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Tag: Bharti Airtel

  • Airtel, Jio turn to AI to improve customer service

    Airtel, Jio turn to AI to improve customer service

    MUMBAI: Every industry and player is adapting to Artificial Intelligence (AI) in today’s time and the Indian telecom industry isn’t far behind. In order to offer better customer service and experience, telcos like Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio are turning to AI.

    Bharti Airtel has teamed up with technology company Google to remove the complexities from its customer service experience. It has integrated AI-powered Google Assistant which responds to voice commands. This modification is said to cut down costs. Airtel was already using AI and Machine Learning to enhance customer experience through its MyAirtel application and airtel.in

    Reliance Jio introduced the voice command feature on its MyJio application. In a recent report by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, it said that voice AI is a focus area for the Mukesh Ambani-led telco, and the AI-based voice command feature is working well for the telco.

    According to an Economic Times report, Jio is also taking steps to develop AI-based products and solutions in-house. Jio's director and Mukesh Ambani's son, Akash Ambani, is building a team of professionals on AI and its multiple use cases for the telecom firm.

    Speaking to ET, Greyhound Research founder, CEO and chief analyst Sanchit Vir Gogia said, “Efforts to automate customer service is already visible through apps. Airtel has already made sizeable efforts on this front and is seeing a good response on its MyAirtel app. It makes a lot of sense to adopt AI technology to automate given the cost of human interaction has increased 20-30 per cent.”

    He added that Indian telcos need to make their subscribers use these features. “Airtel's app for self-service is well received. Jio's user base is different and they may not use such a feature as aggressively,” he said.

  • Airtel’s fixed line broadband biz under pressure as Jio enters the fray

    Airtel’s fixed line broadband biz under pressure as Jio enters the fray

    MUMBAI: More than a tenth of Airtel’s India revenue is generated through its cable business, through broadband and digital TV. And now with Reliance Jio’s entry in the cable market through its acquisition of controlling stakes in DEN Networks and Hathway cables, Airtel is very certain to face pressure in the cable industry.

    According to ET, investment banking company Credit Suisse in a note said, “The buyout of DEN Networks and Hathway Cables will give Reliance Jio Infocomm “a headstart” in the ultra-fast fibre-to-home service turf, which “we see as a real threat to Bharti’s non-mobile businesses —namely, home broadband and digital TV — which garner as much as 12 per cent of Bharti’s India revenues, excluding Bharti Infratel revenues”.

    Airtel generates as much as 17 per cent of its India operating income through home broadband and digital TV business.

    Reliance acquired a 66 per cent stake in DEN Networks and a 51.3 per cent stake in Hathway Cables last week. The deals are said to be aggregating around Rs 5,230 crore.

    As per the Swiss brokerage, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance will gain access to 24 million cable homes and leapfrog Bharti’s modest 2.1 million fixed-line homes, very few of which have fibre connectivity. Nearly out of 24 million cable homes, 16 million reside in the top 100 cities.

    Analysts believe that Reliance Jio will have more bargaining power regarding content negotiations with broadcasters as they have access to a combination of 24 million cable homes and 252 million 4G mobile broadband customers.

    However, Japan-based financial services company; Nomura Holdings does not expect Jio’s evaluated home broadband spending of $120-140 per home to reduce drastically as “the last-mile network infrastructure of DEN and Hathway will need to be upgraded.”

  • Reliance Jio to maintain ARPU lead over Airtel, Vodafone Idea

    Reliance Jio to maintain ARPU lead over Airtel, Vodafone Idea

    MUMBAI: Indian telecom company, Reliance Jio, is most likely to maintain its lead on average revenue per user (ARPU) over its rivals Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea. The telco’s strategy in the market has paid off well by selectively choosing an inordinate share of 4G smartphone users and continuing to attract them with reasonable high-end voice and data offers.

    However, on Wednesday Jio posted a fall in its ARPU to Rs 131.7 for the July-September period from Rs 134.50 in April-June and from Rs 156 a year back. This was the third straight quarterly dip in ARPU for the telco but still anticipated to fare better than Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, which stands with an ARPU at Rs 96 each.
    For the time being, Reliance Jio exhibits an average 35 per cent more ARPU than its rivals, Airtel and Vodafone Idea.

    Speaking to Economic Times, Bharti Airtel former CEO Sanjay Kapoor said, “While Jio’s strategy was centred on garnering and retaining high-paying subscribers, its rivals dominated the lower paying subscriber markets”.

    Further explaining, “Incumbents, on the other hand, have a reasonably large number of customers, in the featurephone segment, who are voice-only users and have extremely low ARPU of less than Rs 30,” added Kapoor.

    And according to Kapoor, Jio is the current thought leader of the market and is likely to determine the future ARPU trends in the Indian telecom market.

    KPMG head of technology media and telecom Mritunjay Kapur explained that Jio has been trying to maintain its ARPU and most probably will continue to have ARPU higher than the current industry average based on its voice, data and media & entertainment strategy.

  • 3 more quarters of losses for telecom industry, says COAI

    3 more quarters of losses for telecom industry, says COAI

    MUMBAI: According to COAI director general Rajan Mathews, the telecom sector will probably experience three or more quarters of losses, as the telcos remain under pressure due to high levies and unsustainable tariffs.

    Speaking to PTI, Mathews said, “Under the current scenario, I see at least another three plus quarters of losses. Why? Because personally, I do not think the present tariffs are sustainable for long term health of the industry.”

    Mathews explained that the high incidence of levies – licence fee and spectrum usage charges – intermingled by upfront payment for radio-waves have added to the operators' woes. Taking that into account he stated that 2018-19 will certainly be a "tough year" in terms of financial performance of the industry.

    “Already we have been through two quarters of losses (this fiscal). So something dramatic has to happen in the next two quarters and we know that is not going to happen. Clearly, 2018-19 will be a tough year in terms of financial performance for the industry but the beginning of fiscal 2019-20 will see clarity (emerging),” he added.

    When asked about whether the mobile rates will fall further or stabilise, he told, “The tariffs are already at affordable levels. It is difficult for me to see how much further the tariffs can drop.”

    He also described that the continuous decline in revenue stream would be unfavourable for the industry as telcos will need investments for updating technology and for wider and better coverage.

    Reliance Jio had set off a tariff war since its arrival in the market. In counter to Jio’s services, rival companies such as Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea had to cut tariffs.

    Bharti Airtel reported a loss of Rs 940 crore from its mainstay India business for the June quarter. However, Airtel in the April-June period reported a net profit of Rs 97 crore on a consolidated basis after taking into account revenues from its Africa business.

  • Import tariffs hike to hurt telcos’ network expansion: Report

    Import tariffs hike to hurt telcos’ network expansion: Report

    MUMBAI: The government, on Thursday, announced a plan to rein in imports and bolster a falling rupee. It will raise import tariffs on several electronic items and communication devices. The tariff hike was the second such move by the government in a two-week span according to Reuters.

    The government attempts to raise import barriers to curtail the import of goods it deems as "non-essential" items. The list including wearables like smartwatches, voice over internet protocol equipment and phones, and Ethernet switches, among other items.

    Last month, it raised import tariffs on 19 "non-essential items," including air conditioners, refrigerators, footwear, speakers, luggage and aviation turbine fuel, among other items.

    The gambit is part of a plan to contain a slide in the rupee, which has weakened more than 14 per cent against the US dollar this year, hit by a rout in emerging markets and other domestic factors such as a widening current account deficit.

    The plan, which becomes effective on Friday, will potentially also hurt Indian telecom carriers such as Reliance Jio Infocomm, Bharti Airtel and Idea, said Neil Shah of tech research firm Counterpoint.

    "This will slow down the rollout of high-speed broadband which uses optical fibre and LTE networks," Shah told Reuters, adding however that it could help local telecom equipment makers like Tata Teleservices that manufacture some of this equipment locally.

    India announced higher import tax on electronics products such as mobile phones and television sets in December, and then on 40 more items in the budget in February. These include goods as varied as sunglasses, juices and auto components.

  • DoT to inquire TRAI about 28 GHz band for 5G service

    DoT to inquire TRAI about 28 GHz band for 5G service

    MUMBAI: The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is planning to initiate talks for new bands to support 5G services in the country. The DoT will soon start discussing with the telecom regulator TRAI for 28GHz band for 5G commercial deployments. As per Economic Times, the DoT will also analyse pricing estimates of such airwaves.

    The practicability of this spectrum band in the country for 5G is being checked out by the government of India. The government is exploring the chances of allocating the spectrum band in India as very soon after South Korea auctions these airwaves and the US Federal Communications Commission makes a decision to do so from 14 November.

    According to a senior DoT official, “It is mandatory to refer the matter of assessing suitability of a specific bandwidth and its pricing to TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India), and the government shall do so before taking a call on allocating millimetre spectrum in 28 GHz band for early 5G deployments in India.”

    A panel will be soon formed to study the chances of installing 5G systems in the 28 GHz band and coinciding with the working satellite services in the same band.

    As per the DoT official, the government had been interested in this 5G airwave prospect after a recent meeting of Asia-Pacific Telecommunity wireless group in Bangkok. Globally, 28 GHz is perceived as “a frontier 5G band” and considered very crucial for early 5G deployments.

    TRAI’s proposed base price of Rs 492 crore per unit of 3500 MHz 5G spectrum is higher than the Rs 65 crore a unit of the recent 5G auction in South Korea. Hence, specialists say that Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel may skip the 5G spectrum auctions.

  • Jio continued to add subscribers rapidly in July 2018

    Jio continued to add subscribers rapidly in July 2018

    BENGALURU: Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani’s largest startup in the world in the form of Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, or simply Jio, continued adding subscribers at almost constant rate in the month of July 2018 (Jul-18) according to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) Telecom subscription data. According to the available Trai data for Jul-18, Jio’s subscriber base had been growing at about 5 per cent compounded rate month on month (m-o-m) in calendar year 2018. Jul-18 was no different. Jio’s subscriber base grew by 5.19 percent to 2,270.5 lakh in Jul-18 from 2,152.6 lakh in Jun-18. Since December 31, 2017, Jio had added 669.6 lakh subscribers until Jul-18– it grew 41.83 per cent in the period.

    Trai data for Jul-18 says that as per the reports received from 293 operators, the number of broadband subscribers increased from 4,471.2 lakh (447.12 million, 44.712 crore) at the end of Jun-18 to 4,692.4 lakh (460.24 million, 46.042 crore) at the end of Jul-18 with a monthly growth rate of 2.93 per cent.  Subscriber numbers for all the three broadband services segments – wireline or wired; mobile devices comprising of phones and dongles; and fixed wireless  (Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, Point-to- Point Radio & VSAT) grew in Jul-18. Please refer to the figure below:

    The top five service providers constituted 97.75 per cent market share of the total broadband subscribers at the end of Jul-18. These service providers were Jio (2270.5 lakh, 227.05 million 22.705 crore), Bharti Airtel or Airtel (953.3 lakh, 95.33 million, 9.533 crore), Vodafone (637.9 lakh, 63.79 million, 6,379 crore), Idea Cellular (435.2 lakh, 43.52 million, 4,352 crore) and BSNL (201.8 lakh, 20.18 million, 2.018 crore). 

    Wireless broadband internet

    Wireless broadband subscribers growth in absolute numbers was led by Jio, followed by Airtel, Vodafone, Idea Cellular and the public sector BSNL. BSNL was the only player among the top 5 wireless broadband internet services providers that lost subscribers in Jul-18.

    As on 31 July, 2018, the top five wireless broadband service providers were Jio (2,270.5 lakh, 227.05 million, 22.705 crore), Bharti Airtel (931.1 lakh, 93.11 million, 9.311 crore), Vodafone (639.7  lakh, 63.79 million, 6.379 crore), Idea Cellular (435.2 lakh, 43.52 million, 4,352 crore) and BSNL (110.03 lakh, 11.03 million, 1.103 crore). Please refer to the figure below:

    Wired broadband internet

    Wired broadband internet subscribers grew by 50,000 in Jul-18, but none of the top 5 wirelline internet service providers showed any substantial growth in Jul-18. As on 31 July, 2018, the top five wired broadband serviceproviders were BSNL (91.5 lakh, 9.15 million, 0.915 crore), Bharti Airtel (22.1 lakh, 2.21 million, 0.221 crore), Atria Convergence Technologies (13.4 lakh, 1.34 million, 0.134 crore), MTNL (8.30 lakh, 0.83 million, 0.083 crore) and Hathway Cable & Datacom (7.5 lakh, 0.75 million, 0.075 crore).Please refer to the figure below:

  • Airtel gets regulatory approval to offload 15% from DTH arm to Warburg Pincus

    Airtel gets regulatory approval to offload 15% from DTH arm to Warburg Pincus

    MUMBAI: In a regulatory filing Bharti Airtel said that its DTH arm Bharti Telemedia has received the government’s approval for the transfer of 15 per cent stake to private equity firm Warburg Pincus. The approval has been granted by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

    Earlier the telecom player said it plans to sell 20 per cent stake in its DTH arm to an affiliate of Warburg Pincus for about $350 million. The deal was announced in December 2017.

    “Bharti Telemedia Ltd, a subsidiary of the company, has been granted the approval dated 28 August 2018, from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for transfer of its 15 per cent stake to an affiliate of Warburg Pincus,” Bharti Airtel said.

    However, of that total 20 per cent stake while 15 per cent stake is from its DTH arm, the balance 5 per cent stake will be sold by another Bharti entity. Though the approval of 15 per cent has been mentioned in the filing, as per a Press Trust of India report the entire deal has received the clearance.

    Airtel Digital TV faces new challenges. Reliance Jio has announced it will offer a set top box for TV when it launches ultra-high speed fibre-based broadband services setting up competition in the DTH sector. If Jio comes up with aggressive pricing it will again put pressure on the average revenue per user of existing DTH players.

  • Bharti Airtel appoints Abhay Savargaonkar as CEO for new fibre company

    Bharti Airtel appoints Abhay Savargaonkar as CEO for new fibre company

    MUMBAI: Bharti Airtel is forming a new independent fibre company and has appointed chief technology officer Abhay Savargaonkar as the new venture’s chief executive officer, The Economic Times has reported.

    Airtel had made an internal announcement to this effect last week, the report said, adding that Savargaonkar will continue to report to Bharti Airtel CEO Gopal Vittal.

    Moreover, the company is also bringing in Randeep Singh Sekhon,  replacing Savargaonkar, to head the networks department as the new chief of technology for its India and South Asia operations. 

    The telco is in the final stages of transferring its optical fibre cable network to  Telesonic Networks Ltd, by way of a slump sale. According to experts, Airtel has to sell a good amount of stake in order to form the new company.

  • Broadband internet subs growth better in Jun-18 than May-18

    Broadband internet subs growth better in Jun-18 than May-18

    BENGALURU: India witnessed 3.50 per cent growth in broadband internet customers in the month of June 2018 (Jun-18, month under review) according Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) data for the month ended 30 June 2018. Hence, 151.18 lakh (15.118 million, 1.5118 crore) broadband subscribers were added in Jun-18. Comparatively, in May 2018, broadband internet customers grew 2.91 per cent (122.1 lakh, 12.21 million, 1.221 crore) vis-a-vis the previous month (April 18).

    The smallest segment among broadband internet services providers – the Fixed wireless- WiFi, Wi Max, Point to Point, Radio, Vsat segment, lost about 1,000 subscribers – the segment’s subscriber base fell from 4.09 lakh (0.409 million or 0.0409 crore) to 4.08 lakh (0.408 million or 0.0408 crore) during the month of Jun-18. The wired broadband internet subscriber base dropped by 40,000 to 179 lakh (17.90 million, 1.790 crore) in Jun-18 from 179.40 lakh (17.94 million, 1.794 crore) in the previous month.

    A major portion-100.28 per cent (151.60 lakh or 15.160 million or 1.5160 crore) of the new users opted for wireless broadband internet through mobile devices and dongles in Jun-18. The mobile devices and dongles segment grew 3.66 per cent in the month. It may be noted that TRAI considers download speeds equal to or in excess of 512 kbps as broadband internet. Also, TRAI subscriber numbers data is published in millions with 2 decimal places, hence the accuracy of this report is limited to the nearest 10,000 (Ten Thousand).

    As on 30 Jun 2018, the top five broadband internet service providers were Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd or Jio with 2152.6 lakh (215.26 million, 21.526 crore), Bharti Airtel or Airtel with 953.1 lakh (95.31 million, 9.531 crore), Vodafone with 628.6 lakh (62.86 million, 6.286 crore), Idea Cellular with 429.5 lakh (42.95 million, 4.295 crore) and BSNL with 203.4 lakh (20.34 million, 2.034 crore) subscribers respectively. The top five service providers constituted 97.67 per cent market share of the total broadband subscribers at the end of Jun-18, as compared to 97.54 per cent at the end of May-18.

    Wireless Internet

    As on 30 June, 2018, the top five Wireless Broadband Service providers were Jio with 2152.6 lakh (215.26 million, 21.526 crore), Bharti Airtel with 931.1 lakh (93.11 million, 9.311 crore), Vodafone with 628.5 (62.85 million, 6.285 crore), Idea Cellular with 429.4 lakh (42.94 million, 4.294 crore) and BSNL with 111.9 lakh (11.19 million, 1.119 crore) subscribers each.

    Jio showed the largest growth in terms of absolute numbers across all segments. Jio’s subscribers have grown by 34.46 per cent in calendar year 2018 (CY 2018) since 31 December 2017 (or 1 January 2018, Dec-17). Its subscriber base has grown from 1,600.9 lakh (160.09 million, 16.009 crore) as on 1 January 2017 to 2,152.6 lakh (215.26 million or 21.526 crore) on 30 June 2018. Jio subscribers grew by 97.20 lakh (9.72 million, 0.972 crore) or 4.52 per cent in June 2018, hence led the subscriber growth in Jun-18 At present, Jio provides only wireless broadband internet services through mobile devices including phones and dongles. BSNL has being losing subscribers on a regular basis – it has lost 49.02 per cent or 107.60 lakh (10.76 million or 1.076 crore) subscribers in CY 2018. Please refer to the figure below

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    Wired Internet

    The wired internet subscriber base has been bleeding – the segment lost 40,000 subscribers during the month of June 2018. Among the top 5 service providers, only Bharti Airtel (10,000) and Atra Convergence Technologies or ACT (20,000) have added subscribers. The other three players among the top 5 have lost subscribers.

    Though growth of the wired internet subscribers until May-18 was led by Hathway Cable & Datacom Limited (Hathway), TRAI data shows that the company did not add any significant numbers in May-18 while it lost 40,000 subscribers in Jun-18. Its subscriber base for Apr-18 and May-18 was the same as per TRAI data. The company had added about 60,000 (grew by 8.22 per cent) subscribers in CY 2018 until May-18 and its subscriber base grew to 7.9 lakh (0.79 million, 0.079 crore) from 7.3 lakh (0.73 million, 0.073 crore) at the beginning of CY 2018. 

    In CY 2018, ACT has exhibited the highest growth at 4.69 per cent. Both AIrtel and ACT subscriber base has grown by 60,000 in CY 2018. In Jun-18, ACT had the highest subscriber growth – its base grew by 20,000 or 1.52 per cent.

    In Jun-18, the top five Wired Broadband Service providers were BSNL with 91.5 lakh (9.15 million, 0.915 crore), Bharti Airtel with 22.1 lakh (2.21 million, 0.221 crore), ACT with 13.4 lakh (1.34 million, 0.134 crore), MTNL 8.3 lakh (0.83 million, 0.083 crore and Hathway with 7.5 lakh (0.75 million, 0.075 crore) subscribers respectively. The government’s BSNL and MTNL have in general being losing subscribers. Please refer to the figure below. 

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    Other broadband internet service providers

    MSOs and (LCOs) or cable video service providers also provide wired broadband internet services in the country. These cable service providers have a number of subsidiaries and alliances, hence broadband numbers are split as applicable. The consolidated subscription numbers of these entities could be larger than the numbers of some of the wired internet services providers mentioned above. However, in general, quarterly results of the major MSOs until the quarter ended 30 June 2018 (Q1 2019) indicate that their wired broadband subscription addition efforts have been far below par, some have even had a drop in subscriber numbers as well as reduction in ARPUs.