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Tag: Datacom

  • TDSAT to hear LCO cases against Siti Cable and Hathway afresh in light of new TRAI regulations

    TDSAT to hear LCO cases against Siti Cable and Hathway afresh in light of new TRAI regulations

    NEW DELHI: Local cable operators who are members of Karnataka State Digital Cable TV Operators Welfare Association and the Cable Operators Sangram Association of Kolkata have told the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal that they will not migrate to any other distributor without seeking prior permission from the tribunal.

    This assurance was given in three cases – one filed by the Karnataka Association against Siti Cable Networks, and the other two by the Kolkata body against Hathway Cable and Datacom. Counsel Nittin Bhatia made the statement on behalf of the members of these association who were involved in the petitions.

    The tribunal was informed by Siti Cable counsel Tejveer Singh Bhatia and Hathway counsel Jayant K. Mehta about the notifications issued by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on 7 January and 15 March this year which ‘make some fundamental changes in the DAS Interconnection Regulations and have a direct bearing upon the controversies in these cases.’

    Chairman Justice Aftab Alam and member B B Srivastava listed the matter for 27 April for hearing the parties further in the light of the amendments introduced in the DAS Interconnect Regulations.

    The tribunal said that “In the meanwhile, the respondents may apprise the respective petitioners separately and also through their counsel Mr Nittin Bhatia regarding the rates and the terms and conditions including the respective rights and obligations of the parties under clause 10 of Schedule IV of the notification dated 15 March 2016, that the respondents might have executed with any other LCO operating in that area.”

    The Tribunal also made it clear that if any of the LCOs being represented through these petitions were willing to execute the agreement with the respondents on those terms, they were free to do so.

  • TDSAT to hear LCO cases against Siti Cable and Hathway afresh in light of new TRAI regulations

    TDSAT to hear LCO cases against Siti Cable and Hathway afresh in light of new TRAI regulations

    NEW DELHI: Local cable operators who are members of Karnataka State Digital Cable TV Operators Welfare Association and the Cable Operators Sangram Association of Kolkata have told the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal that they will not migrate to any other distributor without seeking prior permission from the tribunal.

    This assurance was given in three cases – one filed by the Karnataka Association against Siti Cable Networks, and the other two by the Kolkata body against Hathway Cable and Datacom. Counsel Nittin Bhatia made the statement on behalf of the members of these association who were involved in the petitions.

    The tribunal was informed by Siti Cable counsel Tejveer Singh Bhatia and Hathway counsel Jayant K. Mehta about the notifications issued by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on 7 January and 15 March this year which ‘make some fundamental changes in the DAS Interconnection Regulations and have a direct bearing upon the controversies in these cases.’

    Chairman Justice Aftab Alam and member B B Srivastava listed the matter for 27 April for hearing the parties further in the light of the amendments introduced in the DAS Interconnect Regulations.

    The tribunal said that “In the meanwhile, the respondents may apprise the respective petitioners separately and also through their counsel Mr Nittin Bhatia regarding the rates and the terms and conditions including the respective rights and obligations of the parties under clause 10 of Schedule IV of the notification dated 15 March 2016, that the respondents might have executed with any other LCO operating in that area.”

    The Tribunal also made it clear that if any of the LCOs being represented through these petitions were willing to execute the agreement with the respondents on those terms, they were free to do so.

  • Hathway Cable and Datacom launches E-KYC

    Hathway Cable and Datacom launches E-KYC

    MUMBAI: Hathway Cable and Datacom announced the launch of electronic KYC that will strengthen the create efficiency in the KYC process as defined and stipulated by TRAI.

    With the launch of electronic KYC, Hathway says that it endorses regulatory compliance with TRAI regarding completion of customer requisition form by the customer in a digitized format. With the electronic KYC, the entire distribution chain including the LCO will be able to easily store millions of forms at a lower operational cost, thus, simplifying Hathway’s daily business and improving customer relationships.

    This digital technology is also aimed at upgrading LCO partners and helping them to align with the current trends and service consumers effectively.  The electronic KYC feature also enables updation of customer details including proof of identity, proof of address and customer’s digital photograph by using an APP, at the same time activating the customer’s set top box in real time basis.

    The detailed process flow includes authenticating customers through their digital signature on a smartphone or via an OTP generated on the registered mobile number which is followed by the CRF being generated. The same will be circulated to the customer in person and also stored digitally, which can be easily accessed by the LCO as well.

    This environment-friendly initiative eliminates the need to print large number of paper forms in a fast growing digital world, thus, proving time-consuming and effective measure keeping in mind the ever increasing digital cable subscriber universe.Recently, Hathway launched a breakthrough initiative with an LCO portal Hathway Connect that aims to redefine and transform business dynamics and  further strengthen the role of the LCO in the distribution chain.

    Commenting on the E-KYC initiative,Hathway  video business president TS Panesar said, “Over the past year, Hathway has taken some defining steps in transforming the way the cable industry operates and with the launch of the E-KYC process, we truly comply with TRAI’s directive in easing out customer experience which will prove to be an important stepping-stone. It also coincides with ‘Hathway Connect’-our online portal for LCOs, which will overall help our LCO partners and  make their business operations more convenient. By upgrading the LCOs with E-KYC, our endeavour is to give our consumers, a world class and seamless experience from the word go.”

  • Hathway Cable and Datacom launches E-KYC

    Hathway Cable and Datacom launches E-KYC

    MUMBAI: Hathway Cable and Datacom announced the launch of electronic KYC that will strengthen the create efficiency in the KYC process as defined and stipulated by TRAI.

    With the launch of electronic KYC, Hathway says that it endorses regulatory compliance with TRAI regarding completion of customer requisition form by the customer in a digitized format. With the electronic KYC, the entire distribution chain including the LCO will be able to easily store millions of forms at a lower operational cost, thus, simplifying Hathway’s daily business and improving customer relationships.

    This digital technology is also aimed at upgrading LCO partners and helping them to align with the current trends and service consumers effectively.  The electronic KYC feature also enables updation of customer details including proof of identity, proof of address and customer’s digital photograph by using an APP, at the same time activating the customer’s set top box in real time basis.

    The detailed process flow includes authenticating customers through their digital signature on a smartphone or via an OTP generated on the registered mobile number which is followed by the CRF being generated. The same will be circulated to the customer in person and also stored digitally, which can be easily accessed by the LCO as well.

    This environment-friendly initiative eliminates the need to print large number of paper forms in a fast growing digital world, thus, proving time-consuming and effective measure keeping in mind the ever increasing digital cable subscriber universe.Recently, Hathway launched a breakthrough initiative with an LCO portal Hathway Connect that aims to redefine and transform business dynamics and  further strengthen the role of the LCO in the distribution chain.

    Commenting on the E-KYC initiative,Hathway  video business president TS Panesar said, “Over the past year, Hathway has taken some defining steps in transforming the way the cable industry operates and with the launch of the E-KYC process, we truly comply with TRAI’s directive in easing out customer experience which will prove to be an important stepping-stone. It also coincides with ‘Hathway Connect’-our online portal for LCOs, which will overall help our LCO partners and  make their business operations more convenient. By upgrading the LCOs with E-KYC, our endeavour is to give our consumers, a world class and seamless experience from the word go.”

  • Q2-2016: Hathway YoY revenue up 25.6%

    Q2-2016: Hathway YoY revenue up 25.6%

    BENGALURU: Indian multi system operator (MSO) Hathway Cable and Datacom Limited (Hathway) reported 25.6 per cent YoY growth in standalone Total Income from Operations (TIO) in Q3-2016 (quarter ended 31 December, 2015, current quarter) at Rs 300.43 crore as compared to Rs 239.15 crore and 9.6 per cent more than the Rs 270.03 crore in Q2-2016.

    Note: 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10 million = 1 crore

    All numbers in this report are standalone unless stated otherwise.

    The company’s EBIDTA (excluding other income) in Q3-2016 more than doubled (by 2.02 times) YoY to Rs 49.81 crore (16.6 per cent margin) as compared to Rs 24.58 crore (10.3 per cent margin) and increased 45.8 per cent QoQ as compared to Rs 34.15 crore (12.5 per cent margin) in the immediate trailing quarter.

    Subscription numbers, broadband, activation and placement revenue

    Hathway says that its consolidated set top box (STB) deployment reached 96 lakh subscribers (Q3-2016 addition eight lakh) as on 31 December, 2015 and that 80 per cent of its cable universe is digitised.

    Hathway consolidated broadband subscribers increased by 50,000 in Q3-2015 to 5.67 lakh.

    Cable TV subscription revenue in Q3-2016 increased 9.1 per cent YoY to Rs 108  crore as compared to Rs 99 crore and was almost flat (increased by less than 0.5 per cent) QoQ as compared to Rs 107.5 crore.

    Broadband subscription revenue in the current quarter increased 53.4 per cent YoY to Rs 78.7 crore as compared to Rs 57.7 crore and increased 9.5 per cent QoQ as compared to Rs 57.7 crore.

    Activation revenue in Q3-2016 more than tripled (3.1 times) YoY to Rs 22.3 crore as compared to Rs 7.2 crore and was almost fivefold (4.7 times) of the Rs 4.5 crore in Q2-2016.

    Placement revenue increased 8.4 per cent in the current quarter to Rs 82.2 crore as compared to Rs 75.8 crore in the corresponding prior year quarter, but declined 3.1 per cent as compared to Rs 84.8 crore in Q2-2016.

    ARPUs

    Net of taxes cable ARPU in Digital Addressable System (DAS) Phase I was Rs 102 and Phase II was Rs 83 as compared to Rs 100 and Rs 80 respectively in the immediate prior quarter.

    Hathway broadband standalone ARPUs increased 3.8 per cent QoQ from Rs 658 to Rs 683.

    Let us look at the other numbers reported by Hathway 

    Hathway’s standalone Total Expenditure in Q3-2016 increased 14.5 per cent YoY to Rs 314.27 crore (104.6 per cent of TIO) from Rs 274.39 crore (114.7 per cent margin) and increased 4.3 per cent from Rs 301.40 crore (110 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2015.

    Standalone Pay Channel cost in Q3-2016 increased 11.3 per cent to Rs 104.64 crore (34.8 per cent of TIO) from Rs 94.04 crore (39.3 per cent of TIO) and increased 6.5 per cent from Rs 98.27 crore (35.9 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2016.

    Employee Benefit Expense in Q3-2016 increased 37.4 per cent YoY to Rs 19.19 crore (6.4 per cent of TIO) from Rs 13.96 crore (5.8 per cent of TIO) in Q3-2015 and increased 6.4 per cent from Rs 17.83 crore (6.5 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2016.

  • Q2-2016: Hathway YoY revenue up 25.6%

    Q2-2016: Hathway YoY revenue up 25.6%

    BENGALURU: Indian multi system operator (MSO) Hathway Cable and Datacom Limited (Hathway) reported 25.6 per cent YoY growth in standalone Total Income from Operations (TIO) in Q3-2016 (quarter ended 31 December, 2015, current quarter) at Rs 300.43 crore as compared to Rs 239.15 crore and 9.6 per cent more than the Rs 270.03 crore in Q2-2016.

    Note: 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10 million = 1 crore

    All numbers in this report are standalone unless stated otherwise.

    The company’s EBIDTA (excluding other income) in Q3-2016 more than doubled (by 2.02 times) YoY to Rs 49.81 crore (16.6 per cent margin) as compared to Rs 24.58 crore (10.3 per cent margin) and increased 45.8 per cent QoQ as compared to Rs 34.15 crore (12.5 per cent margin) in the immediate trailing quarter.

    Subscription numbers, broadband, activation and placement revenue

    Hathway says that its consolidated set top box (STB) deployment reached 96 lakh subscribers (Q3-2016 addition eight lakh) as on 31 December, 2015 and that 80 per cent of its cable universe is digitised.

    Hathway consolidated broadband subscribers increased by 50,000 in Q3-2015 to 5.67 lakh.

    Cable TV subscription revenue in Q3-2016 increased 9.1 per cent YoY to Rs 108  crore as compared to Rs 99 crore and was almost flat (increased by less than 0.5 per cent) QoQ as compared to Rs 107.5 crore.

    Broadband subscription revenue in the current quarter increased 53.4 per cent YoY to Rs 78.7 crore as compared to Rs 57.7 crore and increased 9.5 per cent QoQ as compared to Rs 57.7 crore.

    Activation revenue in Q3-2016 more than tripled (3.1 times) YoY to Rs 22.3 crore as compared to Rs 7.2 crore and was almost fivefold (4.7 times) of the Rs 4.5 crore in Q2-2016.

    Placement revenue increased 8.4 per cent in the current quarter to Rs 82.2 crore as compared to Rs 75.8 crore in the corresponding prior year quarter, but declined 3.1 per cent as compared to Rs 84.8 crore in Q2-2016.

    ARPUs

    Net of taxes cable ARPU in Digital Addressable System (DAS) Phase I was Rs 102 and Phase II was Rs 83 as compared to Rs 100 and Rs 80 respectively in the immediate prior quarter.

    Hathway broadband standalone ARPUs increased 3.8 per cent QoQ from Rs 658 to Rs 683.

    Let us look at the other numbers reported by Hathway 

    Hathway’s standalone Total Expenditure in Q3-2016 increased 14.5 per cent YoY to Rs 314.27 crore (104.6 per cent of TIO) from Rs 274.39 crore (114.7 per cent margin) and increased 4.3 per cent from Rs 301.40 crore (110 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2015.

    Standalone Pay Channel cost in Q3-2016 increased 11.3 per cent to Rs 104.64 crore (34.8 per cent of TIO) from Rs 94.04 crore (39.3 per cent of TIO) and increased 6.5 per cent from Rs 98.27 crore (35.9 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2016.

    Employee Benefit Expense in Q3-2016 increased 37.4 per cent YoY to Rs 19.19 crore (6.4 per cent of TIO) from Rs 13.96 crore (5.8 per cent of TIO) in Q3-2015 and increased 6.4 per cent from Rs 17.83 crore (6.5 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2016.

  • Reliance Jio appoints Amit Shah as senior vice president

    Reliance Jio appoints Amit Shah as senior vice president

    MUMBAI: Reliance Jio Media has appointed Amit Shah as the senior vice president – content carriage and Value added services (VAS) of the company.  

     

    Shah will report to Reliance Jio CEO K Jayaraman and will be looking after the content and carriage aspect of the business. 

     

    A source in the company informs Indiantelevision.com, “A series of veterans from the cable fraternity will be joining Jio as the launch date comes closer.”
     

    Earlier, Shah worked for two years as head content carriage and VAS for Videocon d2h. He was also associated with Hathway Cable & Datacom as GM accounts content and strategy.

  • USD 1 trillion to be spent on telecom and datacom over next 5 years

    USD 1 trillion to be spent on telecom and datacom over next 5 years

    NEW DELHI: The Asia Pacific region has shown major growth of six per cent year-over-year in the telecom/datacom equipment and software revenue as against 4.5 per cent by North America.

     

    This trend is expected to continue through at least 2018, Market research firm Infonetics Research says. It also projects a cumulative $1.01 trillion will be spent by service providers and enterprises on telecom/datacom gear and software over the five years from 2014 to 2018.
     

    Sales of telecom and datacom equipment and software came globally to $183 billion in 2013, three per cent above the previous year.
     

    According to research data from its 2014 Telecom and Datacom Network Equipment and Software report, Infonetics says the overall telecom and datacom network equipment and software market share leaders are in rank order: Cisco, Huawei, Ericsson, Alcatel-Lucent and ZTE – the same top five vendors with virtually the same shares as the year prior.

     

    Vendor share positions also held steady in the enterprise segment, with Cisco in the driver’s seat and followed distantly by tightly bunched Avaya, Brocade, HP, and Juniper (listed in alphabetical order).
          

    Infonetics Research principal analyst Jeff Wilson said: “Despite the fact that enterprises and service providers are in the middle of massive network upheavals due to the evolution of software-defined networking (SDN) and network functions virtualisation (NFV) technology, the telecom and datacom networking equipment and software market is on track to grow annually through 2018 with the fastest growth coming in 2015.”
     

    Infonetics co-founder and co-author of the report Michael Howard added: “Looking at just the service provider equipment space, we’re seeing a shakeup in vendor market share, with Huawei leapfrogging longtime number-one Ericsson to take the top spot in 2013. While Huawei’s been doing well in a number of regions, China’s economy is a key factor keeping Huawei’s growth so strong.”
     

    The report has compiled worldwide and regional market size, vendor market share, and forecasts through 2018 from all of its reports that track enterprise and service provider gear. It is the majority of all data networking and telecom equipment for service providers, cable companies, and small, medium, and large organisations, excluding consumer electronics.

    The 11 major categories of equipment and software tracked in Infonetics’ report include broadband aggregation; broadband CPE; pay TV; optical network hardware; carrier routing, switching, and Ethernet; service provider VoIP and IMS; service provider mobile/wireless infrastructure; service enablement and subscriber intelligence; security; enterprise and data center networks and enterprise communications. Companies tracked include Alcatel-Lucent, Avaya, Brocade, Ciena, Cisco, Ericsson, Fujitsu, HP, Huawei, Juniper, Motorola, NEC, Nokia, Samsung, Siemens, ZTE, and many others.

  • Cricket Packs could become universal

    Cricket Packs could become universal

    MUMBAI: Digitisation is set to change the way television channels are packaged. In addition to the subscriber getting the option to pick and choose channels, multi-system operators too are finding newer opportunities.

     

    MSOs have found a good business prospect in cricket, the most-watched sport in India.

     

    With digitisation of cable TV services in 42 major cities, MSOs are increasingly shifting to per subscriber deals with broadcasters instead of making bulk payments.

     

    Hathway Cable  & Datacom, like direct-to-home television service provider Dish TV, has carved out a Cricket Pack for its subscribers.

     

    In the case of Dish TV’s India cricket pack, the channel on which live telecast of a match involving Indian men’s cricket team is switched on.

     

    “Sports channels, by the nature of its programming are event driven. We have an Indian Cricket Pack, which is a cost per subscriber deal with broadcasters,” says Hathway Cable  CEO Jagdish Kumar.

     

    More MSOs are likely to follow suit and offer Cricket Packs to their customers.

     

    “Though right now we have entered into a per set top box deal with the sports channel broadcasters, we may also look at Indian Cricket Pack going forward,” informs SitiCable COO Anil Malhotra.

     

    There are three types of commercial arrangements entered between broadcasters and operators. These are: Fixed deal, in which the operator pays a lump sum amount to the broadcaster; Reference Interconnect Offer, in which operator takes channels based on the choice of the subscribers; and on a per set top box deal, in which the operator shares details of the number of STBs installed with the broadcaster and the number of the subscribers subscribing to a sports channel.

     

    DEN Networks is currently on a fixed deal with the sports broadcasters. “We are still asking for lump sum because of cash flow issues,” informs DEN Networks CEO SN Sharma.

     

    While till last year, broadcasters were entering into fixed deals with operators, “now everybody is moving towards cost per subscriber,” adds Sharma.

     

    When questioned if DEN would also offer Indian Cricket Pack, Sharma says, “Let’s see. Different experiments are happening. With time everything will evolve.”

     

    According to GTPL Hathway COO Shaji Mathews, broadcasters are entering into fixed deals or negotiate a per subscriber rate.

     

    “The per subscriber deal has clauses which say that the operator needs to show a minimum number of subscribers who subscribe to the channels,” he says.

     

    Currently, GTPL Hathway has a fixed fee deal with the sports broadcasters.

     

    “The moment we get into a la carte, the rates are really high and if we get into cost per subscriber, unless we guarantee a certain number of subscribers for the channel, the cost per subscriber is also high. So, in fact on fixed deal, we land up paying less because of the fee structuring,” he says.

     

    GTPL Hathway may also move to Indian Cricket Pack. “We are looking at that as well,” he says.

     

    It makes business sense for channel distributors to create cricket packs. But Increasing inclination towards cricket packs would mean predominantly cricket channels would gain at the cost of those with less or absolutely no cricket content.

  • TRAI-MSO to meet on 16 Dec to assess CAF

    TRAI-MSO to meet on 16 Dec to assess CAF

    MUMBAI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has called for a national multi-system operator (MSO) meeting on Monday, 16 December. The meeting has been called to assess the report on collection of consumer application forms (CAFs) in the 38 cities falling in Digital Addressable System (DAS) phase II. 

    Earlier, on 29 November, TRAI had met all the MSOs and had set 15 December as the deadline for submitting 100 per cent CAFs.

    We had to submit the CAFs, including subscriber details and package details by 15 December. TRAI has called for the meeting to assess the situation says SN Sharma

    “We had to submit the CAFs, including subscriber details and package details by 15 December. TRAI has called for the meeting to assess the situation. It is a follow-up of the meeting we had earlier with the regulator,” says DEN Networks CEO SN Sharma.

     The regulator has called for the meeting to review the progress made in the DAS phase II areas. “Though in the last meeting, we had asked for a one month extension to complete CAF, the regulator had given clear directions to complete CAFs in the specified period of 15 days,” adds Hathway Cable & Datacom MD and CEO Jagdish Kumar G. Pillai.

    The MSOs are struggling to meet the deadline. “Our national average for CAF is around 65 per cent. While in a few areas we have achieved 90 per cent CAF, there are also areas like Hyderabad where we have still not collected any CAF,” informs Pillai, who thinks that the collection can improve only if the Information & Broadcast Ministry announces Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) as DAS area.

    In the meeting held on 29 November, it was revealed that Gujarat Telelink Pvt Ltd (GTPL) is lagging behind in areas like Vizag and Solapur, Hathway is far behind in Vizag and Hyderabad and Den Networks had a low CAF collection in Uttar Pradesh. “We have achieved 80 per cent CAF in Gujarat, while catching up in other areas,” informs GTPL COO Shaji Mathews.

    Though in the last meeting, we had asked for a one month extension to complete CAF, the regulator had given clear directions to complete CAFs in the specified period of 15 days, says Jagdish Kumar Pillai

    The court cases related to the digitisation process that were on till quite some time in states like Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat have acted as a hindrance to smooth CAF collection, think the MSOs. “Digitisation in Vizag began only in September, so it will take more time for the MSOs to submit 100 per cent CAF there. Also, we are facing issues in Gujarat,” adds Mathews.

    The Gujarat Cable Operators Association has moved to the Gujarat High Court against TRAI and the case is pending in the court. “We will have to see if the TRAI gives us reprieve for customers who fall under these cable operators. If it doesn’t, then we may have to switch off signals, which will then be against court order. The situation is tricky in Gujarat and we are waiting for what the regulator has to say in the meeting,” says Mathews.

    We will have to wait and watch if TRAI comes up with another extension or penal action for non-compliance! MSOs await the meeting.