasters could consider different pricing for rural-urban subscribers’

Reliance Jio to offer 1GBps broadband service to homes

Reliance Jio declares readiness for 4G launch; imports IPTV STBs

January 12, 2017
Jio Fibre rolls out in Mumbai; Airtel FTTH, ACT to match pace

MUMBAI: The rollout of Reliance Jio fibre has begun. Jio has started laying Jio Fibre in Mumbai. It will soon help provide a speed of up to 100mbps. People living in several buildings in Mumbai would be able to subscribe to the service.

Jio however is not the only company that upping its FTTH game. Most of the major internet service providers as well as startups such as ACT are offering new FTTH plans in select areas. Airtel too is planning to expand its FTTH services. Late last year, Airtel used ‘V Fibre’ technology to start FTTH service in Chennai, assuring 100mbps speed to subscribers and also offered three months of free service, India Today reported.

The wireless 4G services of Jio are happening. A part of its upcoming plans is soon to come Fibre To The Home (FTTH) service. In November 2016, the company had stated that it would soon plan to “disrupt” the broadband market. Reliance already has an extensive backbone of the fibre network across the length and breadth of India.

Jio has established up Jio Fibre connectivity inside a number of buildings and people are already using it. For the first three months, the service is reportedly free. Although Jio had earlier planned to deliver speeds of up to 1 GBPs with its FTTH service; however users are receiving a speed between 70mbps and 100mbps. Jio may prepare to ramp up speed in a few days.

In November, Reliance had stated that it planned to bundle fast broadband service with multimedia services. Jio Fibre is being offered for free; however there would be a one-time charge of Rs 4500 for the router that it is installing in user homes.

Also Read :

‘Broadcasters could consider different pricing for rural-urban subscribers’

Reliance Jio to offer 1GBps broadband service to homes

Reliance Jio declares readiness for 4G launch; imports IPTV STBs

January 12, 2017
BSNL leader in wireline b’band subs addition in Oct-16; Jio joins top five wireless list

BENGALURU: In a change from the norm, the public sector telecom giant Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) added 40,000 wireline broadband internet subscribers in the month of September 2016 (Sep-16). Continuing the new trend, the pub sector player added another 60,000 subscribers in the month of October 2016 (Oct-16).

Earlier, BSNL had been consistently losing subscribers in the calendar year 2016 (CY-16) until 31 August 2016 (Aug-16). Its gain in Sep-16 was just half the 80,000 subscribers it has lost in CY-16 until Sep-16.With the Oct-16 growth in subscribers, BSNL has shown growth by 20,000 in subscribers for calendar year CY-16 until 31 October 2016.

Reliance JioInfocom Limited with 35.94 million (3.594 crore) joined the top 5 broadband services subscribers list in Oct-16.

At the same time, the other public sector telecom operator – Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Limited (MTNL) has also been bleeding wireline broadband internet subscribers in CY-16 until Oct-16. MTNL has seen a reduction of 60,000 subscribers in CY-16.Overall, the two public sector players have lost subscribers during CY-16 until Oct-16 and hence dampened the subscriber growth rate among the top five wired broadband internet players.

The wireline broadband internet (broadband) subscriber base in the country grew by 9.09 percent (by 15 lakh or 1.5 million) in the period between 31 December 2015 (Dec-15) or1 January 2016 until 31 October 2016 (Oct-16), from 165.1 lakh to 180.1 lakh. Telecom subscription data released by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) for Oct-16 reveals that the contribution by the top five players’ was just 5.8 lakh new subscribers or 16.77 percent growth in the current calendar year until Oct-16 (CY-16).

Overall, wired broadband subscribers grew 0.95 percent month-on-month (MoM) in Oct-16. The All India wired broadband base grew from 178.4 lakh to 180.1 lakh, while the five top players grew by 0.55 percent in Oct-16 as compared to 0.69 percent in Sep-16.

Leading the growth in subscriber additions in CY-16 until Oct-16 are private wired broadband players Bharti Airtel (Airtel, 10,000 additions in Oct-16) and regional player Atria Convergence Technologies Pvt Ltd (ACT, 10,000 additions in Oct-16) with additions of 2.8 lakh and 2.6 lakh subscriber additions respectively in CY-16 until Oct-16. Airtel’s wired broadband subscriber base grew 16.77 percent, while ACT’s base grew by 30.23 percent during the same period (CY-16 until Oct-16). In CY-15 (1 January 2015 to 31 December 2015), Airtel had added 2.6 lakh wired broadband subscribers and grown by 18.44 percent, while ACT added 2.5 lakh subscribers and had grown at a blazing 40.98 percent. By Sep-16, Airtel had already exceeded the number of subscribers it had added in CY-15, while ACT has equalled its CY-15 performance.Hence, by the end of 2016, with reports for two more months to be published as yet, the two players should add a lot more subscribers than they did in CY-15.

While Airtel is a national level player, ACT is a regional player with operations in South India, hence probably making ACT the largest private wireline broadband player in South India. ACT has replaced the public sector MTNL at third place, pushing the latter to fourth spot in Aug-16 in terms of number of subscribers.Another private player among the top five – You Broadband (You BB) has added 80,000 subscribers (15.69 percent growth) in the current year until Oct-16.

Among the 5 top wireline broadband internet players in India, the public sector telecom player Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) leads by far with 99.4 lakh total number of wireline broadband subscribers as on Oct-16. However, as mentioned above, BSNL had seen its broadband subscriber base shrink by 80,000 in CY-16 until Aug-16. The largest private sector wireline broadband internet services player Airtel had 19.5 lakh subscribers as on 31 October 2016, ACT with 11.2 lakh subscribers was next and was followed by the other public sector player –MTNL with 10.6 lakh subscribers. You Broadband (You BB) with 5.9 lakh subscribers was the fifth.

Please refer to Fig 1 below for wireline subscriber data in CY-16 until Oct-16.

The top five players have had a slower rate of growth as compared to the all India growth in CY-16 until Oct-16. The share of the top five players among all India wired broadband subscriber addition has fallen in CY-16 until Oct-16 from 85.28 percent as on 1 January 2016 to 81.40 percent as on 31 October 2016. The share of these players was 88.45 percent as on 1 January 2015.

Month-on-month (m-o-m), the all India wired broadband subscriber base witnessed the second highest growth in CY-16 until Sep-16 in Aug-16 at 1.03 percent, while the top 5 players had a growth of 0.28 percent in that month. Please refer to figure 2 below:

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 and triple digit year-over-year (y-o-y) 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 Networks Limited, Den Networks Limited , Ortel Communications Limited respectively whose results are available in the public domain have been showing steady growth in their broadband segment over the past few quarters.

Overall broadband subscriber numbers for October 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) grew by a massive 13.59 percent or 26.12 million (2.612 crore) to 218.42 crore (21.842 crore) from 192.30 million (19.23 crore).

The growth was led by wireless broadband subscriber numbers that use mobiles and dongles for internet access have increased m-o-m by14.97 percent by 26.03million or 260.3 lakh to 199.90 million (19.99 crore) in Oct-16 from 178.4 million (17.84 crore) in Sep-16.Fixed wireless subscribers that access the internet through Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, Point-to-point radio and VSAT remained steady in Sep-16 and Oct-16 at 0.60 million (6 lakh).

The top five service providers constituted 80.36 percent market share of the totalbroadband subscribers at the end of Oct-16. These service providerswere Bharti Airtel (48.17 million or 4.817 crore), Vodafone (40.19 million or 4.019 crore), Reliance JioInfocom Limited with 35.94 million (3.594 crore),Idea Cellular which saw a decline in subscribers from30.72 million(3.072 crore) in Sep-16 to 29.76 million (2.976 crore) and, BSNL which also saw in a slight subscriber base decline from (21.60 million 2.16 crore) to 21.46 million or 2.146 crore. Reliance Communications Group which had (16.74 million 1.674 crore) in Sep-16 exited the top five list.

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 0.51 million (5.1 lakh) subscribers for You BB for Dec-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) 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.

January 10, 2017
BSNL leader in wireline b’band subs addition in Oct-16; Jio joins top five wireless list

BENGALURU: In a change from the norm, the public sector telecom giant Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) added 40,000 wireline broadband internet subscribers in the month of September 2016 (Sep-16). Continuing the new trend, the pub sector player added another 60,000 subscribers in the month of October 2016 (Oct-16).

Earlier, BSNL had been consistently losing subscribers in the calendar year 2016 (CY-16) until 31 August 2016 (Aug-16). Its gain in Sep-16 was just half the 80,000 subscribers it has lost in CY-16 until Sep-16.With the Oct-16 growth in subscribers, BSNL has shown growth by 20,000 in subscribers for calendar year CY-16 until 31 October 2016.

Reliance JioInfocom Limited with 35.94 million (3.594 crore) joined the top 5 broadband services subscribers list in Oct-16.

At the same time, the other public sector telecom operator – Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Limited (MTNL) has also been bleeding wireline broadband internet subscribers in CY-16 until Oct-16. MTNL has seen a reduction of 60,000 subscribers in CY-16.Overall, the two public sector players have lost subscribers during CY-16 until Oct-16 and hence dampened the subscriber growth rate among the top five wired broadband internet players.

The wireline broadband internet (broadband) subscriber base in the country grew by 9.09 percent (by 15 lakh or 1.5 million) in the period between 31 December 2015 (Dec-15) or1 January 2016 until 31 October 2016 (Oct-16), from 165.1 lakh to 180.1 lakh. Telecom subscription data released by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) for Oct-16 reveals that the contribution by the top five players’ was just 5.8 lakh new subscribers or 16.77 percent growth in the current calendar year until Oct-16 (CY-16).

Overall, wired broadband subscribers grew 0.95 percent month-on-month (MoM) in Oct-16. The All India wired broadband base grew from 178.4 lakh to 180.1 lakh, while the five top players grew by 0.55 percent in Oct-16 as compared to 0.69 percent in Sep-16.

Leading the growth in subscriber additions in CY-16 until Oct-16 are private wired broadband players Bharti Airtel (Airtel, 10,000 additions in Oct-16) and regional player Atria Convergence Technologies Pvt Ltd (ACT, 10,000 additions in Oct-16) with additions of 2.8 lakh and 2.6 lakh subscriber additions respectively in CY-16 until Oct-16. Airtel’s wired broadband subscriber base grew 16.77 percent, while ACT’s base grew by 30.23 percent during the same period (CY-16 until Oct-16). In CY-15 (1 January 2015 to 31 December 2015), Airtel had added 2.6 lakh wired broadband subscribers and grown by 18.44 percent, while ACT added 2.5 lakh subscribers and had grown at a blazing 40.98 percent. By Sep-16, Airtel had already exceeded the number of subscribers it had added in CY-15, while ACT has equalled its CY-15 performance.Hence, by the end of 2016, with reports for two more months to be published as yet, the two players should add a lot more subscribers than they did in CY-15.

While Airtel is a national level player, ACT is a regional player with operations in South India, hence probably making ACT the largest private wireline broadband player in South India. ACT has replaced the public sector MTNL at third place, pushing the latter to fourth spot in Aug-16 in terms of number of subscribers.Another private player among the top five – You Broadband (You BB) has added 80,000 subscribers (15.69 percent growth) in the current year until Oct-16.

Among the 5 top wireline broadband internet players in India, the public sector telecom player Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) leads by far with 99.4 lakh total number of wireline broadband subscribers as on Oct-16. However, as mentioned above, BSNL had seen its broadband subscriber base shrink by 80,000 in CY-16 until Aug-16. The largest private sector wireline broadband internet services player Airtel had 19.5 lakh subscribers as on 31 October 2016, ACT with 11.2 lakh subscribers was next and was followed by the other public sector player –MTNL with 10.6 lakh subscribers. You Broadband (You BB) with 5.9 lakh subscribers was the fifth.

Please refer to Fig 1 below for wireline subscriber data in CY-16 until Oct-16.

The top five players have had a slower rate of growth as compared to the all India growth in CY-16 until Oct-16. The share of the top five players among all India wired broadband subscriber addition has fallen in CY-16 until Oct-16 from 85.28 percent as on 1 January 2016 to 81.40 percent as on 31 October 2016. The share of these players was 88.45 percent as on 1 January 2015.

Month-on-month (m-o-m), the all India wired broadband subscriber base witnessed the second highest growth in CY-16 until Sep-16 in Aug-16 at 1.03 percent, while the top 5 players had a growth of 0.28 percent in that month. Please refer to figure 2 below:

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 and triple digit year-over-year (y-o-y) 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 Networks Limited, Den Networks Limited , Ortel Communications Limited respectively whose results are available in the public domain have been showing steady growth in their broadband segment over the past few quarters.

Overall broadband subscriber numbers for October 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) grew by a massive 13.59 percent or 26.12 million (2.612 crore) to 218.42 crore (21.842 crore) from 192.30 million (19.23 crore).

The growth was led by wireless broadband subscriber numbers that use mobiles and dongles for internet access have increased m-o-m by14.97 percent by 26.03million or 260.3 lakh to 199.90 million (19.99 crore) in Oct-16 from 178.4 million (17.84 crore) in Sep-16.Fixed wireless subscribers that access the internet through Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, Point-to-point radio and VSAT remained steady in Sep-16 and Oct-16 at 0.60 million (6 lakh).

The top five service providers constituted 80.36 percent market share of the totalbroadband subscribers at the end of Oct-16. These service providerswere Bharti Airtel (48.17 million or 4.817 crore), Vodafone (40.19 million or 4.019 crore), Reliance JioInfocom Limited with 35.94 million (3.594 crore),Idea Cellular which saw a decline in subscribers from30.72 million(3.072 crore) in Sep-16 to 29.76 million (2.976 crore) and, BSNL which also saw in a slight subscriber base decline from (21.60 million 2.16 crore) to 21.46 million or 2.146 crore. Reliance Communications Group which had (16.74 million 1.674 crore) in Sep-16 exited the top five list.

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 0.51 million (5.1 lakh) subscribers for You BB for Dec-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) 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.

January 10, 2017
BSNL leads in wireline broadband internet subs addition in Sep-16

BENGALURU: In a change from the norm, the public sector telecom giant Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) added 40,000 wireline broadband internet subscribers in the month of September 2016 (Sep-16). BSNL had been consistently losing subscribers in the calendar year 2016 (CY-16) until 31 August 2016 (Aug-16). Its gain in Sep-16 was just half the 80,000 subscribers it has lost in CY-16 until Sep-16. At the same time, the other public sector telecom operator – Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Limited (MTNL) has also been bleeding wireline broadband internet subscribers in CY-16 until Sep-16. MTNL has also seen a reduction of 50,000 subscribers in CY-16.Overall, the two public sector players have lost subscribers during CY-16 until Sep-16 and hence dampened the subscriber growth rate among the top five wired broadband internet players.

The wireline broadband internet (broadband) subscriber base in the country grew by 8.06 percent (by 13.3 lakh or 1.33 million) in the period between 31 December 2015 (Dec-15) or1 January 2016 until 30 September 2016 (Sep-16), from 165.1 lakh to 178.4 lakh. Telecom subscription data released by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) for Sep-16 reveals that the contribution by the top five players’ was just 5 lakh new subscribers or 3.55 percent growth in the current calendar year until Sep-16 (CY-16).Overall, wired broadband subscribers grew 0.96 percent month-on-month (MoM) in Sep-16. The All India wired broadband base grew from 176.7 lakh to 178.4 lakh, while the five top players grew by 0.69 percent in Sep-16 as compared to Aug-16.

Leading the growth in subscriber additions in CY-16 until Sep-16 are private wired broadband players Bharti Airtel (Airtel, 30,000 additions in Sep-16) and regional player Atria Convergence Technologies Pvt Ltd (ACT, 20,000 additions in Sep-16) with additions of 2.7 lakh and 2.5 lakh subscriber additions respectively in CY-16 until Sep-16. Airtel’s wired broadband subscriber base grew 16.17 percent, while ACT’s base grew by 29.07 percent during the same period (CY-16 until Sep-16). In CY-15 (1 January 2015 to 31 December 2015), Airtel had added 2.6 lakh wired broadband subscribers and grown by 18.44 percent, while ACT added 2.5 lakh subscribers and had grown at a blazing 40.98 percent. By Sep-16, Airtel has already exceeded the number of subscribers it had added in CY-15, while ACT has equalled its CY-15 performance Hence, by the end of 2016, with reports for a quarter of year to be published as yet, the two players should add a lot more subscribers than they did in CY-15.

While Airtel is a national level player, ACT is a regional player with operations in South India, hence probably making ACT the largest private wireline broadband player in South India. ACT has replaced the public sector MTNL at third place, pushing the latter to fourth spot in Aug-16 in terms of number of subscribers.Another private player among the top five – You Broadband (You BB) has added 70,000 subscribers (13.73 percent growth) in the current year until Sep-16.

Among the 5 top wireline broadband internet players in India, the public sector telecom player Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) leads by far with 98.8 lakh total number of wireline broadband subscribers as on Sep-16. However, as mentioned above, BSNL had seen its broadband subscriber base shrink by 80,000 in CY-16 until Aug-16. The largest private sector wireline broadband internet services player Airtel had 19.1 lakh subscribers as on 30 September 2016, ACT with 11.1 lakh subscribers was next and was followed by the other public sector player –MTNL with 10.7 lakh subscribers. You Broadband (You BB) with 5.8 lakh subscribers was the fifth.

Please refer to Fig 1 below for wireline subscriber data in CY-16 until Sep-16.

The top five players have had a slower rate of growth as compared to the all India growth in CY-16 until Sep-16. The share of the top five players among all India wired broadband subscriber addition has fallen in CY-16 until Sep-16 from 85.28 percent as on 1 January 2016 to 81.73 percent as on 30 September 2016. The share of these players was 88.45 percent as on 1 January 2015.

Month-on-month (m-o-m), the all India wired broadband subscriber base witnessed the second highest growth in CY-16 until Sep-16 in Aug-16 at 1.03 percent, while the top 5 players had a growth of 0.28 percent in that month. Please refer to figure 2 below:

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 and triple digit year-over-year (y-o-y) 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 Networks Limited, Den Networks Limited , Ortel Communications Limited respectively whose results are available in the public domain have been showing steady growth in their broadband segment over the past few quarters.

Overall broadband subscriber numbers for September 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) grew by a massive 11.99 percent by 20.59million or 205.9 lakh to 192.30 million (19.32 crore) in Sep-16 from 171.71 million (17.171 crore) in Aug-16. The growth was led by Wireless broadband subscriber numbers that use mobiles and dongles for internet access have increased m-o-m by 13.31 percent in Sep-16 to 173.87 million (17.387 crore) from 153.45 million (15.345 crore) in Aug-16. Fixed wireless subscribers that access the internet through Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, Point-to-point radio and VSAT have increased 1.27 percent in Sep-16 to to 0.60 million (6 lakh) from 0.59 million (5.9 lakh) in Aug-16.

The top five service providers constituted 78.62 percent market share of the totalbroadband subscribers at the end of Aug-16. These service providerswere Bharti Airtel (46.19 million or 4.619 crore), Vodafone (35.94 million or 3.594 crore), Idea Cellular(30.72 million 3.072 crore), BSNL (21.60 million 2.16 crore) and Reliance Communications Group (16.74 million 1.674 crore).

As on 30 September, 2016, the top five Wireless Broadband Serviceproviders were Bharti Airtel (44.25 million, 4.425 crore), Vodafone (35.93 million, 3.593 crore),Idea Cellular (30.72 million, 3.072 crore), Reliance Communications (16.62 million, 1.662 crore) and Reliance Jio (16.00 million, 1.6 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 0.51 million (5.1 lakh) subscribers for You BB for Dec-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) 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.

December 10, 2016
BSNL leads in wireline broadband internet subs addition in Sep-16

BENGALURU: In a change from the norm, the public sector telecom giant Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) added 40,000 wireline broadband internet subscribers in the month of September 2016 (Sep-16). BSNL had been consistently losing subscribers in the calendar year 2016 (CY-16) until 31 August 2016 (Aug-16). Its gain in Sep-16 was just half the 80,000 subscribers it has lost in CY-16 until Sep-16. At the same time, the other public sector telecom operator – Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Limited (MTNL) has also been bleeding wireline broadband internet subscribers in CY-16 until Sep-16. MTNL has also seen a reduction of 50,000 subscribers in CY-16.Overall, the two public sector players have lost subscribers during CY-16 until Sep-16 and hence dampened the subscriber growth rate among the top five wired broadband internet players.

The wireline broadband internet (broadband) subscriber base in the country grew by 8.06 percent (by 13.3 lakh or 1.33 million) in the period between 31 December 2015 (Dec-15) or1 January 2016 until 30 September 2016 (Sep-16), from 165.1 lakh to 178.4 lakh. Telecom subscription data released by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) for Sep-16 reveals that the contribution by the top five players’ was just 5 lakh new subscribers or 3.55 percent growth in the current calendar year until Sep-16 (CY-16).Overall, wired broadband subscribers grew 0.96 percent month-on-month (MoM) in Sep-16. The All India wired broadband base grew from 176.7 lakh to 178.4 lakh, while the five top players grew by 0.69 percent in Sep-16 as compared to Aug-16.

Leading the growth in subscriber additions in CY-16 until Sep-16 are private wired broadband players Bharti Airtel (Airtel, 30,000 additions in Sep-16) and regional player Atria Convergence Technologies Pvt Ltd (ACT, 20,000 additions in Sep-16) with additions of 2.7 lakh and 2.5 lakh subscriber additions respectively in CY-16 until Sep-16. Airtel’s wired broadband subscriber base grew 16.17 percent, while ACT’s base grew by 29.07 percent during the same period (CY-16 until Sep-16). In CY-15 (1 January 2015 to 31 December 2015), Airtel had added 2.6 lakh wired broadband subscribers and grown by 18.44 percent, while ACT added 2.5 lakh subscribers and had grown at a blazing 40.98 percent. By Sep-16, Airtel has already exceeded the number of subscribers it had added in CY-15, while ACT has equalled its CY-15 performance Hence, by the end of 2016, with reports for a quarter of year to be published as yet, the two players should add a lot more subscribers than they did in CY-15.

While Airtel is a national level player, ACT is a regional player with operations in South India, hence probably making ACT the largest private wireline broadband player in South India. ACT has replaced the public sector MTNL at third place, pushing the latter to fourth spot in Aug-16 in terms of number of subscribers.Another private player among the top five – You Broadband (You BB) has added 70,000 subscribers (13.73 percent growth) in the current year until Sep-16.

Among the 5 top wireline broadband internet players in India, the public sector telecom player Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) leads by far with 98.8 lakh total number of wireline broadband subscribers as on Sep-16. However, as mentioned above, BSNL had seen its broadband subscriber base shrink by 80,000 in CY-16 until Aug-16. The largest private sector wireline broadband internet services player Airtel had 19.1 lakh subscribers as on 30 September 2016, ACT with 11.1 lakh subscribers was next and was followed by the other public sector player –MTNL with 10.7 lakh subscribers. You Broadband (You BB) with 5.8 lakh subscribers was the fifth.

Please refer to Fig 1 below for wireline subscriber data in CY-16 until Sep-16.

The top five players have had a slower rate of growth as compared to the all India growth in CY-16 until Sep-16. The share of the top five players among all India wired broadband subscriber addition has fallen in CY-16 until Sep-16 from 85.28 percent as on 1 January 2016 to 81.73 percent as on 30 September 2016. The share of these players was 88.45 percent as on 1 January 2015.

Month-on-month (m-o-m), the all India wired broadband subscriber base witnessed the second highest growth in CY-16 until Sep-16 in Aug-16 at 1.03 percent, while the top 5 players had a growth of 0.28 percent in that month. Please refer to figure 2 below:

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 and triple digit year-over-year (y-o-y) 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 Networks Limited, Den Networks Limited , Ortel Communications Limited respectively whose results are available in the public domain have been showing steady growth in their broadband segment over the past few quarters.

Overall broadband subscriber numbers for September 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) grew by a massive 11.99 percent by 20.59million or 205.9 lakh to 192.30 million (19.32 crore) in Sep-16 from 171.71 million (17.171 crore) in Aug-16. The growth was led by Wireless broadband subscriber numbers that use mobiles and dongles for internet access have increased m-o-m by 13.31 percent in Sep-16 to 173.87 million (17.387 crore) from 153.45 million (15.345 crore) in Aug-16. Fixed wireless subscribers that access the internet through Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, Point-to-point radio and VSAT have increased 1.27 percent in Sep-16 to to 0.60 million (6 lakh) from 0.59 million (5.9 lakh) in Aug-16.

The top five service providers constituted 78.62 percent market share of the totalbroadband subscribers at the end of Aug-16. These service providerswere Bharti Airtel (46.19 million or 4.619 crore), Vodafone (35.94 million or 3.594 crore), Idea Cellular(30.72 million 3.072 crore), BSNL (21.60 million 2.16 crore) and Reliance Communications Group (16.74 million 1.674 crore).

As on 30 September, 2016, the top five Wireless Broadband Serviceproviders were Bharti Airtel (44.25 million, 4.425 crore), Vodafone (35.93 million, 3.593 crore),Idea Cellular (30.72 million, 3.072 crore), Reliance Communications (16.62 million, 1.662 crore) and Reliance Jio (16.00 million, 1.6 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 0.51 million (5.1 lakh) subscribers for You BB for Dec-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) 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.

December 10, 2016
Aug-16: ACT largest private wireline broadband player in South India?

BENGALURU: The wireline broadband internet (broadband) subscriber base in the country grew by 7.03 percent (by 11.6 lakh or 1.6 million) in the period between 31 December 2015 (Dec-15) or 1 January 2016 until 31 August 2016 (Aug-16), from 165.1 lakh to 176.7 lakh. In calendar year 2015, the growth rate had been higher at 7.77 percent. Telecom subscription data released by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) for Aug-16 reveals that the top five players’ growth was just 4 lakh new subscribers or 2.84 percent growth in the current calendar year until Aug-16 (CY-16).

Leading the growth were private wired broadband players Bharti Airtel (Airtel) and regional player Atria Convergence Technologies Pvt Ltd (ACT) with additions of 2.4 lakh and 2.3 lakh subscriber additions respectively in CY-16 until Aug-16.Airtel’s wired broadband subscriber base grew 14.37 percent, while ACT’s base grew by 26.74 percent during the same period (CY-16 until Aug-16). In CY-15 (1 January 2015 to 31 December 2015), Airtel had added 2.6 lakh wired broadband subscribers and grown by 18.44 percent, while ACT added 2.5 lakh subscribers and had grown at a blazing 40.98 percent. Hence, by the end of 2016, the two players should add a lot more subscribers than they did in CY-15.

While Airtel is a national level player, ACT is a regional player with operations in South India, hence probably making ACT the largest private wireline broadband player in South India. ACT has replaced the public sector Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Limited (MTNL) at third place, pushing the latter to fourth spot in Aug-16 in terms of number of subscribers.

Another private player among the top five – You Broadband (You BB) has added 60,000 subscribers (11.76 percent growth) in the current year until Aug-16. The two public sector players have lost subscribers during the same period and hence dampened the subscriber growth rate among the top five wired broadband internet players.

Among the 5 top wireline broadband internet players in India, the public sector telecom player Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) leads by far with 98.4 lakh total number of wireline broadband subscribers as on Aug-16. However, BSNL has seen its broadband subscriber base shrink by 80,000 in CY-16 until Aug-16. The largest private sector wireline broadband internet services player Airtel had 19.1 lakh subscribers as on 31 August 2016, ACT with 10.9 lakh subscribers was next and was followed by another public sector player – Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) with 10.7 lakh subscribers. You Broadband (You BB) with 5.6 lakh subscribers was the fifth. MTNL has also seen a reduction of 50,000 subscribers in CY-16. Please refer to Fig 1 below for wireline subscriber data in CY-16 until Aug-16.

As mentioned above, the top five players have had a slower rate of growth as compared to the all India growth in CY-16 until Aug-16. The share of the top five players among all India wired broadband subscriber addition has fallen in CY-16 from 85.28 percent as on 1 January 2016 to 81.95 percent as on 31 August 2016. The share of these players was 88.45 percent as on 1 January 2015.

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 through 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.

Month-on-month (m-o-m), the all India wired broadband subscriber base witnessed the second highest growth in CY-16 until Aug-16 at 1.03 percent. The top 5 players had a growth of 0.28 percent during the same period. Please refer to figure 2 below.

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 and triple digit year-over-year (y-o-y) 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 Networks Limited, Den Networks Limited , Ortel CommunicationsLimited respectively whose results are available in the public domain have been showing steady growth in their broadband segment over the past few quarters.

Among the MSOs’ (besides ACT), Hathway has shown the highest subscriber additions in the year. Its consolidated broadband subscription revenue as per IND AS for the quarter ended 31 September 2016 (Q2-17) at Rs 120.3 crore (37.5 percent of Total Income from Operations or TIO) was higher than its consolidated CATV subscription revenue of Rs110.4 crore (34.4 percent of TIO). Its consolidated broadband revenue in Q2-17 quarter as per IND AS increased 67 percent y-o-y.

Hathway’sconsolidated broadband subscriber base increased to 8 lakh in Q2-17 from 7 lakh in the immediate trailing quarter (Q1-17). Broadband ARPU in the current quarter increased to Rs 643 from Rs 616 in the corresponding quarter of the previous year, but declined from Rs 670 in the immediate trailing quarter.

Siti Networks broadband revenue increased 167.7 percent y-o-y (more than doubled) to Rs 24.9 crore (8.6 percent of TIO) in Q2-17 from Rs 9.3 crore (4 percent of TIO) in Q2-16.Siti has added about 28,000 subscribers in Q2-17 taking its subscriber base to 195,000 from 167,000 subscribers in Q1-17. It had a broadband subscriber base of 91,450 in Q2-16.

Overall broadband subscriber numbers for August 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) grew 4.75million or 47.5 lakh to 17.171 million (17.171 crore) in Aug-16 from 166.96 million (16.696 crore) inJul-16. Wireless broadband subscriber numbers that use mobiles and dongles for internet access have increased m-o-m by 3.01 percent in Aug-16 to 153.45 million (15.345 crore) from 148.93 million (14.893 crore) in Jul-16. Fixed wireless subscribers that access the internet through Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, Point-to-point radio and VSAT have increased 8.65 percent in Aug-16 to to0.59 million (5.4 lkh) from 0.54 million in Jul-16.

The top five service providers constituted 85.16 percent (84.83 percent in Jul-16)market share of the totalbroadband subscribers at the end of Aug-16. These service providerswere Bharti Airtel (45.35 million or 4.535 crore), Vodafone (35.01 million or 3.501 crore), Idea Cellular(29.58 million 2.958 crore), BSNL (21.04 million 2.104 crore) and Reliance Communications Group (15.24 million 1.524 crore).

Decline in telephone subscribers in August 2016

It must however be noted that the total wireless subscriber basedeclined from 1,034.23 million (103.423 crore) at the endof Jul-16 to 1,028.88 million (102.888 crore) at the end ofAug-16, thereby registering a monthlydecline rate of 0.52 percent. Wireless subscription in urban areas declinedfrom 589.61 million (58.961 crore) at the end of Jul-16to 585.89 million (58.589 crore) at the end of Aug-16,and wireless subscription in rural areasdeclined from 444.63 million (44.463 crore) to 442.99million (44.299 crore) during the same period. Themonthly decline rates of urban and ruralwireless subscription were 0.63 percent and0.37 percent respectively.

The overall wireless tele-density in Indiadeclined from 81.11 at the end of Jul-16to 80.62 at the end of Aug-16. The urban wireless tele-density declinedfrom 148.00 at the end of Jul-16 to146.84 at the end of Aug-16, and rural wireless tele-density also declined from 50.72 to 50.50 during the same period.The share of urban and rural wirelesssubscribers in total number of wirelesssubscribers was 56.94 percent and 43.06 percent respectively at the end of Aug-16.

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 0.51 million (5.1 lakh) subscribers for You BB for Dec-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) 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.

November 30, 2016