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  • Franklin Templeton, Bira 91, HelpAge India & Adventures Beyond Barriers Foundation join hands with Tata Mumbai Marathon 2020

    Franklin Templeton, Bira 91, HelpAge India & Adventures Beyond Barriers Foundation join hands with Tata Mumbai Marathon 2020

    MUMBAI: Countdown to the 17th edition of Asia’s prestigious World Athletics Gold Label Road Race Tata Mumbai Marathon (TMM) has well and truly begun. First time in Indian distance running history 55,322 runners will stand in unison at the start line of the event and serve as an inspiration to #BeBetter. Credited for many firsts and the pride of the country, TMM has not only put Mumbai, but also India on the global distance running map.

    Running is the fastest growing urban sport and the participation numbers at the 2020 edition of TMM is a testimony to this – 19% increase in total participation. 9,660 runners in the full marathon, 15,260 runners in Half Marathon, 19,707 runners in the Dream Run, 8,032 runners in 10K, 1,022 runners in Senior Citizen Run and 1,596 runners in Champion with Disability. Women participation has surged to 35%, while the outstation participation and full marathon participation saw a growth of 22% and 15% respectively.

    Harish Bhat, Brand Custodian, Tata Sons, said, “Tata Mumbai Marathon is one of the largest and most exciting sporting events worldwide, with the run finding pride of place on the running calendar of elite global marathoners. This run is a beautiful symphony of humanity that celebrates the spirit of unity in diversity, inspiring both young and old alike while shaping a healthy world. This platform has helped the Tata group to increase our engagement with the community, raise funds for charity as well as create societal awareness about the necessity of good health and fitness. He further added, “It feels fantastic to experience the enthusiasm of the participants, consistently pushing the boundaries, and inspiring the human spirit. Looking at the response of the audience, we expect this year’s edition to be larger and better.”

    CHAMPIONS AT THE START LINE: The USD$420,000 event will see in action defending champions Cosmas Lagat of Kenya and Worknesh Alemu of Ethiopia headline the international elite athletes’ line-up. Their winning timing of 2:09:15 and 2:25:45 is the second fastest timings in Mumbai Marathon history.

    Leading the Indian elite men full marathon line-up is Army’s Srinu Bugatha, who won the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon and the Tata Steel Kolkata 25K 2019 editions, finishing the races in 1:04:33 and 1:18:31, respectively in last two months. Challenging him will be Rashpal Singh, Silver Medalist in Kathmandu South Asian Games 2019 along with Rahul Pal, winner of the Pune International Marathon 2019.

    The Women’s full marathon line-up has Olympian and Arjuna Awardee, Sudha Singh, eyeing to add to her 3 TMM titles and firmly set on a hat-trick this year. Sudha won her first title in 2016 and after a year’s gap, she was champion in 2018 and 2019. Sudha will be challenged by Jyoti Gawte who won the Mumbai Marathon in 2017.

    In the men’s half marathon category, Avinash Sable, 3,000 steeplechase national record holder, who shattered his own national record at World Championship at Doha in October & qualified for Tokyo 2020 Olympics will lead the field along with Shankar Man Thapa, who was the runner-up in 2019. Likewise, in the women’s half marathon, veteran athlete Swati Gadhave will face stiff opposition from 2019 runner-up & winner of 2018 edition, Monica Athare.

    Vivek B Singh, Joint Managing Director, Procam International said: “More than 9000 runners doing the full marathon and crossing the 50,000 mark for total number of participants – both are humbling milestones for us.  To see India, embrace running is a dream come true for us. We are thankful to the Government of Maharashtra, Mumbai Police, MCGM, our sponsors and our runners who have given their rock-solid support in the incredible journey of the Tata Mumbai Marathon. We wish all the participants a successful and enjoyable race day!”  

    2020 HIGHLIGHTS 

    TIME PERFORMANCE BONUS FOR INDIAN ATHLETES: TMM has always been a springboard for Indian athletes and the platform has managed to get the best out of them.  With the same aim, this year, a Time Performance Bonus has been introduced for the Indian Elites.

     

    At km mark

    Time cut-off

    Bonus

    Indian Elite men

    10K

    Under 00:32:00s

    ₹ 40,000

     

    20K

    Under 01:03:30s

    ₹ 40,000

     

    30K

    Under 01:35:00s

    ₹ 40,000

    Indian Elite women

    10K

    Under 00:37:10s

    ₹ 40,000

     

    20K

    Under 01:15:00s

    ₹ 40,000

     

    30K

    Under 01:51:00s

    ₹ 40,000

    NEW BRANDS FOR 2020: The culture of road-running in India has grown tremendously. This has opened an avenue for new brands and innovative associations. This year, Procam takes pride to announce four such new beginnings. Franklin Templeton, one of India’s largest* fund houses as Investment Partner (*Source: AMFI Website (based on AAUM as on September 30, 2019); Bira 91,  one of India’s fastest-growing craft beer brands, as the official Companion; HelpAge India, an NGO that extensively works for the cause and care of Silvers, as the event’s Institution Partner for Senior Citizens category and Adventures Beyond Barriers Foundation, an NGO that works extensively towards inclusion via sports for persons with and without disability as its Inclusion Ally, to encourage Persons with Disability in the Open 10K category.

    The Tata Mumbai Marathon is also proud to have continued support from Sports Goods Partner ASICS; Channel Partner Star Sports; Hydration Partner Bisleri; Recovery Partner Volini Maxx; Domains and Online Presence Partner GoDaddy; Timing Partner Seiko; Energy Drink Partner Fast&UP; Hospitality Partner Trident Hotels; Print Partner The Times of India; Driven by ALTROZ from Tata Motors; Music Entertainment Partner 98.3 Radio Mirchi; Medical Partner Asian Heart Institute; Philanthropy Partner United Way Mumbai; CWD Facilitator ADAPT and Performance Eyewear Partner Oakley.

    RUN YOUR WAY: This year at the Tata Mumbai Marathon create magic on race day by running your way. Individuals and groups across all race categories can express themselves in their own unique way. More than just running in costume, you can also express yourself via your favourite song, poetry on the pride for the city, showcase your favourite dance moves, a rap you’ve written, even your beliefs or a cause close to your heart or just about any other form of expression and talent that you would like to showcase on race day. 

    All you have to do is capture your expression via photograph or video on race day anywhere along the official holding area, race route or post finish area. Upload your expression with a short description before 6:00 pm on 19th January 2020 and stand a chance to win attractive cash prizes. For more details log on to: tatamumbaimarathon.procam.in/runners-information/run-your-way

    MIRCHI GET ACTIVE EXPO: A one-stop destination for runners, the Expo will be organized at GTX Block Ground, Opp Citi Bank Bldg., Off Bharat Petrol Pump, Bandra (East), Bandra Kurla Complex from 15th to 18th January 2020. The Expo will be on between 10.30 a.m. and 7.00 p.m. on 15th to 17th January 2020, and on 18th January 2020 between 10.00 a.m. and 5.00 p.m. The Expo is also the venue for all confirmed participants from Mumbai and Outstation registered runners to come and collect their running bibs, study in detail race day instructions, familiarize themselves with all the timelines, approach plans, layout plans, security arrangements, traffic restrictions, road closures and other provisions that will come into force on Race Day.

    TATA IN SPORTS

    Tata Group is a global enterprise with combined revenues of US $110.7 billion (2017-18), along with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), one of the world’s leading IT services, consulting and business solutions organisations, are the title sponsor of the Tata Mumbai Marathon.

    Sport has always been an integral part of the Tata group for over 75 years. Tatas association with multiple sports ranging from cricket, football, hockey, badminton, chess, athletics, mountaineering and motor racing, among others, has produced many award-winning sportspersons, helped the development of marginal communities and supported sporting teams, national and international events as well as training academies. The Tata Sports Club was set up in 1937 to encourage sports among its employee base across the country.

    TCS is the sponsor of many premier global marathons across the world like, the TCS New York City Marathon, the TCS Amsterdam Marathon, and the TCS Lidingloppet (the world’s largest cross-country run), and the technology partner of marathons held in London, Chicago, and Boston — all part of the company’s effort to promote health and fitness in the communities, the world over. 

  • Lionsgate, Airtel strike strategic alliance; launch Lionsgate Play in India

    Lionsgate, Airtel strike strategic alliance; launch Lionsgate Play in India

    MUMBAI: Bharti Airtel (“Airtel”), India’s largest integrated telecommunications company, global content leader Lionsgate and Starzplay, the international premium subscription platform from Starz, have joined hands to bring premium content from Lionsgate Play to customers in
    India.

    The partnership will give Airtel customers access to a deep portfolio of critically acclaimed and beloved Lionsgate feature film content, which will be available on Airtel Xstream app and web platforms. Airtel Xstream app has a catalogue of over 10,000 movies and shows along with 400 TV channels.  

    By expanding the Indian market’s access to premium quality content on a leading digital platform, the collaboration is expected to be a compelling value proposition for the Indian cinephile audience. The content will be available in multiple Indian languages and spread across the horror, comedy, drama, action, thriller, documentary and other genres.

    Lionsgate Play’s initial offering includes the blockbuster Hunger Games and Twilight Saga franchises, multiple Academy Award® winner La La Land, and the critically- acclaimed international breakout hit Wonder among its deep slate of box office successes.

    In addition, Airtel customers will have access to recent hits like American Assassin, Robin Hood, The Spy Who Dumped Me, A Simple Favor, Saban’s Power Rangers as well as marquee library titles such as Divergent, Now You See Me 2, Gods of Egypt, Letters To Juliet and Reservoir Dogs.

    Commenting on the partnership, Bharti Airtel chief product officer  Adarsh Nair said, “We are thrilled to partner with Lionsgate to bring exciting content from their library to our customers as part of Airtel Thanks program. Our mission is to make Airtel Xstream the most loved digital entertainment platform in India and enable best-in-class experience across a range of connected devices and applications. We will continue to forge long-term strategic partnerships with the top content producers from around the world as part of our mission and look forward to collaborating with Lionsgate to delight customers in India.”
     
     “The partnership with Airtel is a great opportunity to expand the Lionsgate Play premium offering with a best-in-class partner, a vast feature film library and a compelling user experience for our customers. Telcos play a huge role in increasing the availability of premium content on digital platforms, and we’re proud to join forces with a partner like Airtel that combines enormous reach, a powerful brand and unparalleled distribution expertise. This is another major step forward in bringing an exciting and unique content experience to our Indian audience,” said Lionsgate Play South Asia managing director .

  • Video and Broadband Summit 2019 to discuss way forward with NTO & changing digital landscape

    Video and Broadband Summit 2019 to discuss way forward with NTO & changing digital landscape

    MUMBAI: How is the new tariff order (NTO) impacting the broadcast and video distribution landscape in India? How can broadcast networks effectively partner with LCOs and MSOs to successfully navigate the post-NTO environment? These are some of the key themes which will be discussed at the Video and Broadband Summit 2019.

    Running in its sixteenth year, the summit will be held in Mumbai on 11 December and will bring together stalwarts from television broadcasting, internet and distribution sectors under one roof to discuss and deliberate key issues facing the sector and recognise the accomplishments of key stakeholders.

    Over the last one-and-a-half-decades, VBS (earlier IDOS) has grown to become India's definitive Pay-TV and video distribution get together. However, this year’s summit is critical given that 2019 has witnessed some of the most fundamental changes in the pay TV and broadcast industry.

    While, on the one side TV networks, LCOs, MSOs and DTH players are still adjusting to the fundamental changes introduced by the NTO – described by many as the most significant reform in broadcast TV in decades – on the other, India has seen exponential growth of OTT players. Together, these changes will fundamentally alter how Indians consume entertainment in the years to come.

    If these changes were not enough in themselves, the telecom and internet distribution sectors are also undergoing fundamental changes. While, the entry of Reliance Jio Fibre has not proved to be the ultimate disruptor industry experts were expecting it to be, the recent Supreme Court ruling on the AGR (adjusted gross revenue) issue, asking telecom companies to pay Rs 92,000 crore has considerably dampened the industry sentiment and can negatively affect their ability to raise funds for broadband, network expansion and digital India.

    Not surprisingly, since the Supreme Court ruling, all major telecom operators in India, ranging from Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Reliance have announced mobile tariff charge hikes by as much as 20 per cent. Given that Airtel and Reliance are also deeply entrenched in providing broadband services, any tariff hike can impact broadband penetration as well.

    The delegate profile for this year’s VBS is a reflection of the concerns facing the industry. As many as 60 per cent of the participants in this year’s VBS will be LCOs, MSOs and distributors, while 15 per cent delegates will be coming from broadcast networks including Star India – also a summit partner. Significantly, 25 per cent of the delegates this year will come from telecom, broadband, technology and data platforms. Without doubt, apart from getting the industry perspective on various issues ailing the industry as well as future opportunities, the summit will also provide an excellent opportunity for networking between the various stakeholders in the media and entertainment industry.

    Some of the key sessions in the summit will be:

    • Free To Air: The roadmap ahead
    • NTO: The future roadmap; TRAI consultation paper and how will the amendments to the existing tariffs play out?
    • Transforming the sector to fuel growth: What are the key issues facing the sector? How can more transparency and discipline be injected into it?
    • The distribution challenge: How are distribution companies innovating to stay ahead of the curve? What measures are they adopting to counter relentless disruption?
    • Internet: The changing role in video distribution
    • Role of the LCO: How has the role of the LCO changed under the new regulatory framework and its significance going forward? 
    • The advertisers’ view: Advertisers’’ view on dynamic Pay-TV landscape and how AdEx is likely to fare going forward with more changes anticipated to the NTO.

    To discuss all these relevant issues, the summit has also lined up a distinguished panel of more than two dozen speakers. Among them are:

    The VBS summit is an initiative of Indiantelevision.com. Started in 2000 by media and television analyst Anil Wanvari, Indiantelevision.com is the first online information and interactive service focusing on the Indian television and media business. Indiantelevision.com organises close to a dozen events every year, among them are The Indian Telly Awards, Tele-Wise Tamil, Media HR Summit, Brandvid Awards, Vidnet, The Indian Telly Technical Awards, and The Content Hub.
     

  • Airtel inks content deal with CuriosityStream

    Airtel inks content deal with CuriosityStream

    MUMBAI: Bharti Airtel today announced a content partnership with CuriosityStream, the award-winning global media company that delivers the world of factual entertainment in one mind-expanding place.

    Launched by John Hendricks, the visionary founder of Discovery Channel, CuriosityStream lets viewers explore their passions and discover new ones with thousands of films and series covering space, art, volcanoes, history, travel, cars, architecture, dinosaurs and so much more. 

    The complete content catalogue of CuriosityStream, including exclusive originals that can’t be seen anywhere else, will now be available to Airtel customers on its converged digital entertainment platform – Airtel Xstream.

    Airtel Thanks Gold and Platinum customers will get complimentary access to exciting CuriosityStream content on the Airtel Xstream app and airtelxstream.com. The content will also be available on the Airtel Xstream Hybrid Box and Airtel Xstream Smart Stick.   

    Airtel is the first partner to bring CuriosityStream to India, directly to viewers who are looking for the kind of engaging factual shows that the traditional networks have abandoned. CuriosityStream covers the full breadth and depth of the non-fiction genre – from science and technology to history and nature to society and lifestyle.

    With this latest partnership, Airtel has further strengthened its digital entertainment play. The Airtel Xstream platform offers over 10,000 movies and shows along with 400 plus LIVE channels. This content can be accessed across all screens – smartphone, TV, and PC through Xstream applications and smart devices.

    Adarsh Nair, Chief Product Officer, Bharti Airtel said: “We are thrilled to join hands with CuriosityStream to introduce India to best-in-class factual entertainment content, which will be available to customers on the screen of their choice. There is growing demand in India for quality content and we believe that CuriosityStream’s award winning series will add to our effort of delivering a differentiated experience to our customers.”      

    Sunil Taldar, CEO and Director – DTH, Bharti Airtel said, “We are delighted to partner with CuriosityStream for our Airtel Xstream platform and bring some really exciting and premium content to Indian homes. With the new Airtel Xstream Hybrid Box, customers can enjoy the best of linear TV and online content, including exclusive factual shows commissioned by CuriosityStream.”  

    Clint Stinchcomb, President and CEO, CuriosityStream said, “CuriosityStream is the definitive experience for satisfying curiosity and supercharging the imagination. Our partnership with Airtel is built for today and for the future, reaching the important Indian audience at scale through Airtel's vast footprint and multiple screens. We are excited to team with Airtel for this first-of-a-kind partnership.”

    The Airtel CuriosityStream partnership was secured by media distribution firm Brandwith.

  • Struggling telco operator BSNL strikes content deal with YuppTV

    Struggling telco operator BSNL strikes content deal with YuppTV

    MUMBAI: State owned telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and over-the-top (OTT) platform YuppTV have entered into a partnership. Under the signed memorandum of understanding (MoU), Yupp TV content will be made available to both BSNL mobile broadband and fixed line users.

    “BSNL has 120 million users. Yupp brings content on global scale. We will work on a very unique proposition to bring highly rich experience to customer on strong technology backbone. Marriage between infotainment and telecom networks will happen," BSNL chairman and managing director P K Purwar said at the MoU signing ceremony, Mint reported.

    All the major telecom players including Reliance Jio, Airtel, Vodafone Idea have struck deals with almost all major streaming services for betterment of average revenue per user (ARPU). Telco-OTT partnerships have been a noticeable trend not only in India but across the world as it makes a win-win deal for both the parties. Till now, OTT players in India get the largest chunk of subscription revenue from telco deals.

    Purwar said during the ceremony that content is key to drive data consumption and original content is the game of the day. He also added that the bundling proposition will be a compelling one for BSNL subscribers.

    At a time when the once telco king of India is struggling hard to run its operation, this deal marks a move by the public sector unit to retain and grow its subscriber base as the company has been making losses continuously since 2009-10. However, it will also help YuppTV to deliver its content easily to BSNL’s 120 million subscribers.

  • India Ratings and Research says R-Jio’s tariff hike to support industry ARPU

    India Ratings and Research says R-Jio’s tariff hike to support industry ARPU

    MUMBAI: India Ratings and Research (Fitch Group) believes Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd’s (R-Jio; ‘IND AAA’/Stable) decision to start charging Rs 0.06/minute through top-up vouchers on outgoing voice calls to other networks would improve its average revenue per user (ARPU) by about Rs 9 and EBITDA by 15 per cent to 18 per cent in FY20, assuming that usage/calling pattern remains the same and the zero interconnect usage charge (IUC) regime is postponed beyond its scheduled date of 1 January 2020. However, the levy of additional charges by R-Jio will discourage users to call other operators from R-Jio, possibly leading to lower voice traffic on R-Jio network and hence could constrain the telecom giant’s actual EBITDA benefit at 8 per cent-10 per cent.

    Also, Vodafone Idea Ltd (Voda-Idea; ‘IND A+’/Negative) and Bharti Airtel Ltd (Airtel) may see lower incoming calls on their network, which may impact their net interconnect user charge (IUC) income, which stood at 3 per cent and 10 per cent of total revenue for Airtel and Voda-Idea, respectively. Furthermore, Voda-Idea and Airtel may continue to lose their subscribers to R-Jio as the pricing arbitrage (i.e. outgoing voice calls to other network being free on R-Jio and chargeable for other operators) is removed. On the flipside, R-Jio’s tariff-hike may give Voda-Idea and Airtel an opportunity to increase their tariffs and repair their balance sheets. However, Ind-Ra believes the benefits for Voda-Idea and Airtel would be short-term and the marginal recovery of around 10 per cent in ARPU may not help in addressing the unsustainable debt levels, and improve credit metrics. Ind-Ra has maintained a negative outlook on the Indian telecom sector due to intense competition, elevated debt levels and continued reliance on capital infusion for debt servicing and capex.

    Network Imbalance Higher for R-Jio: In Q1FY20, outgoing calls as a proportion of total offnet minutes of usage (MoU) for R-Jio, Voda-Idea and Airtel stood at 64 per cent, 41 per cent and 45 per cent, respectively. Also, of the total offnet voice traffic, net incoming MoU as a proportion of total offnet MoU stands at negative 29 per cent for R-Jio whereas the same is 9 per cent and 19 per cent for Airtel and Voda-Idea respectively, implying that network voice traffic imbalance is significantly higher for R-Jio compared with peers. Hence, R-Jio remains a net-payer of IUC expenses, whereas Voda-Idea and Airtel are net-receivers of IUC receipts. The move by R-Jio to start recovering IUC from customers would address R-Jio’s concerns that the zero IUC regime may get postponed by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India beyond its scheduled date of 1 January 2020.

    Eventual Benefit Contingent on Many Variables: Estimating the impact of R-Jio’s levy of IUC charges on ARPU and EBITDA is tricky given that it may lead to a change in usage and calling pattern. The impact on Airtel and Voda-Idea’s financials is yet to be seen given that they have not yet announced their strategy in response to R-Jio’s move.

    Broader Impact on Industry Tariffs: R-Jio’s tariffs have been 25 per cent-30 per cent lower than those of Voda-Idea and Airtel since the last two years, which has kept the competition intensity high. However, after falling steadily over the last 2.5 years, data tariffs (expressed in terms of GB per user per month) rose 11 per cent-17 per cent during October 2018-February 2019, and have been stable since then. Ind-Ra believes the industry-wide debt levels are at unsustainable levels and a marginal recovery of 10 per cent in ARPU may not help in improving the credit metrics. Telcos will continue to rely on external funding to support their debt servicing and elevated capex requirements. Any investment in spectrum acquisition or 5G technology may derail this fragile recovery. 

    Estimation of Impact on IUC Changes

     

    Bharti Airtel

    Voda-Idea

    R-Jio

    MoU (million minutes, total offnet and onnet)

    737,108

    676,259

    785,970

    Outgoing calls ( per cent of offnet MoU)

    45

    41

    64

    Incoming calls ( per cent of offnet MoU)

    55

    59

    36

    Net incoming MoU ( per cent of offnet MoU)

    9

    19

    -29

    Access charges – Net reporteda (INR million)

    2,500

    3,800

    -8,510

    Offnet MoU as  per cent of total MoU

    60.1

    50.4

    63.3

    EBITDA (1QFY20, INR million)b

    84,926

    36,500

    46,700

    IUC charges (as  per cent of EBITDA)

    3

    10

    -18

    a Access Charge data for Airtel taken from Bloomberg.
    b EBITDA for Voda-Idea not adjusted for AS-116 benefit of INR22.2 billion.
    Source: Ind-Ra, Company and Bloomberg
  • DPOs suggest changes to draft interconnection addressable regulations by TRAI

    DPOs suggest changes to draft interconnection addressable regulations by TRAI

    MUMBAI: Distribution platform operators (DPOs) have shared their comments to modify Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)’s draft on The Telecommunication (Broadcasting And Cable) Services Interconnection (Addressable Systems) (Amendment) Regulations, 2019.  The industry has welcomed TRAI’s move to amend Schedule III of the regulation and believes that provisions related to watermarking, fingerprinting and digital rights management along with CAS and SMS is in right direction.

    AIDCF said, “It is submitted that the provisions relating to watermarking, fingerprinting and digital rights management along with CAS and SMS, is a step in the right direction and AIDCF wholeheartedly supports the same. With respect to amendments proposed to be introduced by TRAI in the schedule III of the Interconnection Amendment Regulations 2019, AIDCF stands in agreement with the same and supports TRAI in bringing about the amendments in the regulations.”

    However, Bharti Telemedia (Airtel), Tata Sky and GTPL recommended a few changes in the draft of interconnection addressable regulations.

    Airtel, with regard to Section C Clause 8 of the regulation, recommended that the capacity of the CAS and SMS should be linked to the volume of transactions rather than the subscriber base. The rationale for the same is that each subscriber can generate multiple volumes of transactions and hence, to handle these transactions of a single customer, the system is equally consumed and therefore, the correct assessment of the system capacity should be linked to the transaction count instead of subscriber base.

    It further commented “The subscriber base may not be the appropriate criteria to assess the capacity of CAS and SMS, more so, in the current framework when a single customer can generate more than one transaction in terms of activation/deactivation of channel, recharge etc. We, therefore, suggest that the criteria of 5 per cent should be measured in context to total volume of transactions.”

    The company in its comments to TRAI also raised concern over generating customised bills. It said, “We submit that the requirement of generation of bills is applicable for the post-paid services and we, therefore, suggest that clause must specify the same to avoid any confusion.”

    Similarly, Tata Sky also expressed that bill generation is a postpaid concept. DTH operators do not have a postpaid platform and are completely prepaid. “Therefore, it is suggested that a suitable clarification be inserted in the regulations as well as the audit manual to avoid any understanding gap between the DTH operators and the auditors,” said Tata Sky.

    Tata Sky also suggested, “The STBs and VCs are issued against a CAF to a subscriber and the subscriber's address is captured in our systems. Consequently, the auditor can check our systems on a random sample basis, however, we will not hand-over our entire database along with addresses to the auditor in compliance with this requirement. We would, therefore, suggest that a suitable clarification be inserted in the regulations as well as the audit manual to avoid any understanding gap between the DPO and the auditors.”

    The draft’s Clause 12(a) & 12(c) states that it is mandated that amongst other things SMS should also be capable of viewing and printing of historical data in terms of the activations and the deactivations of STBs and generating historical data of changes in the subscriptions for each subscriber and the corresponding source of requests made by the subscriber.

    GTPL on the same commented, “It has been observed in the past audits that the auditors have demanded generation of such historical data for all subscribers and from inception which has put undue stress on the systems of the distributors and the resultant inconvenience to the customers. It is suggested that the Authority limit the generation of historical data to reasonable percentage of the total as a sample size. We suggest a sample size of 5 per cent of the active sub base for platforms which have more than 5,00,000 average active subscribers while for platforms which have a lesser active subscriber base the sample size can be 25 per cent.”

  • Airtel subsidiary, Wynk, selects NAGRA’s cloud.SSP, the cloud-based security services platform for multi-DRM content protection

    Airtel subsidiary, Wynk, selects NAGRA’s cloud.SSP, the cloud-based security services platform for multi-DRM content protection

    MUMBAI: NAGRA, a Kudelski Group (SIX:KUD.S) company and the world's leading independent provider of content protection and multiscreen television solutions, today announced that its cloud-based Security Services Platform, cloud.SSP, was selected to secure streaming content and support a multi-DRM solution for Wynk, a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel Limited, India’s largest integrated telecom services provider. This latest win marks the first deployment of the cloud.SSP for an OTT pure play service in India.

    “The ability for operators such as Airtel to deliver content to any device is a must in today’s digital environment,” said Stéphane Le Dreau, Senior Vice President Sales & Services at NAGRA. “The cloud-based NAGRA Security Services Platform with multi-DRM support allows operators to do that now directly from the cloud, reducing complexity by managing all devices under one unified system while ensuring best-of-breed security overall.”

    NAGRA Security Services Platform (SSP) is an advanced, flexible and modular security platform enabling security for all two-way use cases such as cable/IP, IPTV, OTT or any hybrid scenario. NAGRA SSP can be deployed in an operator’s private cloud environment or as a NAGRA cloud service with cloud.SSP, or in hybrid mode. It goes beyond CAS and multi-DRM enablement and allows to manage home domains, concurrent sessions, device authentication, forensic watermarking and other important aspects of a pay-TV operator’s service without having to resort to additional third-party solutions. With NAGRA SSP, pay-TV operators and content owners have the flexibility to introduce new service modules as they advance in their go-to-market strategy. 

    NAGRA multi-DRM as a service is part of the NAGRA Security Services Platform (SSP) and supports the main industry device and browser platform DRMs with PlayReady, Widevine and FairPlay, as well as NAGRA’s proprietary DRM, NAGRA PRM.

    NAGRA will be demonstrating its latest solutions in scalable service protection, active content monetisation, smart business operations and smart home security at the IBC 2019 in Amsterdam (13-17 September 2019) on the NAGRA stand, Hall 1.C81. For more information on NAGRA’s IBC presence, please visit dtv.nagra.com/ibc-show-2019.

  • Airtel offers up to 1,000 GB free data on broadband plans

    Airtel offers up to 1,000 GB free data on broadband plans

    MUMBAI: After Jio announced its upcoming broadband plans, other players have also announced changes in their own. Airtel broadband is now offering its basic plan with 200GB additional data. The entertainment plan offers 500GB of additional data and the premium plan offers 1,000 GB of additional data that comes with a validity of six months.

    Airtel V-Fiber Broadband plans offer up to 1,000 GB of additional data on three of its broadband plans in India. Additional data is available on its basic, entertainment and premium plans with a validity of six months. After the validity period, the telco will forfeit the promotional unused data. The offer is only valid in the circles wherein the Airtel V-Fiber plans are active.

    The Airtel basic plan is priced at Rs 799 and comes with additional 200GB data over and above its 100GB prescribed data. The promotional data comes with a validity of six months. The bundled plan offers up to 40Mbps speed, unlimited local and STD calls, and also Airtel Thanks benefits that include Airtel TV premium subscription.

    The Airtel Entertainment plan is available at Rs 1,099 and comes with 500GB additional data valid for six months. The plan originally offers 300GB data of high-speed data with speeds up to 100Mbps. Additionally, subscribers also get unlimited local and STD calls, and a free Amazon Prime subscription for one year, Netflix subscription for three months, Zee5 Premium subscription, and Airtel TV Premium subscription.

    Coming to the Airtel Premium plan priced at Rs 1,599, it comes with 1000GB of additional data valid for six months. The premium plan originally offers 600GB data with up to 300Mbps speed. Like the Entertainment plan, this plan also provides subscribers with unlimited local and STD calls, and Airtel Thanks benefits include Amazon Prime subscription, Netflix subscription, Zee5 Premium subscription, and Airtel TV Premium subscription. The period of free subscription to Amazon Prime, Netflix and Zee5 in this plan is similar to that of the Entertainment plan.

  • Jio GigaFiber drops to third position in Netflix ISP Speed Index ranking for June 2019

    Jio GigaFiber drops to third position in Netflix ISP Speed Index ranking for June 2019

    MUMBAI: Reliance led broadband service Jio GigaFiber has dropped to third position as per Netflix ISP Speed Index rankings of June 2019 in India. Earlier it had a speed of 3.53 Mbps which has now dropped to 3.49 Mbps.

    7 Star Digital has been ranked as the fastest broadband service in the country with 3.54 Mbps, followed by Spectranet with 3.50 Mbps. Jio’s major rival Airtel broadband service has been placed in the fourth position with 3.35 Mbps.

    Atria Convergence Technologies (ACT) has acquired the fifth position with 3.24 Mbps of average speed, YouBroadband with 3.17 Mbps speed at sixth, Hathway with 2.97 Mbps at seventh, and D-VoiS at eighth spot with 2.97 Mbps speed.

    “The Netflix ISP Speed Index is a measure of prime time Netflix performance on particular ISPs (internet service providers) around the globe, and not a measure of overall performance for other services/data that may travel across the specific ISP network,” the streaming service said on its website.