Tag: Atria Convergence Technoligies Limited

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Other wireline broadband players in India

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

Overall broadband subscriber numbers for May 2016 including wireless and mobile

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

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

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

 

BENGALURU: Historically April seems to be a poor month in terms of wired broadband subscriber additions, if one were to go by the numbers reported by The Telecom regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).  For the month of April ended 30 April 2016 (Apr-16), TRAI has reported addition of just 70,000 subscribers (0.39 percent growth over Mar-16). TRAI data for Apr-16 shows 170.5 lakh wired broadband subscribers and 169.8 lakh for Mar-16. This growth is however much better than the numbers reported by TRAI for Apr-15, which actually saw a decline in wired broadband subscribers by 10,000 from 136.4 lakh in Mar-15 to 136.3 lakh.

As per TRAI data, the top five players in India in the wireline broadband internet space in pecking order are the public sector Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Bharti Airtel Limited (Airtel), public sector Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL), Atria Convergence Technologies Private Limited (ACT, ACT Broadband) and You Broadband (You BB). Among these 5, only BSNL and Airtel could be termed as national players at present. BSNL, Airtel and MTNL also provide wireline telephony voice and data and mobile services while Airtel also has a direct to home (DTH) segment. ACT started off as an MSO with operations concentrated in a few major cities and towns located mainly in South India. It started internet services (ACT Broadband) a little later and has grown its broadband internet subscriber base over time, to the extent that it is quite likely the biggest private wireline broadband player in South India. You BB offers broadband operations in a few cities in Maharashtra, Gujarat the NCR region Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

Note:(1) 100,00,000 = 100 Lakh = 10 million = 1 crore

(2) TRAI reports indicate data in millions of numbers up to 2 decimal places. Hence it is assumed in this report that a figure of 0.47 million (4.7 lakh) subscribers for You BB for July-2015 would be granular to the nearest 10,000. While percentages have been mentioned up to two decimal places, the accuracy may vary, depending upon the exact number.

(3) Industry sources say that TRAI numbers in the case of ACT for May-2015 are incorrect at 0.66 million and the correct number would be 0.693 million. This paper considers the number as 6.93 lakh or 0.693 million.

(4) MSOs’ have a number of subsidiaries and alliances, hence broadband numbers are split as applicable. The consolidated subscription numbers of these entities could be larger. Hathway is a case in point.

So how much did the top 5 wired broadband players add to the growth of 70,000 subscribers in Apr-15? Just 10,000- because the net subscriber additions by the three private players of 50,000 was eroded by the loss of 40,000 wireline broadband subscribers (30,000 by BSNL and 10,000 by MTNL) by the two public sector service providers. Please refer to Fig 1 below.

Among the top 5 players, ACT has seen the largest wireline broadband subscriber growth until Apr-16 in calendar year 2016 with 1 lakh additions followed by Airtel with 90,000. You BB stood third with 30,000 wireline broadband subscriber additions in 2016 until Apr-16. The public sector players have lost wired broadband subscribers until Apr-16 in 2016 – BSNL has seen subscribers decline by 10,000 while MTNL has lost 20,000 subscribers. Overall, the top 5 wired broadband players have added 1.9 lakh subscribers between 31 January 2016 and 30 April 2016 as opposed to the overall growth of 5.4 lakh subscribers in the country during the same period. Please refer to Fig 2 below:

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

At the same time, the subscriber numbers share of the top five wired broadband players in the country has reduced from 87.62 percent in Mar-15 to 83.70 percent as on Apr-16. During the same period the all India wireline internet subscriber base has grown 9.86 per cent from 155.2 lakh to 170.5 lakh. The combined numbers of the top five players have increased by less than half of that in percentage terms – by 4.62 per cent from 136.4 lakh to 142.7 lakh. The top five players have added 6.3 lakh subscribers during these 14 months, with ACT and Bharti Airtel contributing a major chunk to the growth.

Other wireline broadband players in India

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

Overall broadband subscriber numbers for April 2016 including wireless and mobile

Overall, as per the reports received by TRAI from the service providers, the number of broadband subscribers (including wireless, mobile) increased from 149.75 million (14.975 crore) at the end of Mar-16 to 151.09 million (15.109 crore) at the end of Apr-16 with a monthly growth rate of 0.89 percent. The top five service providers constituted 83.86 percent market share of the total broadband subscribers at the end of Apr-16. These service providers were Airtel (39.13 million or 3.913 crore), Vodafone (28.11 million or 2.811 crore), Idea Cellular

(23.23 million or 2.323 crore), BSNL (20.48 million 2.048 crore) and Reliance Communications Group (15.74 million or 1.574 crore).TRAI’s definition of broadband is internet download speeds greater than or equal to 512 Kpbs.

Also read:

ACT leads in wired broadband subscriber additions in 2016

http://www.indiantelevision.com/iworld/broadband/act-leads-in-wired-broadband-subscriber-additions-in-2016-160426

 

BENGALURU: Historically April seems to be a poor month in terms of wired broadband subscriber additions, if one were to go by the numbers reported by The Telecom regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).  For the month of April ended 30 April 2016 (Apr-16), TRAI has reported addition of just 70,000 subscribers (0.39 percent growth over Mar-16). TRAI data for Apr-16 shows 170.5 lakh wired broadband subscribers and 169.8 lakh for Mar-16. This growth is however much better than the numbers reported by TRAI for Apr-15, which actually saw a decline in wired broadband subscribers by 10,000 from 136.4 lakh in Mar-15 to 136.3 lakh.

As per TRAI data, the top five players in India in the wireline broadband internet space in pecking order are the public sector Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Bharti Airtel Limited (Airtel), public sector Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL), Atria Convergence Technologies Private Limited (ACT, ACT Broadband) and You Broadband (You BB). Among these 5, only BSNL and Airtel could be termed as national players at present. BSNL, Airtel and MTNL also provide wireline telephony voice and data and mobile services while Airtel also has a direct to home (DTH) segment. ACT started off as an MSO with operations concentrated in a few major cities and towns located mainly in South India. It started internet services (ACT Broadband) a little later and has grown its broadband internet subscriber base over time, to the extent that it is quite likely the biggest private wireline broadband player in South India. You BB offers broadband operations in a few cities in Maharashtra, Gujarat the NCR region Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

Note:(1) 100,00,000 = 100 Lakh = 10 million = 1 crore

(2) TRAI reports indicate data in millions of numbers up to 2 decimal places. Hence it is assumed in this report that a figure of 0.47 million (4.7 lakh) subscribers for You BB for July-2015 would be granular to the nearest 10,000. While percentages have been mentioned up to two decimal places, the accuracy may vary, depending upon the exact number.

(3) Industry sources say that TRAI numbers in the case of ACT for May-2015 are incorrect at 0.66 million and the correct number would be 0.693 million. This paper considers the number as 6.93 lakh or 0.693 million.

(4) MSOs’ have a number of subsidiaries and alliances, hence broadband numbers are split as applicable. The consolidated subscription numbers of these entities could be larger. Hathway is a case in point.

So how much did the top 5 wired broadband players add to the growth of 70,000 subscribers in Apr-15? Just 10,000- because the net subscriber additions by the three private players of 50,000 was eroded by the loss of 40,000 wireline broadband subscribers (30,000 by BSNL and 10,000 by MTNL) by the two public sector service providers. Please refer to Fig 1 below.

Among the top 5 players, ACT has seen the largest wireline broadband subscriber growth until Apr-16 in calendar year 2016 with 1 lakh additions followed by Airtel with 90,000. You BB stood third with 30,000 wireline broadband subscriber additions in 2016 until Apr-16. The public sector players have lost wired broadband subscribers until Apr-16 in 2016 – BSNL has seen subscribers decline by 10,000 while MTNL has lost 20,000 subscribers. Overall, the top 5 wired broadband players have added 1.9 lakh subscribers between 31 January 2016 and 30 April 2016 as opposed to the overall growth of 5.4 lakh subscribers in the country during the same period. Please refer to Fig 2 below:

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

At the same time, the subscriber numbers share of the top five wired broadband players in the country has reduced from 87.62 percent in Mar-15 to 83.70 percent as on Apr-16. During the same period the all India wireline internet subscriber base has grown 9.86 per cent from 155.2 lakh to 170.5 lakh. The combined numbers of the top five players have increased by less than half of that in percentage terms – by 4.62 per cent from 136.4 lakh to 142.7 lakh. The top five players have added 6.3 lakh subscribers during these 14 months, with ACT and Bharti Airtel contributing a major chunk to the growth.

Other wireline broadband players in India

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

Overall broadband subscriber numbers for April 2016 including wireless and mobile

Overall, as per the reports received by TRAI from the service providers, the number of broadband subscribers (including wireless, mobile) increased from 149.75 million (14.975 crore) at the end of Mar-16 to 151.09 million (15.109 crore) at the end of Apr-16 with a monthly growth rate of 0.89 percent. The top five service providers constituted 83.86 percent market share of the total broadband subscribers at the end of Apr-16. These service providers were Airtel (39.13 million or 3.913 crore), Vodafone (28.11 million or 2.811 crore), Idea Cellular

(23.23 million or 2.323 crore), BSNL (20.48 million 2.048 crore) and Reliance Communications Group (15.74 million or 1.574 crore).TRAI’s definition of broadband is internet download speeds greater than or equal to 512 Kpbs.

Also read:

ACT leads in wired broadband subscriber additions in 2016

http://www.indiantelevision.com/iworld/broadband/act-leads-in-wired-broadband-subscriber-additions-in-2016-160426

 

BENGALURU: Atria Convergence Technologies Private Limited (ACT, ACT Broadband) leads in net wired broadband subscriber additions in calendar year 2016 (CY-2016) with 80,000 subscribers added during the first quarter of CY-2016 . As per data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), ACT’s broadband subscriber base as on 31 March 2016 (Mar-16) was 9.4 lakh as compared to the 8.6 lakh subscribers as on 31 December 2015 (Dec-15). ACT was closely followed by telecom major Airtel with 70,000 wired broadband subscriber additions until Mar-16 in CY-2016. Airtel’s wired broadband subscriber base in Mar-16 was 17.4 lakh.

Until 30 October 2015 (Oct-15), ACT Broadband was leading in wireline broadband internet subscriber additions in India during calendar year 2015. Both ACT and Bharti Airtel had added 230,000 subscribers in CY-15 until Nov-15. In December 2015, numbers released by TRAI indicated that as on 31 December 2015 (Dec-15), Bharti Airtel had added 2.6 lakh subscribers (subject to a granularity of 10,000) as compared to the 2.5 lakh subscribers added by ACT in the period between 31 December 2014 (hence 1 January 2015, Dec-14) and Dec-15. In terms of wireline internet subscription numbers, Airtel had 16.7 lakh subscribers while ACT had 8.6 lakh subscribers at the end of CY-2015.

As per TRAI data, the top five players in India in the wireline broadband internet space in pecking order are the public sector Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Bharti Airtel Limited (Airtel), public sector Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL), Atria Convergence Technologies Private Limited (ACT, ACT Broadband) and You Broadband (You BB). Among these 5, only BSNL and Airtel could be termed national players at present. BSNL, Airtel and MTNL also provide wireline and mobile services while Airtel also has a direct to home (DTH) segment. ACT started off as an MSO with operations concentrated in a few major cities and towns located mainly in South India. It started internet services (ACT Broadband) a little later and has grown its broadband internet subscriber base over time, to the extent that it is quite likely the biggest private wireline broadband player in South India. You BB offers broadband operations in a few cities in Maharashtra, Gujarat the NCR region Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

While the public sector players BSNL and MTNL had been losing subscribers and/or market share until Feb-16, the three private players have been growing on both these parameters as Fig 1 below indicates. In CY-2016, until Mar-16, MTNL had lost 10,000 while BSNL gained 20,000 wired broadband subscribers with the addition of 30,000 in Mar-16 itself. You BB added 20,000 subscribers in CY-2016. BSNL’s wired broadband subscriber base as on 31 March 2016 was 99.4 lakh, while MTNL had 11.1 lakh subscribers. You BB had 5.3 lakh subscribers for Mar-15.

Note:(1) 100,00,000 = 100 Lakh = 10 million = 1 crore

(2) TRAI reports indicate data in millions of numbers up to 2 decimal places. Hence it is assumed in this report that a figure of 0.47 million (4.7 lakh) subscribers for You BB for July-2015 would be granular to the nearest 10,000. While percentages have been mentioned up to two decimal places, the accuracy may vary, depending upon the exact number.

(3) Industry sources say that TRAI numbers in the case of ACT for May-2015 are incorrect at 0.66 million and the correct number would be 0.693 million. This paper considers the number as 6.93 lakh or 0.693 million.

(4) MSOs’ have a number of subsidiaries and alliances, hence broadband numbers are split as applicable. The consolidated subscription numbers of these entities could be larger. Hathway is a case in point.

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

At the same time, the subscriber numbers share of the top five wired broadband players in the country has reduced from 88.45 percent from Dec-14 to 83.98 percent as on Mar-16. During the same period the all India wireline internet subscriber base has grown 10.48 per cent from 153.2 lakh to 169.8 lakh. The combined numbers of the top five players have increased by less than half of that in percentage terms – by 5.24 per cent from 136.3 lakh to 142.6 lakh. The top five players have added 7.1 lakh subscribers during these 15 months, with ACT and Bharti Airtel contributing to the major bulk of the growth.          

Other wireline broadband players in India

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

Ortel president and CEO Bibhu Prasad Rath said, “We are happy to launch a wide array of broadband plans in DOCSIS 2.0 and DOCSIS 3.0 technology platforms keeping in view the current pattern of internet usage by the subscribers. While we have very affordable plans to serve all internet subscribers, we have been continuously upgrading the speeds to cater to the fast changing usage trends of subscribers who have multiple requirements ranging from plain simple browsing, emailing, social media engagement, heavy downloading, video conferencing to the higher end usage of HD live streaming of video content and complex online gaming. Our endeavour is to constantly redefine our consumer experience and we will constantly pursue this objective in our markets to increase our broadband subscriber base.”

Ortel reported a net addition of 13,963 internet subscribers in FY-2016(year ended 31 March 2016, current year) compared to 4,092 subscribers in FY-2015; Total Broadband RGUs were 72,482. The company expects significant growth in broadband subscribers in FY-2017 on the back of new network rollout, a strong team, solid back-end operations, attractive broadband packages and various other value-added services and initiatives.

Earlier this month, Ortel introduced a wide range of plans including 100 Mbps mega speed DOCSIS 3.0 broadband internet in the state of Odisha. The new Ortel Broadband plans range from 2 Mbps to 100 Mbps which will cater to the requirements of most of the home broadband users ranging from simple browsing, chatting to using High Definition video content and high level Online Gaming.

Siti Cable has reported broadband customer base growth to approximately 1.32 lakh by Q4-16 (quarter ended 31 March 2016, current quarter), up 120 percent year-on-year. Results from Hathway and Den Networks for FY-16 and Q4-16 have yet to be published in the public domain.

 

BENGALURU: Atria Convergence Technologies Private Limited (ACT, ACT Broadband) leads in net wired broadband subscriber additions in calendar year 2016 (CY-2016) with 80,000 subscribers added during the first quarter of CY-2016 . As per data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), ACT’s broadband subscriber base as on 31 March 2016 (Mar-16) was 9.4 lakh as compared to the 8.6 lakh subscribers as on 31 December 2015 (Dec-15). ACT was closely followed by telecom major Airtel with 70,000 wired broadband subscriber additions until Mar-16 in CY-2016. Airtel’s wired broadband subscriber base in Mar-16 was 17.4 lakh.

Until 30 October 2015 (Oct-15), ACT Broadband was leading in wireline broadband internet subscriber additions in India during calendar year 2015. Both ACT and Bharti Airtel had added 230,000 subscribers in CY-15 until Nov-15. In December 2015, numbers released by TRAI indicated that as on 31 December 2015 (Dec-15), Bharti Airtel had added 2.6 lakh subscribers (subject to a granularity of 10,000) as compared to the 2.5 lakh subscribers added by ACT in the period between 31 December 2014 (hence 1 January 2015, Dec-14) and Dec-15. In terms of wireline internet subscription numbers, Airtel had 16.7 lakh subscribers while ACT had 8.6 lakh subscribers at the end of CY-2015.

As per TRAI data, the top five players in India in the wireline broadband internet space in pecking order are the public sector Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Bharti Airtel Limited (Airtel), public sector Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL), Atria Convergence Technologies Private Limited (ACT, ACT Broadband) and You Broadband (You BB). Among these 5, only BSNL and Airtel could be termed national players at present. BSNL, Airtel and MTNL also provide wireline and mobile services while Airtel also has a direct to home (DTH) segment. ACT started off as an MSO with operations concentrated in a few major cities and towns located mainly in South India. It started internet services (ACT Broadband) a little later and has grown its broadband internet subscriber base over time, to the extent that it is quite likely the biggest private wireline broadband player in South India. You BB offers broadband operations in a few cities in Maharashtra, Gujarat the NCR region Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

While the public sector players BSNL and MTNL had been losing subscribers and/or market share until Feb-16, the three private players have been growing on both these parameters as Fig 1 below indicates. In CY-2016, until Mar-16, MTNL had lost 10,000 while BSNL gained 20,000 wired broadband subscribers with the addition of 30,000 in Mar-16 itself. You BB added 20,000 subscribers in CY-2016. BSNL’s wired broadband subscriber base as on 31 March 2016 was 99.4 lakh, while MTNL had 11.1 lakh subscribers. You BB had 5.3 lakh subscribers for Mar-15.

Note:(1) 100,00,000 = 100 Lakh = 10 million = 1 crore

(2) TRAI reports indicate data in millions of numbers up to 2 decimal places. Hence it is assumed in this report that a figure of 0.47 million (4.7 lakh) subscribers for You BB for July-2015 would be granular to the nearest 10,000. While percentages have been mentioned up to two decimal places, the accuracy may vary, depending upon the exact number.

(3) Industry sources say that TRAI numbers in the case of ACT for May-2015 are incorrect at 0.66 million and the correct number would be 0.693 million. This paper considers the number as 6.93 lakh or 0.693 million.

(4) MSOs’ have a number of subsidiaries and alliances, hence broadband numbers are split as applicable. The consolidated subscription numbers of these entities could be larger. Hathway is a case in point.

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

At the same time, the subscriber numbers share of the top five wired broadband players in the country has reduced from 88.45 percent from Dec-14 to 83.98 percent as on Mar-16. During the same period the all India wireline internet subscriber base has grown 10.48 per cent from 153.2 lakh to 169.8 lakh. The combined numbers of the top five players have increased by less than half of that in percentage terms – by 5.24 per cent from 136.3 lakh to 142.6 lakh. The top five players have added 7.1 lakh subscribers during these 15 months, with ACT and Bharti Airtel contributing to the major bulk of the growth.          

Other wireline broadband players in India

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

Ortel president and CEO Bibhu Prasad Rath said, “We are happy to launch a wide array of broadband plans in DOCSIS 2.0 and DOCSIS 3.0 technology platforms keeping in view the current pattern of internet usage by the subscribers. While we have very affordable plans to serve all internet subscribers, we have been continuously upgrading the speeds to cater to the fast changing usage trends of subscribers who have multiple requirements ranging from plain simple browsing, emailing, social media engagement, heavy downloading, video conferencing to the higher end usage of HD live streaming of video content and complex online gaming. Our endeavour is to constantly redefine our consumer experience and we will constantly pursue this objective in our markets to increase our broadband subscriber base.”

Ortel reported a net addition of 13,963 internet subscribers in FY-2016(year ended 31 March 2016, current year) compared to 4,092 subscribers in FY-2015; Total Broadband RGUs were 72,482. The company expects significant growth in broadband subscribers in FY-2017 on the back of new network rollout, a strong team, solid back-end operations, attractive broadband packages and various other value-added services and initiatives.

Earlier this month, Ortel introduced a wide range of plans including 100 Mbps mega speed DOCSIS 3.0 broadband internet in the state of Odisha. The new Ortel Broadband plans range from 2 Mbps to 100 Mbps which will cater to the requirements of most of the home broadband users ranging from simple browsing, chatting to using High Definition video content and high level Online Gaming.

Siti Cable has reported broadband customer base growth to approximately 1.32 lakh by Q4-16 (quarter ended 31 March 2016, current quarter), up 120 percent year-on-year. Results from Hathway and Den Networks for FY-16 and Q4-16 have yet to be published in the public domain.