Tag: Jio

  • ACT enters TRAI’s top 5 broadband players list

    ACT enters TRAI’s top 5 broadband players list

    BENGALURU: South Indian wired broadband internet services provider Atria Convergence Technologies Limited was among Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) list of top 5 broadband internet services providers in the month ended 31 July 2019 (Jul-19, month or period under consideration). ACT added approximately 20,000 subscribers during the month under consideration to reach a subscriber base of 0.147 crore (14.7 million, 1.47 million). Also, You Broadband with 0.075 crore (7.5 lakh, 0.75 million) wired broadband subscribers,
    re-entered TRAI’s list of top 5 wired broadband internet players with the exit of the public sector MTNL from that list

    Overall Broadband Internet subscriber base

    As per TRAI data for Jul-19, India’s broadband subscriber base across all platforms grew 2.25 percent or by 0.953 crore (95.3 lakh, 9.53 million) to 60.412 crore (6,041.2 lakh, 604.12 million) from 59.459 crore (5,945.9 lakh, 595.49 million) in Jun-19. Please refer to the figure below:

    The top five service providers constituted 98.95 percent market share of the total broadband subscribers at the end of Jul-19. These service providers were Reliance JioInfocomm Ltd with 33.979 crore (3,397.9 lakh, 339.79 million) subscribers, Bharti Airtel with 12.394 crore (1,239.4 lakh, 123.94 million) subscribers, Vodafone Idea with 11.092 crore (1,109.2 lakh, 110.92 million) subscribers, BSNL with 2.164 crore (216.4 lakh, 21.64 million) subscribers and Atria Convergence with 0.147 crore (14.7 lakh, 1.47 million) subscribers.

    Wired Broadband Internet subscribers

    The number of wired broadband internet subscribers grew by just 10,000 in July-19. ACT and Hathway showed growth in subscribers, while BSNL and Bharti Airtel showed stagnant subscriber bases. As mentioned above, MTNL exited TRAI’s list of top 5 wired broadband internet servive providers while You Broadband re-entered it. ACT grew its base by 20,000 subscribers while Hathway’ssubscriber base grew by 10,000. This means that the other players which include MSOs’/LCOs’, lost 20,000 subscribersduring Jul-19.

    As on 31 July, 2019, the top five Wired Broadband Service providers were BSNL with 0.095 crore (90.5 lakh 9.05 million) subscribers, Bharti Airtel with 0.24 crore (24 lakh, 2.40 million) subscribers, Atria Convergence Technologies with 0.147 crore (14.7 lakh, 1.47 million), Hathway Cable & Datacom with 0.085 crore (8.5 lakh, 0.85 million) subscribers and You Broadband with 0.075 crore (7.5 lakh, 0.75 million).

    Wireless Broadband Internet subscribers

    As on 31 July, 2019, the top five Wireless Broadband Service providers were Reliance JioInfocomm Ltd  with 33.979 crore (3,397.9 lakh 339.79 million) subscribers, Bharti Airtel with 12.154 crore (1,215.4 lakh, 121.54 million)subscribers, Vodafone Idea with 11.090 crore (1,109 lakh, 110.90 million) subscribers, BSNL with 1.258 crore (125.8 lakh, 12.58 million) subscribers and MTNL with 0.021 crore (2.1 lakh, 0.21 million) subscribers.
     

  • TRAI data shows wireless data revenue, subscribers, ARPU shot up in 2018

    TRAI data shows wireless data revenue, subscribers, ARPU shot up in 2018

    MUMBAI: Wireless data usage in the country is spiking up. According to a report by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the total revenue that telecom operators collected through data usage last year was Rs 54,671.44 crore. In 2017, the revenue was Rs 38,882 crore.

    The amount of data consumption from every wireless data subscriber every month was up from 4.13GB in 2017 to 7.69GB in 2018. Simultaneously, the cost to subscriber has also reduced from Rs 19.35 per GB in 2017 to Rs 11.78 in 2018. This can be attributed to the presence of Reliance Jio as a dominant player in bringing down data rates. Additionally, the share of 4G data usage in total volume of wireless data usage has been 86.85 per cent during the year 2018.

    Average revenue per wireless data subscribers (data ARPU) per month increased from Rs 79.98 in the year 2017 to Rs 90.61 in the year 2018. It was recorded Rs 71.25 per wireless data subscriber per month in the year 2014.

    Total wireless data usage more than doubled from 20,092 GB in 2017 to 46,404 GB in 2018. The number of wireless subscribers went from 424.02 million in 2017 to 578.2 million in 2018. This shows an annual growth of 36.36 per cent.

    TRAI’s report states that though 4G adoption is on the rise in India, the world is witnessing even higher levels of data usage through the commercial deployment of 5G technology. Both the government of India and the telecom industry have announced that they have initiated preparatory steps for smooth and efficient rollout of 5G for the benefit of the consumers and the overall economic development of the country.

  • Broadband subscriber growth improved in Jun-19

    Broadband subscriber growth improved in Jun-19

    BENGALURU: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) data for the month ended 30 June 2019 (Jun-19, month or period under review) reveals that broadband subscriber additions have improved. Jun-19 recorded the second-highest number of subscriber additions in a month in the calendar year (CY 19) until 30 June 2019 at 130.8 lakh. The highest number of subscriber additions in CY 2019 was in the month ended 31 January 2019 (Jan-19) at 214.l9 lakh. 130.7 lakh broadband subscribers were added in India in the month ended 31 March 2019 (Mar-19).

    The highest growth in broadband subscribers was wireless internet subscribers through Mobile – (Phones and Dongles) with 131.1 lakh subscriber additions during the period under review. Wired internet subscriber base in Jun-19 declined by 30,000, while subscribers of Fixed wireless- WiFi, Wi Max, Point to Point, Radio, Vsat remained static at 5.4 lakh.

    Wireless broadband internet subscribers

    In the case of wireless or mobile, Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (Jio) was the biggest contributor in terms of broadband subscribers with 82.7 lakh subscribers added during the month under review. Jio’s subscriber base in Jun-19 was 3,312.6 lakh as compared to 3,229.9 lakh subscribers in May-19. Bharti Airtel Limited (Airtel), the second largest wireless broadband internet player in terms of subscribers, added 31.40 lakh wireless subscribers in Jun-19 to take its subscriber base to 1,190.90 lakh from 1,159,5 lakh in May-19. At third rank, the merged Idea-Vodafone entity added 15.1 lakh subscribers in Jun-19 to achieve a subscriber base of 1,105 lakh from 1,089.9 lakh in May-19. The fourth-ranked public sector BSNL added 3 lakh wireless broadband subscribers in Jun-19 for subscriber base of 128.7 lakh from 125.7 lakh in May-19. At fifth rank, Tata Teleservices saw its wireless broadband subscriber base decline by 90,000 to 14 lakh in Jun-19 from 14.9 lakh in May-19.

    Wired broadband internet subscribers 

    As mentioned above, wired internet subscriber base declined by 30,000 in Jun-19 to 18.42 lakh in Jun-19 from 18.45 lakh in May-19. The two public sector wired broadband internet service providers – BSNL and MTNL lost 1.3 lakh wired broadband internet subscribers. Among the top 5 wired internet broadband internet subscribers, three private players added 1.1 lakh subscribers. Besides BSNL and MTNL losing 20,000 wired broadband subscribers, another 10,000 subscribers were lost by the other players during Jun-19.

    BSNL continued to be the leading wired broadband internet services provider in Jun-19 with 90.5 lakh subscribers as compared to 90.9 lakh subscribers in the previous month, hence incurred a loss of 40,000 subscribers during the month. At second place was Airtel which added 10,000 subscribers in Jun-19 for a subscriber base of 24 lakh as compared to 23.9 lakh in May-19. Atria Convergence Technologies or ACT was ranked third in terms of number of wired broadband subscribers. ACT also added 10,000 subscribers in Jun-19 to reach a subscriber base of 14.5 lakh as compared to 14.4 lakh in May-19. Hathway Cable and Datacom Ltd (Hathway) added 90,000 wired broadband subscribers to reach a subscriber base of 8.4 lakh in Jun-19 from 7.5 lakh in May-19. Fifth-ranked MTNL lost 90,000 subscribers in Jun-19 to reach a base of 7.4 lakh wired broadband subscribers in Jun-19 from 8.3 lakh in May-19.

    All broadband internet subscribers

    The top five broadband service providers constituted 98.72 percent market share of the total broadband subscribers at the end of Jun-19. These service providers were Jio with 3,312.6 lakh (331.26 million, 33.126 crore) subscribers, Airtel with 1,214.93 lakh (121.49 million, 12.149 crore) subscribers, Vodafone Idea with 1,105.2 lakh (110.52 million, 11.052 crore) subscribers, BSNL with 219.3 lakh (21.93 million, 2.193 crore) subscribers and Tata Teleservices with 17.6 lakh (1.76 million, 0.176 crore) subscribers.

  • Jio and Microsoft announce alliance to accelerate digital transformation in India

    Jio and Microsoft announce alliance to accelerate digital transformation in India

    MUMBAI: Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (Jio), a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited, and Microsoft Corp. are embarking on a unique, comprehensive, long-term strategic relationship aimed at accelerating the digital transformation of the Indian economy and society. This 10-year commitment combines the world-class capabilities of both companies to offer a detailed set of solutions comprising connectivity, computing, storage solutions, and other technology services and applications essential for Indian businesses and will span the broad Reliance Industries ecosystem including its existing and new businesses.

    In combining efforts, Jio and Microsoft aim to enhance the adoption of leading technologies like data analytics, AI, cognitive services, blockchain, Internet of Things, and edge computing among small and medium enterprises to make them ready to compete and grow, while helping accelerate technology-led GDP growth in India and driving adoption of next-gen technology solutions at scale.

    As part of this new agreement:

    1. Jio will provide its internal workforce with cloud-based productivity and collaboration tools available with Microsoft 365 and will migrate its non-network applications to the Microsoft Azure cloud platform.

    2. Jio’s connectivity infrastructure that aims to connect everyone, everything, everywhere will promote the adoption of the Microsoft Azure cloud platform within its growing ecosystem of startups, as part of Jio’s cloud-first strategy.

    3. Jio will set up datacenters in locations across India, consisting of next-generation compute, storage and networking capabilities, and Microsoft will deploy its Azure platform in these datacenters to support Jio’s offerings. The initial two datacenters, which can house IT equipment consuming up to 7.5 MW of power, are being set up in the states of Gujarat and Maharashtra. These are targeted to be fully operational in calendar year 2020.

    4. Jio will leverage the Microsoft Azure cloud platform to develop innovative cloud solutions focused on the needs of Indian businesses. Through these Jio-developed solutions:

    Indian startups will have access to efficient and affordable cloud infrastructure and platform services, enabling them to develop innovative products and services faster and more cost-effectively.

    Small and medium businesses in India will have access to a range of cloud-based productivity, collaboration and business applications including Office 365, enabling them to compete more effectively in the Indian marketplace.

    Large companies will be able to accelerate their own digital transformations by leveraging new Jio solutions that can work with Microsoft offerings already in use today within many large enterprises.

    The partner ecosystem in India will have the opportunity to leverage Jio’s new offerings to serve the unique needs of their customers and rapidly grow their businesses.

    5. Jio will be executing on its vision of integrated speech and computer vision solutions for Indian customers by working together with Microsoft to develop solutions that support major Indian languages and dialects, which will promote the adoption of technology across all cross-sections of Indian society.

    “Jio is delighted to partner with Microsoft in our efforts to further deepen the use of technology on scale to all Indians,” said Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries. “This is a unique and first-of-its-kind partnership that brings the capabilities of two large companies focused on creating significant value to Indian enterprises — small and large. By working together to develop innovative and affordable cloud-enabled digital solutions built around Jio’s world-class digital infrastructure and Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform, we will accelerate the digitization of the Indian economy and make Indian businesses globally competitive. This will be a showcase to the world to demonstrate tech-enabled value creation that is both exponential and inclusive.”

    “We have an incredible opportunity to apply advances in technology to help organizations across India innovate and grow,” said Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft. “The combination of Jio’s leading connectivity and digital solutions with Azure, Azure AI and Office 365 will bring powerful tools and platforms for compute, storage, productivity and more to millions of businesses in the country.”

  • Jio Fiber service to launch on 5 Sept 2019

    Jio Fiber service to launch on 5 Sept 2019

    MUMBAI: At the 42nd annual general meeting (AGM) of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani announced the much-awaited launch date for its fibre-to-the-home service. Jio Fiber will be launched on a commercial basis on 5 September on the third anniversary of the telecom giant’s launch.

    “Jio Fiber Services to be launched on commercial basis on 5 September 2019 – on the third anniversary of Jio’s launch. (We have) plan to reach 20 million residences and 15 million business establishments in 1,600 towns,” the business tycoon announced.

    In the last AGM of RIL, Ambani announced the high-speed fixed-line broadband services for retail customers. At the time of announced, Ambani revealed that it already invested more than $250 million in the industry. While the upcoming service has been on trial run since last year, he added that trial homes are, on average, consuming more than 100 GBs every month indicating the ever-increasing usage of internet in India.

    For a smooth rollout of the fibre service, Jio also made significant investments in two large multi system operators (MSOs) of India – Hathway and Den Networks. “Over the past months, we have upgraded our MSOs’ infrastructure to world-class standards. Now LCO partners can offer the largest bouquet of high-definition channels to customers with better features, reliability and customer experience than even DTH,” Ambani commented.

    Keeping the mixed economy structure of Indian internet users, Jio Fiber’s plans have been fixed from 100 mbps speed to all the way up to 1 Gbps. The pricing will range between Rs 700 per month to Rs 10,000 per month.

    To increase user engagement, Jio Fiber is set to offer various other entertainment opportunities to its consumers. Ambani also stated that Jio Fiber consumers will have access to premium over-the-top services. Moreover, Jio Fiber will launch a premium service where customers can watch movies at home on the release day itself, which will be launched in the middle of 2020.

  • Tata Sky revises pricing of broadband plans

    Tata Sky revises pricing of broadband plans

    MUMBAI: Direct-to-home operator Tata Sky has revised the pricing of its newly rolled out broadband plans. While the data plans were announced last August, latest plans come with more data on offer at lower prices.

    Tata Sky’s broadband service is initially available in 12 to 13 cities and high-speed data plans vary in the range of Rs 590 and going up to Rs 1,599 for one month. However, new plans are available in selected cities like Ahmedabad and Surat. In some cities like Delhi, the most affordable plan will cost a consumer Rs 999.

    Tata Sky has entered the market at a time when Reliance Jio is investing highly in less penetrated broadband sector. Moreover, there are other competetitors like Airtel, ACT Fibernet and Excitel  in the market.

  • Broadband  subs growth still sluggish in May 2019

    Broadband subs growth still sluggish in May 2019

    BENGALURU: India’s broadband subscribers growth has slowed down over the past few months according to data released by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). For the first time in 17 months, two consecutive months saw subscribers grow less than 1 crore (10 million, 100 lakh) per month. India’s broadband internet subscribers grew by 0.956 crore (9.56 million, 95.6 lakh) or 1.7 percent month-on-month (m-o-m) in the month ended 31 May 2019 (May-19, month under review) and grew by 0.864 crore (8.64 million, 86.4 lakh) or 1.5 percent m-o-m in the month ended 30 April 2019 (Apr-19). In March 2019, broadband internet subscribers grew by 1.307 crore (13.07 million, 130.7 lakh) or 2.5 percent m-o-m as compared to Feb-19. Broadband internet subscribers across all platforms grew in May-19 to 58.151 crore (581.51 million, 5,815.1 lakh) from 57.195 crore (571.95 million, 5,719.5 lakh) in Apr-19. The total broadband subscriber base in Mar-19 stood at 56.331 crore (563.31 million, 5,633.1 lakh).

    As has been the norm, broadband internet subscriber growth was led by Mobile devices users (Phones and dongles) in May-19. Mobile device broadband subscribers grew by 1.027 crore (10.27 million, 102.7 lakh) or 1.8 percent m-o-m to 56.252 crore (562.52 million, 5,625.2 lakh) in May-19 from 55.225 crore (552.25 million, 5,522.5 lakh) in Apr-19. Mukesh Dhirbhai Ambani’s biggest startup in the world – Reliance Jio Infocomm (Jio) led growth with the addition of 0.818 crore (8.18 million, 81.8 lakh) in May-19 at 32.299 crore (322.99 million or 3,229.9 lakh) from 31.481 crore (318.41 million, 3,184.1 lakh) in Apr-19. Bharti Airtel (Airtel) witnessed wireless subscriber growth of 0.262 crore (2.62 million or 26.2 lakh) in May-19 at 11.595 crore (115.95 million or 1,159.5 lakh) from 11.333 crore (113.33 million or 1,133.3 lakh) in Apr-19. The third largest broadband internet services player in the country – the Vodafone-Idea combine saw wireless internet subscribers decline by 0.065 crore (0.65 million or 6.5 lakh) in May-19 to 10.899 crore (108.99 million or 1,089.9 lakh) from 10.964 crore (109.64 million, 1,096.4 lakh) in Apr-19. The public sector BSNL saw subscribers grow 0.018 crore (0.18 million, 1.8 lakh) to 1.257 crore (12.57 million or 125.7 lakh) from 1.239 crore (12.39 million or 123.9 lakh) in Apr-19.

    Wired subscribers grew 0.2 percent or by 40,000 to 1.845 crore (18.45 million, 184.5 lakh) in May-19 from 1.841 crore (18.41 million or 184.1 lakh) in Apr-19. Three of the five top wired internet players saw subscriber growth, one witnessed decline and one saw no growth at all. The largest wired broadband internet player- BSNL saw subscribers decline by 60,000 to 0.909 crore (9.09 million or 90.9 crore) in May-19 from 0.915 crore (9.15 million or 91.5 lakh) in Apr-19. The largest private wired broadband internets services player in the country – Airtel witnessed subscriber growth of 10,000 to 0.239 crore (2.39 million or 23.9 lakh) in May-19 from 0.238 crore (2.38 million or 23.8 lakh) in Apr-19. Atria Convergence Technologies or  ACT also witnessed subscriber growth of 10,000 in May-19 to 0.144 crore (1.44 million or 14.4) lakh from 0.143 crore (1.43 million or 14.3 lakh). The fourth largest wired internet services player in terms of subscribers – Hathway also saw its subscriber base grow by 10,000 to 0.083 crore (0.83 million or 8.3 lakh) from 0.082 crore (0.82 million or 8.2 lakh). The fifth largest wired broadband internet services player – MTNL saw no growth in subscribers in May-19 as compared to Apr-19. BASNL had a subscriber growth of 0.075 crore (0.75 million or 7.5 lakh) at the end of May-19.

    The top five broadband internet service providers across all platforms constituted 98.69 percent market share of the total broadband subscribers at the end of May-19. These service providers were Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd  (Jio)  at 32.299 crore (322.99 million, 3,229.9 lakh), Bharti Airtel 11.834 crore (118.34 million, 1,183.4 lakh), Vodafone Idea 10.901 crore (109.01 million, 1,090.1 lakh), BSNL 2.167 crore (21.67 million or 216.7 lakh) and Tata Teleservices 0.187 crore (1.87 million, 18.7 lakh).

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • Jio furthers its commitment to reduce gender gap in digital adoption

    Jio furthers its commitment to reduce gender gap in digital adoption

    MUMBAI: Jio, the world’s largest mobile data network, has today announced that it has partnered with GSMA’s Connected Women Initiative to bridge the gender gap in digital adoption and digital literacy among women in India. Jio and GSMA will work towards empowering more women with increased access to, and use of, life-enhancing digital services.

    The recent accelerated adoption of mobile and internet technologies has changed how people engage, educate and entertain. However, the gender gap in mobile adoption in India persists due to a lack of access, affordability and inclusion in the digital revolution. Since its inception, Jio has been committed to address this gap by offering equal opportunities to one and all.

    As a part of the Connected Women Initiative, GSMA works with mobile operators and their partners globally to address the barriers that women face in accessing and using mobile internet and mobile money services. GSMA and the service providers can together deliver significant socio-economic benefits and transform the lives of countless women while unlocking this substantial market opportunity for the mobile industry.

    Speaking about Jio’s focus on digital inclusion, Isha Ambani, Director, Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, said, “The growth of mobile and internet technologies over the past decade has been rapid and remarkable. It offers an incredible opportunity to empower women and transform lives with increased access to information and education, aiding financial inclusion and providing life-enhancing services and employment opportunities. This is the reason why Jio was conceived, and we have committed ourselves to making this dream come true for all Indians.”

    India’s own smartphone, the JioPhone, is a major step towards digital inclusion, bringing several first-time mobile users in the fold of digital life. Available at Rs 501 (approximately $7) with unlimited voice and data services at an unparalleled price of Rs 49 a month (less than $1), JioPhone is encouraging and enabling more and more people to try digital services.

    Jio has also partnered with several Government-led initiatives to digitally empower millions of women in the country.

  • Jio launches a digital literacy program “Digital Udaan” for first time internet users

    Jio launches a digital literacy program “Digital Udaan” for first time internet users

    MUMBAI: Jio today announced a digital literacy initiative in India. This new initiative named ‘Digital Udaan’, will empower first-time internet users with digital literacy and understanding of the Internet. Thanks to Jio, over 300 million users are riding the digital wave, many of whom are first time internet users.

    As a part of the Digital Udaan initiative, Jio will engage with its users every Saturday to help them learn about the JioPhone features, use of various apps and internet safety including use of Facebook on JioPhone to connect with friends and family in a simple, safe and secure way. This will be achieved via audio-visual training in 10 regional languages. Jio has worked with Facebook, to ensure that modules developed for Digital Udaan, are relevant for people in these cities and localities, and will provide train-the-trainer sessions and training videos and information brochures.

    To begin with, this program is being launched in nearly 200 different locations across 13 states. The initiative is soon expected to reach over 7,000 locations empowering millions of JioPhone users and other first-time internet users.

    “Jio is always looking to work with key global partners to enhance the digital life experience of the Indian consumer. The Digital Udaan initiative is one such example, which will help eradicate barriers of information asymmetry and provide accessibility in real time. It is a program for inclusive information, education and entertainment, where no Indian will be left out of this digital drive. Jio envisions to take this to every town and village of India, achieving 100% digital literacy in the country,” said Mr. Akash Ambani, Director, Reliance Jio.

    Speaking about the initiative Mr. Ajit Mohan, VP and MD Facebook India, said “Jio is playing a vital role in driving India’s digital revolution by empowering millions of Indians and expanding access to the Internet. Facebook is an ally in this mission, and we are delighted to partner with Jio in attracting new Internet users and creating mechanisms for them to unleash the power of that access.”

    This unique initiative will connect the participants digitally to the nation and the world. They will have world of knowledge, government benefits and programs, access to essential services and entertainment on their phones through Facebook and the gamut of Jio apps.