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Tag: broadband

  • Wired broadband subscriber base sees turnaround in March; ACT keeps expanding

    Wired broadband subscriber base sees turnaround in March; ACT keeps expanding

    KOLKATA: The number of broadband subscribers reached 687.44 million at the end of March with a monthly growth rate of 0.93 per cent, slower rate compared to February. While it stood at 681.11 million at the end of February, it grew at 1.15 per cent that month. Surprisingly, fixed wireless subscribers have jumped up by 2.48 per cent whereas it fell by 1.72 per cent in February. Wired subscriber base has also increased by 0.51 per cent in contrast to a negative trend in the previous month.  

    The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released the telecom subscription data as on March 2020. As per the report, the top five service providers constituted 98.99 per cent market share of the total broadband subscribers at the end of March. These service providers were Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (388.39 million), Bharti Airtel (148.57 million), Vodafone Idea (117.45 million), BSNL (24.50 million) and Atria Convergence (1.61 million).

    As on 31 March, the top five Wired Broadband Service providers were BSNL (8.08 million), Bharti Airtel (2.47 million), Atria Convergence Technologies I.e, ACT (1.61 million), Hathway Cable & Datacom (0.97 million) and Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (0.87 million). Notably, Atria has been on an upward ride until the beginning of this year. At the end of last December, its subscriber base was at 1.52 million.

    Source: TRAI

    While fixed-line broadband sector was struggling to get new subscribers for the last few years, especially due to surge of high-speed low-cost data offered by telco operators, a Crisil report spoke of a spike in fixed broadband subscriptions since 25 March. While the report has predicted a huge growth, TRAI’s April data will be able to show actual numbers based on reports from operators.

    As on 31 March 2020, the top five Wireless Broadband Service providers were Reliance Jio Infocom Ltd (387.52 million), Bharti Airtel (146.10 million), Vodafone Idea (117.43 million), BSNL (16.43 million) and MTNL (0.18 million). 

  • ZEE5 offers its premium subscription to JioFiber users

    ZEE5 offers its premium subscription to JioFiber users

    MUMBAI: While the world is still battling the effects of the pandemic and the resulting shutdowns and restrictions, ZEE5 has risen to the occasion to keep all those at home constantly entertained. With constant innovations and upgrades, the Super-App has been ceaselessly leading digital transformations to create a wholesome entertainment ecosystem that caters to each segment of their diverse audience.

    Furthering these efforts, ZEE5 now offers its premium subscription to JioFiber users. This complimentary subscription to ZEE5’s premium content is available to new as well as existing JioFiber users on Silver plan and above.

    The association offers JioFiber users unlimited entertainment through complimentary access to ZEE5’s library of 4500+ movies and 120+ originals for eligible customers. With continuous content additions across 12 languages, JioFiber’s users can look forward to an exciting library of content that is ready to keep them company 24/7. With ZEE5’s addition, Jio further strengthens its entertainment offering for its JioFiber customers.

    Speaking on this collaboration, ZEE5 India business development and commercial head Manpreet Bumrah stated, “As India’s Entertainment Super-App, ZEE5’s focus has always been on delivering the best of entertainment to every segment of our diverse audiences through custom plans. This association is in line with our vision to further consolidate our presence across the country by leveraging the synergies between the two iconic consumer brands. And this step will benefit the users of Jio and ZEE5 by bringing the convenience of streaming a choice of content, be it shows, originals or popular movies. With the lockdown, we have witnessed a significant uptick in subscriptions and streaming on our platform and this integration will help us keep JioFiber customers engaged and entertained, across spectrum of devices.”

  • Decoding Covid2019 impact on GTPL Hathway’s cable, broadband business

    Decoding Covid2019 impact on GTPL Hathway’s cable, broadband business

    MUMBAI: As the country is struggling with the Covid2019 pandemic, cable TV and internet have acted as the nervous system to keep people informed and entertained. Due to the need of staying connected, the cable and broadband service providers like GTPL Hathway have seen a surge in demand on both sides of the business.

    GTPL Hathway will re-evaluate strategies after observing the Covid2019 impact; however, the company’s business is not much impacted at this stage as people are watching more TV, and consuming more data. This means that consumers are upgrading existing packs.

    “If you see the subscriber base (on the cable side), we have grown by 10 per cent this year. We are going to grow more, if all things go well. So the target is to grow more than 10 per cent on subscriber base. And on the revenue side also we want to maintain our CAGR of what we did in the last four years,” GTPL Hathway CATV business head and chief strategy officer Piyush Pankaj said in an earnings call.

    While on-ground collections have been a major issue for a large number of MSOs, the company has given online payment facilities to the local cable operators (LCO) also. “LCO has also started collecting online. We have given that facility to the LCOs that they can collect online from their subscribers, which is going directly to their bank account and then digitally they are paying us. And we have given some relaxation on that way. So the situation is totally under control. And we are getting the collections as projected,” Pankaj said.

    Since free-to-air broadcasters have been adversely affected by dwindling advertising revenue, there might be re-negotiation on carriage fee and placement fee if the current turmoil persists. However, with 70-75 per cent revenue coming from placement, carriage and marketing side from pay broadcasters, the company is not foreseeing any impact on that.

    While upping the broadband game significantly, it has also added around 80k subscribers in FY20. As the company reached 30k net subscribers’ addition in the last quarter, it aims to maintain and increase that trend. Hence, it is looking at 120k to 150k subscribers in FY 21.

    “The residential customers have gone up in the last 30 days, both on the broadband side and cable side. But commercial customers like shops, offices, restaurants, hotels have come down. So you can say it's more of a net-net for both the businesses, for the broadband and the cable. We are not getting renewals for commercial restaurants, offices, and hotels. But there is a surge in the residential connections,” Pankaj said.

  • GTPL Hathway increases CAPEX in upgrading network, 70% transmitted into GPON technology

    GTPL Hathway increases CAPEX in upgrading network, 70% transmitted into GPON technology

    MUMBAI: Traditional distributors like cable operators are feeling the heat of the competition from a number of easily accessible streaming services. But large multi-system operators are not sitting idle to watch the ruin of their long-built businesses. Hence, constantly upgrading has become the key to adapt in changing business environment. GTPL Hathway is one of them which is putting more CAPEX in upgrading the network and moving towards a hybrid model of business.

    The company is looking at Rs 250-260 crore CAPEX for FY 21 and around Rs 150 crore to Rs 160 crore will go into the cable business; the rest will go into the broadband business. But it will have to reevaluate it somewhere in quarter two to see what is the Covid2019 effect and how much longer the effect is going to be. 

    GTPL Hathway chairman and non-executive director Rajan Gupta explains in an investors call that a significant amount of CAPEX has been invested in upgrading the network. While the MSO was earlier relying on Metro Ethernet Network (MEN) technology,  most of that has been upgraded now to fiber-to-building (FTTB) and fiber-to-home (FTTH). 

    He adds that they have seen see a huge increase in network training also in the last few quarters or a few months. 

    “We have to divide it into two parts. One is something called an access network and second is the last mile consumer equipment. So access network is capable of handling anything. On the last mile, you put two consumer premises equipment, or you put a hybrid equipment. And as far as legal is concerned, cable and broadband have separate licenses, one is MIB and second is the DoT. So, in any case, combined bill, etc., is not possible because both have different licensing requirement. So we have to differentiate between the access network technology and the last mile which is the consumer home,” Gupta speaks about the required investment for upgradation.

    GTPL Hathway CATV business head and chief strategy officer Piyush Pankaj says that now almost 70 per cent network is transmitted into GPON technology i.e, FTTH or FTTX. He also adds that they are working on the hybrid box and the order has been given. While the launch of the hybrid boxes, the combined business of cable, broadband and OTT together was scheduled somewhere in July, it may be extended it by one quarter due to Covid2019 crisis. He notes that they want to take benefit of these opportunities of all latest technologies to serve their customers better. 

    Jio, the shareholder of GTPL Hathway, is also focusing on broadband business highly. But GTPL Hathway promoter and managing director Anirudhsinh Jadeja mentions that Jio is not launching any cable TV business, so it isn't posing any additional competition. “They are majorly into the broadband business. So, yes, it's a privilege that Jio is our partner and we have almost very good understanding and we have a lot of synergy in terms of the infrastructure sharing and content sharing. So, we are not seeing right now any competition from Jio. We are complementing each other,” he adds.

    “See, all the synergies (with Jio) and benefits we are getting as GTPL Hathway will continue as usual, such as, from all the vendor negotiations, lease line side, etc. Yes, GTPL Hathway is doing its own broadband business as we are mainly doing it in Gujarat. Jio is with us, it's our privilege and we are going to complement each other's business on the ground,” Pankaj adds.

    The MSO launched Giga HD last year where it started providing cable and broadband together but had to roll it back just because of the NTO which was getting implemented. Now, it is coming with the hybrid box where it will provide cable, broadband and OTT together to the customer. The endeavour is to get double, triple or quadruple customers to take up the stickiness much higher. The company also seems less bothered about competition as it says all the areas where GTPL is operating there is no other private player but BSNL being the primary competition. 

  • Broadband to become a fundamental human right: TRAI chairman

    Broadband to become a fundamental human right: TRAI chairman

    MUMBAI: Broadband will become a fundamental human right and it will be difficult to imagine life without broadband connectivity, said Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (tRAI) chairman R S Sharma. He was speaking at a virtual conference organised by Broadband India Forum.

    He said that it is time to make investment to boost fixed-line broadband so as to support areas such as education, work from home, etc. While it is a fact that the country has achieved a lot in mobile, we still have a long way to go in the field of fixed-line broadband. It is essential to give reliable connectivity, he said, adding that what lies ahead is a digital future. Connectivity is an area of paramount importance.

    Many things like the role of technology that the Covid2019 pandemic has taught the country will become permanent, and they will be good for the country, he said, adding that in the changing context TRAI will approach all the regulations with a new perspective.

    He said that what this crisis has taught us will become permanent in this country; it will be actually good for us. “I believe digital transaction is always better because it is cost-effective, environment-friendly, instantaneous, frugal, and last but not the least it is contactless."

    He said that after the pandemic broke out, people depended on IT and communication technology much more than physical infrastructure such as road, rail, or air transports.

    Work-from-home has become a norm and it will remain so in the immediate future. We are going to see tele-medicine, e-commerce, etc. Schools have started teaching students from home, Sharma said.

    He added that we have to live in a world with minimal human contact all the while enabling economic growth and socialising. 

    Department of Telecom joint secretary Hari Ranjan Rao informed that efforts are going on to implement a national optic fibre map so that investors can decide where they want to invest and build capacities.

  • We are not a cable TV company but a digital services provider: IMCL’s Vynsley Fernandes

    We are not a cable TV company but a digital services provider: IMCL’s Vynsley Fernandes

    MUMBAI: Innovation is the key to sustain any business. With newer entrants capturing market share, emerging alternatives to traditional TV, the cable operators in the country have focused on creating a diverse portfolio of services. IndusInd Media and Communications Ltd. (IMCL) CEO Vynsley Fernandes, who believes in innovation to stay ahead of the competition, says it is not a cable television company but a digital services provider.

    “We have launched broadband as our combo pack. Today, we are not a cable television company. We are a digital services provider. We provide video broadband and data to consumers’ homes. When we work with cable providers, we groom them to become digital service providers,” Fernandes said during a virtual fireside chat with Indiantelvision.com founder, CEO and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari.

    He mentioned that all the major cable operators have moved to fibre and provide both broadband and cable because they understand the need to have a diversified portfolio. According to him, the cable operators are ahead of the curve as they have been providing broadband well before the bigger players entered.

    “You have to keep on innovating. There is no other rule book in this business for success other than innovation. Everyone – DTH, cable TV, OTT – has to innovate to stay ahead of the curve. Can you build home security products built into it? Can you create payment gateways? The only way to keep innovating new products,” he stated.

    About the broadband business, he said that they have a subscriber base of 300,000 which is growing very rapidly. “The good part is you need not have one at the cost of the other. Today our product is a combo product. We are offering fibre to the home, a high-value pack: 750 channels on cable television. So consumers are opting for cable, data, and broadband. Will there be a skew? Yes, there will be a skew. But technology will evolve but the ethos and principles will remain fundamental to the business,” he added.

    Fernandes added that they have spent the last year ensuring that the subscriber base is built up again while it was affected during the rollout of new tariff order (NTO). Hence, IMCL closed the year with a large number of subscribers migrating back to IMLC. It also crossed five million-mark in the month of March.

    “Cable continues to work in the highly-dense markets, urban areas like Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, and to some extent places like Ahmedabad, Nagpur, etc. But our focus will always be major cities. We don’t have a major presence in Kolkata, but we are building it there. The cable works well because we are able to bundle it with broadband. In all our city markets we have been able to do that. HITS was always designed as a product to reach consumers in tier-3-4 markets and it has lived up to its reputation. Close to sixty-five per cent of our HITS base is from rural markets. Another 35 per cent is probably a mix between tier-2 and tier-3 markets. Our growth has continued in rural markets,” he added.

    The veteran professional in the industry also said that during the last six months, a lot of businesses including competitors have realized that the future lies in collaboration. IMCL has also been working with some large pan-India MSOs to provide managed services through its HITS platform. The MSOs were also facing challenges of fibre cuts in rural India because the subscriber servicing cost (SSC) in rural India is much higher than cities because the density is much more.

    “In our company today, with the WFH in place, everyone is given a new role. How can they innovate and work differently? The challenge is on revenue and margins. Revenues are going to be hit, but margins will be hit harder. The only way to do that is to substantiate the margins by building layers. So you have a cable TV layer, and you build broadband and offer OTT with it; not your own OTT, but partnering with someone to offer it as a hybrid product. You build a digital payment app over. So you build a stack of useful products. It is going to be tough and challenging in the coming days,” Fernandes commented.

  • GTPL Hathway reports cable and internet subscribers, profit growth for FY 2019-20

    GTPL Hathway reports cable and internet subscribers, profit growth for FY 2019-20

    BENGALURU: Indian cable and internet services major GTPL Hathway Ltd (GTPL) reported profit after tax (PAT) for the year ended 31 March 2020 (FY 2020, year under review) at Rs 87.72 crore which was more than triple the PAT of Rs 25.08 crore for the previous fiscal (FY 2019). However, the company reported a loss of Rs 19.59 crore for the quarter ended 31 March 2020 (Q4 2020, quarter under review) as compared to a loss of Rs 23.50 crore for the corresponding year ago quarter (Q4 2019). The board of directors of the company have proposed a dividend of Rs 3 per share (30 percent) of face value of Rs 10 each for the year.

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    GTPL has reported adding 700,000 cable TV subscribers and 80,000 internet subscribers during the year under review. It closed FY 2020 and Q4 2020 with eight million (0.8 crore or 80 lakh) CATV active subscribers or 7.5 million (0.75 crore, 75 lakh) paying CATV subscribers and 405,000 internet subscribers.

    The company reported 88 per cent increase in consolidated total income at Rs 2,424.74 crore in FY 2020 as compared to Rs 1,289.15 crore for FY 2019. Consolidated operating income for the year under review increased 91.4 per cent to Rs 2,384.08 crore from Rs 1,245.82 crore in FY 2019. Consolidated total income for Q4 2020 at Rs 666.55 crore was almost double (up 91.1 per cent) as compared to Rs 348.75 crore in Q4 2019. Operating income in Q4 2020 was more than double (up 103.3 per cent) at Rs 655.65 crore as compared to Rs 322.43 crore for the corresponding year ago quarter.

    Segment Revenue

    GTPL Hathway has three segments: CATV, Internet and EPC;  through EPC it is executing a contract for BharatNet, for which it has reported annual revenue for the first time in FY 2020.

    CATV segment reported 42.2 per cent growth in operating revenue for FY 2020 at Rs 1,565.50 crore from Rs 1,101.26 crore in the previous year. The segment had an operating profit growth of 141 per cent at Rs 108.20 crore during the year under review as compared to Rs 44.90 crore in FY 2019. Operating revenue for CATV segment in Q4 2020 grew 49.2 per cent to Rs 427.44 crore from Rs 286.40 crore in Q4 2019. Operating loss for CATV segment increased to Rs 34.62 crore in Q4 2019 as compared to an operating loss of Rs 25.82 crore in Q4 2019.

    Internet services segment revenue in FY 2020 grew 15.9 per cent to Rs 167.60 crore from Rs 144.56 crore in FY 2019. The segment had an operating profit of Rs 4.96 crore in FY 2020 as compared to an operating loss of Rs 2.06 crore in FY 2019. ARPU for the segment in FY 2020 at Rs 422 was higher than the Rs 413 for FY 2019. For Q4 2020, Internet Services revenue grew 28.5 per cent to Rs 46.31 crore from Rs 36.03 crore. The segment had an operating profit of Rs 3.64 crore during the quarter under review as compared to an operating loss of Rs 5.31 crore in Q4 2019. ARPU for Internet Service segment for Q4 2020 at Rs 422 was higher than RS 415 in the immediate trailing quarter, Q3 2020, and the Rs 413 in Q4 2019.

    GTPL reported operating revenue of Rs 650.98 crore in FY 2020 for its EPC Project. The segment had an operating profit of Rs 44.69 crore. For Q4 2019, EPC Project operating revenue was Rs 181.91 crore as compared to Rs 237.66 crore in the immediate trailing quarter Q3 2020.

    Company Speak

    GTPL managing director Anirudhsinh Jadeja said, “Amidst a year of industry reforms, GTPL Hathway has emerged as a stronger company. Our operating ability to expand our services have improved and so has our ability to generate free cashflow. The highlight of FY20 was strong profitability, debt reduction and geographical expansion. Our FY20 consolidated revenue and EBITDA grew by 88 per cent and 39 per cent, respectively. During the year, we have reduced our gross debt by Rs 1,293 million (Rs 129.30 crore). During the year, we have strengthened our CATV presence in Mumbai (Maharashtra) and have entered Chennai (Tamil Nadu). We have also expanded our subscribers base in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in FY20.”

    “FY20 was the first full year of implementation of the New Framework across the industry. Implementation of new regime prima facie resulted in change in LCOs’ earning profile adversely and restricted their cash flow cycle, consequently, lowering their ability to pay their dues to the company. Pursuant to the above change and assessment carried out by the management, we have recognised Rs 679.64 million (Rs 67.964 crore) towards impairment of trade receivables and have disclosed the same as ‘Exceptional Item’", added Jadeja.

    Let us look at the other numbers reported by GTPL for FY 2020

    Consolidated total expenditure increased 86.2 per cent during the year under review to Rs 2,198.93 crore from Rs 1,180.92 crore in FY 2019. Pay channel cost in FY 2020 reduced 38.5 per cent to Rs 513.77 crore from Rs 835.92 crore in the previous year. Other operational costs declined 5.8 per cent to Rs 88.34 crore from Rs 93.90 crore in the previous year.

    Employee benefits expense in FY2020 increased 16.2 per cent to Rs 126.1 crore from Rs 108.44 crore in the previous fiscal. Finance costs increased 14.2 per cent during the year under review to Rs 51.35 crore from Rs 44.95 crore. Other expenses in the period declined 26.2 per cent to Rs 178.42 crore from Rs 243.86 crore in FY 2019.

  • Den Networks turns around biz, reports consolidated PAT of Rs 22.52 crore

    Den Networks turns around biz, reports consolidated PAT of Rs 22.52 crore

    MUMBAI: Major multi system operator (MSO) Den Networks  reported a consolidated profit after tax of Rs 22.52 crore in the fourth quarter ending 31 March 2020.

    The MSO reported consolidated net loss of Rs 212.82 crore in the corresponding period of previous fiscal. Revenue from operations in the fourth quarter stood at Rs 327.79 crore as compared with Rs 273.1 crore in the year-ago period.

    While its revenue from cable distribution network stood at Rs 310.18 crore in the January-March quarter as compared with Rs 255.11 crore in the corresponding period of previous fiscal, the broadband vertical had a revenue of Rs 17.62 crore as compared to Rs 17.99 crore in the fourth quarter of last FY.

    For FY20, the MSO’s consolidated profit after tax stood at Rs 58.64 crore while it had posted a consolidated loss of Rs 300.55 crore in 2018-19. Its consolidated revenue from operations in FY20 stood at Rs 1291.45 crore compared to  Rs 1206.07 crore in the previous fiscal.

  • GTPL Hathway sees demand surge on both cable, broadband amid the lockdown

    GTPL Hathway sees demand surge on both cable, broadband amid the lockdown

    MUMBAI: As the country battles the COVID-19 crisis, a large chunk of the population is confined at home. To ease the burden of social distancing, most of the people are consuming more content, both on linear TV and online. The surge in consumption has caused higher demand for cable boxes as well as broadband connection of GTPL Hathway.

    “The demands are becoming higher actually as people are staying at home. We are recovering a number of old boxes in the cable side and there is demand for new boxes as well. However, we are seeing more surge in broadband connection and bandwidth consumption is also very high. The consumption has increased on the cable side as well,” GTPL Hathway business head – video and chief strategy officer Piyush Pankaj said.

    While there is a curfew-like lockdown, it is challenging for on-ground staff to run operations. But Pankaj mentioned that as MSOs and LCOs come under essential services, the proper documentation proving that they are, is helping them to work. He also said that they are updating police permission everywhere that the service comes under essential segments.The on-ground staff have also been given proper cards and letters to save them from any hassle. To ensure safety, they have also been given health guides, hand sanitizers, dresses covering their face and body.

    However, GTPL has also reduced the manpower working on ground, as the main requirement there is the technical staff. The workforce, which do not need to be on-ground, have been given work-from-home option. Hence, while 20 per cent of the team is working from the real location, rest of the workers perform their duties from home.

    “Till now the payment side is rolling smoothly, we are sending URLs to customers and asking them to pay and in some cases operators are also collecting on their paytm also. Sometimes operators are using the URL, using paytm to pay us; somewhere consumers are paying directly to us. Lockdown started one week ago; we have not faced any problem on the credit side till then. If any problem comes, we will update technology and adhere to that,” Pankaj added.

    GTPL has put some advertisements on COVID-19 on its own local channels. Moreover, whenever a customer calls, it is giving out messages to ensure consumer’s safety as well.

  • TRAI telecom data shows rise in broadband subscribers in Dec 2019

    TRAI telecom data shows rise in broadband subscribers in Dec 2019

    The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released the telecom subscription data as on December 2019. As per the reports received from 341 operators in the month of December, 2019, the number of broadband subscribers increased from 661.27 million at the end of November 2019 to 661.94 million at the end of December 2019 with a monthly growth rate of 0.10%.

    Top five service providers constituted 98.98% market share of the total broadband subscribers at the end of December 2019. These service providers were Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (370.87 million), Bharti Airtel (140.40 million), Vodafone Idea (118.45 million), BSNL (23.96 million) and Atria Convergence (1.52 million).

    As on 31st December, 2019, the top five Wired Broadband Service providers were BSNL (8.39 million), Bharti Airtel (2.42 million), Atria Convergence Technologies (1.52 million), Hathway Cable & Datacom (0.90 million) and Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (0.86 million).

    As on 31 December 2019, the top five Wireless Broadband Service providers were Reliance Jio Infocom Ltd (370.02 million), Bharti Airtel (137.98 million), Vodafone Idea (118.43 million), BSNL (15.56 million) and MTNL (0.20 million).

    There is, however, a decline in the number of telephone subscribers. It has declined from 1,175.88 million at the end of Nov-19 to 1,172.44 million at the end of Dec-19, thereby showing a monthly decline rate of 0.29%.

    Urban telephone subscription declined from 665.99 million at the end of Nov-19 to 662.45 million at the end of Dec-19, and the rural subscription increased from 509.89 million to 509.99 million during the same period.

    Wireline subscribers declined from 21.29 million at the end of Nov-19 to 21.00 million at the end of Dec-19. Net decline in the wireline subscriber base was 0.29 million with a monthly decline rate of 1.34%. The share of urban and rural subscribers in total wireline subscribers were 87.95% and 12.05% respectively at the end of Dec-19.

    BSNL and MTNL, the two PSU access service providers, held 60.47% of the wireline market share as on 31 December, 2019. The Overall Wireline Tele-density declined from 1.61 at the end of Nov-19 to 1.59 at the end of Dec-19. Urban and Rural Wireline Tele-density were 4.36 and 0.28 respectively during the same period.