Tag: Mukesh Ambani

Reliance Jio embarks 4G trail service for public

MUMBAI: Bringing Mukesh Ambani’s vision of digitising the entire country to get its people to use the internet is a step closer to fruition. Reliance Jio has opened its service for the general public on a ‘trail’ basis. There are a couple of conditions attached though for now. One can buy the Jio sim-card after getting an invite from employees of Reliance Industries group firms and must buy an LYF handset. Reliance’s LYF range of mobile devices cost between Rs 5,599 and Rs 19,499 each.

A few days ago, the company had said, “The launch is now being expanded to others in the ecosystem. This test programme will be progressively upgraded into commercial operations in coming months.”

The invite from an employee reads, “As we inch closer towards our commercial launch, we are providing our near and dear ones (Yes you!) a chance to test out our network”.

RIL organisation’s employee under the scheme can invite 10 people to buy the Jio’s 4G sim and LYF handset. The connection comes along with unlimited 4G mobile internet and phone call service for 90 days. The invitee will need to pay Rs 200 to activate the services.This will also grant user free unlimited access to Jio’s 4G mobile applications like Jio Play, Jio On-demand, JioMag, JioBeats, Jio Drive etc for 90 days.

RIL claims to have approximately 5 lakh users currently using its network during the trial phase and has seen that the average monthly consumption per user is in excess of 18 gigabyte within the first month of service. The average voice usage is over 250 minutes within the first month claims the company.

May 6, 2016
Reliance Jio embarks 4G trail service for public

MUMBAI: Bringing Mukesh Ambani’s vision of digitising the entire country to get its people to use the internet is a step closer to fruition. Reliance Jio has opened its service for the general public on a ‘trail’ basis. There are a couple of conditions attached though for now. One can buy the Jio sim-card after getting an invite from employees of Reliance Industries group firms and must buy an LYF handset. Reliance’s LYF range of mobile devices cost between Rs 5,599 and Rs 19,499 each.

A few days ago, the company had said, “The launch is now being expanded to others in the ecosystem. This test programme will be progressively upgraded into commercial operations in coming months.”

The invite from an employee reads, “As we inch closer towards our commercial launch, we are providing our near and dear ones (Yes you!) a chance to test out our network”.

RIL organisation’s employee under the scheme can invite 10 people to buy the Jio’s 4G sim and LYF handset. The connection comes along with unlimited 4G mobile internet and phone call service for 90 days. The invitee will need to pay Rs 200 to activate the services.This will also grant user free unlimited access to Jio’s 4G mobile applications like Jio Play, Jio On-demand, JioMag, JioBeats, Jio Drive etc for 90 days.

RIL claims to have approximately 5 lakh users currently using its network during the trial phase and has seen that the average monthly consumption per user is in excess of 18 gigabyte within the first month of service. The average voice usage is over 250 minutes within the first month claims the company.

May 6, 2016
Reliance Jio to delay its commercial roll out till December

MUMBAI: The onslaught might take a little while before it revs itself for a decimating run in the Indian telecom ecosystem.’The world’s most expensive start-up entailing an initial investment of Rs.1.5 trillion – Reliance Jio’, as termed by Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani who has a revolutionary vision of digitising the entire country to get its people to use the internet. Reliance Jio 4G services were launched for the employees and privileged personalities in December last year (2015). At that time speculations were rife that the company would roll out its commercial services in early April, though the company did not release any official statement indicating the launch date.

As per information available with Indiantelevision.com, Reliance’s 4G services are likely to launch in December 2016. A source close to the development informs, “They are planning the commercial roll out this December. There are many factors which are evolving and the launch will take time. Before the commercial roll-out there will be phases of soft launches in various regions to conduct a test run in each and every region.”

Reliance Jio’s immediate target will be the premium consumers of other networks. Research says that consumers with spends of Rs 300 per month and above are most vulnerable to poaching by the Jio onslaught. The biggest player in the Indian telecom ecosystem, Airtel has 89 per cent of its 250 million subscribers that use feature phones or smartphones only for calls and not data. Hence the ring fencing will happen for the 11 per cent of the premium consumers. “Airtel is planning to counter Jio with its own weapons,” says a veteran in the telecom industry. He further adds, “Jio will roll out combo plans where voice calls and SMS services will be offered for free or at cheap prices. It will also package 4G services with mobile devices. In the initial stages it will roll out many lucrative offers to poach consumers.”

When contacted, the corporate communications team of Reliance Jio refused to offer any comments. “We have not declared any date and hence there is no question of postponements or delays,” the team said.

One of the vendors that provides technical assistance to Reliance Jio asserts, “The internal declaration to roll out in December is primarily to ensure maximum reach. Availability and affordability are key factors which the company is not ready to compromise with. Moreover there will be an aggressive marketing plan to back the launch, so overall its a strategic move to wait till December.”

Driven by strong adoption of data consumption on handheld devices, the total mobile services market revenue in India is expected to touch US$ 37 billion in 2017, registering a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.2 per cent between 2014 and 2017, according to research firm IDC.

According to a Telecom Regulatory of India (TRAI) press release, as of 31 January 2016,India’s mobile subscriber base has crossed the one billion mark. A study by GSMA says that smartphones are expected to account for two out of every three mobile connections globally by 2020 making India the fourth largest smartphone market.The broadband services user-base in India is expected to grow to 250 million connections by 2017, says GSMA.

The opportunity is huge, and will benefit the ultimate user, given the poor quality of intermittent 4G data services that are being offered by the players in the market at present.

April 21, 2016
Reliance Jio to delay its commercial roll out till December

MUMBAI: The onslaught might take a little while before it revs itself for a decimating run in the Indian telecom ecosystem.’The world’s most expensive start-up entailing an initial investment of Rs.1.5 trillion – Reliance Jio’, as termed by Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani who has a revolutionary vision of digitising the entire country to get its people to use the internet. Reliance Jio 4G services were launched for the employees and privileged personalities in December last year (2015). At that time speculations were rife that the company would roll out its commercial services in early April, though the company did not release any official statement indicating the launch date.

As per information available with Indiantelevision.com, Reliance’s 4G services are likely to launch in December 2016. A source close to the development informs, “They are planning the commercial roll out this December. There are many factors which are evolving and the launch will take time. Before the commercial roll-out there will be phases of soft launches in various regions to conduct a test run in each and every region.”

Reliance Jio’s immediate target will be the premium consumers of other networks. Research says that consumers with spends of Rs 300 per month and above are most vulnerable to poaching by the Jio onslaught. The biggest player in the Indian telecom ecosystem, Airtel has 89 per cent of its 250 million subscribers that use feature phones or smartphones only for calls and not data. Hence the ring fencing will happen for the 11 per cent of the premium consumers. “Airtel is planning to counter Jio with its own weapons,” says a veteran in the telecom industry. He further adds, “Jio will roll out combo plans where voice calls and SMS services will be offered for free or at cheap prices. It will also package 4G services with mobile devices. In the initial stages it will roll out many lucrative offers to poach consumers.”

When contacted, the corporate communications team of Reliance Jio refused to offer any comments. “We have not declared any date and hence there is no question of postponements or delays,” the team said.

One of the vendors that provides technical assistance to Reliance Jio asserts, “The internal declaration to roll out in December is primarily to ensure maximum reach. Availability and affordability are key factors which the company is not ready to compromise with. Moreover there will be an aggressive marketing plan to back the launch, so overall its a strategic move to wait till December.”

Driven by strong adoption of data consumption on handheld devices, the total mobile services market revenue in India is expected to touch US$ 37 billion in 2017, registering a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.2 per cent between 2014 and 2017, according to research firm IDC.

According to a Telecom Regulatory of India (TRAI) press release, as of 31 January 2016,India’s mobile subscriber base has crossed the one billion mark. A study by GSMA says that smartphones are expected to account for two out of every three mobile connections globally by 2020 making India the fourth largest smartphone market.The broadband services user-base in India is expected to grow to 250 million connections by 2017, says GSMA.

The opportunity is huge, and will benefit the ultimate user, given the poor quality of intermittent 4G data services that are being offered by the players in the market at present.

April 21, 2016
FY-2016: TV18 income from operations up 10.8 per cent

BENGALURU: The Mukesh Ambani group owned TV18 Broadcast Limited (TV18) reported 10.8 per cent increase in consolidated net total income from operations (TIO) in the current year (year ended 31 March 2016, FY-2016 ) at Rs 2,568.97 crore as compared to the Rs 2,318.39 crore in the previous year. TIO in Q4-2016 (quarter ended 31 March 2016, Q4-2016) at Rs 671.34 crore was 6.6 per cent higher YoY as compared to Rs 629.75 but 3 per cent lower QoQ as compared to Rs 624.42 crore in Q3-2016.

Note: The unit of currency in this report is the Indian rupee – Rs (also conventionally represented by INR or ₹). The Indian numbering system or the Vedic numbering system has been used to denote money values in this report. The basic conversion to the international norm would be:

(a) 100,00,000 = 10,000,000 = 100 lakh = 10 million = 1 crore.

(b) 10,000 lakh = 100 crore = 1 billion = 1 arab.

TV18’s PBDIT on a consolidated basis stood at Rs 252.5crore, same as last year. Q4-2016 consolidated operating PBDIT stood at Rs 99.4crore, up by 20.3 per cent YoY, from Rs 82.6 crore in Q4-2015.

Let us look at some of the other numbers reported by TV18

Consolidated total expenditure (TE) in FY-2016 at Rs 2,366.96 crore (92.1 per cent of TIO) was 12.4 per cent higher than the Rs 2,105.87 crore (90.8 per cent of TIO) in FY-2015. TE in Q4-2016 at Rs 587.04 crore (87.4 per cent of TIO) was 5.7 per cent higher YoY as compared to Rs 555.18 crore (88.2 per cent of TIO), but was 2.4 per cent lower QoQ as compared to Rs 601.19 crore (86.8 per cent of TIO).

TV18’s reported 2.5 per cent increase in programming cost in FY-2016 at Rs 776.46 crore (30.2 per cent of TIO) as compared to Rs 757.52 crore (32.7 per cent of TIO). Programming cost in Q4-2016 declined 20.4 per cent YoY to Rs 161.70 crore (24.1 per cent of TIO) as compared to Rs 203.26 crore (32.3 per cent of TIO) and declined 24.6 per cent QoQ as compared to Rs 214.36 crore (31.0 per cent of TIO).

Employee Benefit Expense (EBE) in FY-2016 increased 21.3 per cent to Rs 493.99 crore (18.8 per cent of TIO) as compared to Rs 399.05 crore (17.2 per cent of TIO). EBE in Q4-2016 increased 35.9 per cent YoY to Rs 138.38 crore (20.6 per cent of TIO) as compared to Rs 101.86 crore (16.2 per cent of TIO) and increased 21.1 per cent QoQ as compared to Rs 114.29 crore (16.5 per cent of TIO).

TV18’s marketing, distribution and promotional (Marketing) expense in FY-2016 increased 12.3 per cent to Rs 505.23 crore (19.7 per cent of TIO) as compared to Rs 449.78 (19.4 per cent of TIO) in the previous year, Marketing expense in Q4-2016 increased 12.2 per cent YoY at Rs 129.44 crore (19.3 per cent of TIO) as compared to Rs 115.37 crore (18.3 per cent of TIO) and increased 14.7 per cent QoQ as compared to Rs 112.89 crore (16.3 per cent of TIO).

Segment Revenue

Two segments contribute to TV18’s TIO – Media Operations (Media Ops); and Film Production and Distribution (Films).

Media Ops reported 8.6 per cent increase in segment revenue for the current year at Rs 2,477.78 crore as compared to the Rs 2,281.35 crore in FY-2015. For Q4-2016, the segment reported a 5.5 per cent increase in YoY revenue of Rs 663.71 crore as compared to Rs 628.95 crore but a 2.7 per cent QoQ decline in revenue as compared to Rs 681.85 crore.

Media Ops reported a 6.6 per cent decline in operating results for FY-2016 at Rs 206.56 crore as compared to Rs 221.17 crore in FY-2015. The segment’s operating result for Q4-2016 was 12.0 per cent higher YoY at Rs 86.05 crore as compared Rs 76.81 crore, but declined 7.5 per cent QoQ as compared to Rs 93.06 crore.

Films segment reported more than double (2.53 times) the revenue in FY-2016 at Rs 129.20 crore as compared to Rs 50.96 crore in the previous year. In Q4-2016, the films segment reported almost five times (4.87 times) revenue at Rs 23.41 crore as compared to the Rs 4.80 crore in Q4-2015 and more than double (2.21 times) the revenue of Rs 10.57 crore in the immediate trailing quarter.

Films segment reported positive operating result at Rs 1.34 crore in the current year as compared to an operating loss of Rs 6.44 crore in the previous year. For Q4-2016, the segment reported a lower operating loss of Rs 0.68 crore as compared to a loss of Rs 2.44 crore in Q4-2015 and an operating loss of Rs 1.22 crore in Q3-2015.

April 20, 2016
FY-2016: TV18 income from operations up 10.8 per cent

BENGALURU: The Mukesh Ambani group owned TV18 Broadcast Limited (TV18) reported 10.8 per cent increase in consolidated net total income from operations (TIO) in the current year (year ended 31 March 2016, FY-2016 ) at Rs 2,568.97 crore as compared to the Rs 2,318.39 crore in the previous year. TIO in Q4-2016 (quarter ended 31 March 2016, Q4-2016) at Rs 671.34 crore was 6.6 per cent higher YoY as compared to Rs 629.75 but 3 per cent lower QoQ as compared to Rs 624.42 crore in Q3-2016.

Note: The unit of currency in this report is the Indian rupee – Rs (also conventionally represented by INR or ₹). The Indian numbering system or the Vedic numbering system has been used to denote money values in this report. The basic conversion to the international norm would be:

(a) 100,00,000 = 10,000,000 = 100 lakh = 10 million = 1 crore.

(b) 10,000 lakh = 100 crore = 1 billion = 1 arab.

TV18’s PBDIT on a consolidated basis stood at Rs 252.5crore, same as last year. Q4-2016 consolidated operating PBDIT stood at Rs 99.4crore, up by 20.3 per cent YoY, from Rs 82.6 crore in Q4-2015.

Let us look at some of the other numbers reported by TV18

Consolidated total expenditure (TE) in FY-2016 at Rs 2,366.96 crore (92.1 per cent of TIO) was 12.4 per cent higher than the Rs 2,105.87 crore (90.8 per cent of TIO) in FY-2015. TE in Q4-2016 at Rs 587.04 crore (87.4 per cent of TIO) was 5.7 per cent higher YoY as compared to Rs 555.18 crore (88.2 per cent of TIO), but was 2.4 per cent lower QoQ as compared to Rs 601.19 crore (86.8 per cent of TIO).

TV18’s reported 2.5 per cent increase in programming cost in FY-2016 at Rs 776.46 crore (30.2 per cent of TIO) as compared to Rs 757.52 crore (32.7 per cent of TIO). Programming cost in Q4-2016 declined 20.4 per cent YoY to Rs 161.70 crore (24.1 per cent of TIO) as compared to Rs 203.26 crore (32.3 per cent of TIO) and declined 24.6 per cent QoQ as compared to Rs 214.36 crore (31.0 per cent of TIO).

Employee Benefit Expense (EBE) in FY-2016 increased 21.3 per cent to Rs 493.99 crore (18.8 per cent of TIO) as compared to Rs 399.05 crore (17.2 per cent of TIO). EBE in Q4-2016 increased 35.9 per cent YoY to Rs 138.38 crore (20.6 per cent of TIO) as compared to Rs 101.86 crore (16.2 per cent of TIO) and increased 21.1 per cent QoQ as compared to Rs 114.29 crore (16.5 per cent of TIO).

TV18’s marketing, distribution and promotional (Marketing) expense in FY-2016 increased 12.3 per cent to Rs 505.23 crore (19.7 per cent of TIO) as compared to Rs 449.78 (19.4 per cent of TIO) in the previous year, Marketing expense in Q4-2016 increased 12.2 per cent YoY at Rs 129.44 crore (19.3 per cent of TIO) as compared to Rs 115.37 crore (18.3 per cent of TIO) and increased 14.7 per cent QoQ as compared to Rs 112.89 crore (16.3 per cent of TIO).

Segment Revenue

Two segments contribute to TV18’s TIO – Media Operations (Media Ops); and Film Production and Distribution (Films).

Media Ops reported 8.6 per cent increase in segment revenue for the current year at Rs 2,477.78 crore as compared to the Rs 2,281.35 crore in FY-2015. For Q4-2016, the segment reported a 5.5 per cent increase in YoY revenue of Rs 663.71 crore as compared to Rs 628.95 crore but a 2.7 per cent QoQ decline in revenue as compared to Rs 681.85 crore.

Media Ops reported a 6.6 per cent decline in operating results for FY-2016 at Rs 206.56 crore as compared to Rs 221.17 crore in FY-2015. The segment’s operating result for Q4-2016 was 12.0 per cent higher YoY at Rs 86.05 crore as compared Rs 76.81 crore, but declined 7.5 per cent QoQ as compared to Rs 93.06 crore.

Films segment reported more than double (2.53 times) the revenue in FY-2016 at Rs 129.20 crore as compared to Rs 50.96 crore in the previous year. In Q4-2016, the films segment reported almost five times (4.87 times) revenue at Rs 23.41 crore as compared to the Rs 4.80 crore in Q4-2015 and more than double (2.21 times) the revenue of Rs 10.57 crore in the immediate trailing quarter.

Films segment reported positive operating result at Rs 1.34 crore in the current year as compared to an operating loss of Rs 6.44 crore in the previous year. For Q4-2016, the segment reported a lower operating loss of Rs 0.68 crore as compared to a loss of Rs 2.44 crore in Q4-2015 and an operating loss of Rs 1.22 crore in Q3-2015.

April 20, 2016
Uday Shankar, Mukesh Ambani set the tone for FICCI FRAMES

MUMBAI: For a meet that is perhaps the largest in the country covering all all media and entertainment platforms, it was heartening to see the the universe of M & E industry gthered under one roof.

FICCI Frames 2016 is up and rolling. ‘Change or Perish’ says the LED backdrop and that’s the theme of the 17th edition.

And Communication and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Star India CEO Uday Shankar, Reliance Industries Ltd Chairman and MD Mukesh Ambani FICCI Entertainment wing Chairman Ramesh Sippy, Discovery President J B Perrete, and FICCI Secretary General Deedar Singh showed the way forward.

Star India CEO Uday Shankar, FICCI Chairman Ramesh Sippy, Minister of Telecom and Information Teachnology, Discovery President JB Perrete, and Deedar Singh secretary general FICCI were among the dignataries who lit the lamp to mark the beginning of the edition.

“Cable TV continues to struggle, struggling to be relevant in the ever changing scenario. Digitization is still to taste success; and the content is becoming more and more redundant. Overall the M&E sector is the same as it was while the timelines have changed and changed again,”

Those opening lines by Star India CEO Uday Shankar touched many raw nerves, welcomes by loud claps at the inaugural session of the FICCI FRAMES 2016.

But he added that even as there are certain teething issues that the industry is facing, there are great happenings to talk about too. In his un-orthodox manner, he touched on these. “But at the same time there is a disruption happening, there are four young boys who made more headlines than any other content creators. They took on the biggest of the players be it Mark Zukkerberg’s Facebook when their friendly internet’s neutrality came under threat. They had the guts to keep a name that the news channels in India chose not to pronounce wholly. They call them AIB.”

Talking about his own network, he said “the biggest launch in the media and entertainment industry was not a newspaper, nor a TV channel but an app. Hotstar drove the wave, 5crore times the app was downloaded, more people watched EPL on Hotstar than on TV and this is how India is changing.”

He also spoke about the global success story: “Imagine where Netflix Facebook were 10 years back and see the empire they have made in such a short span. Also remember the best animators are no longer sitting in California, they can now be spotted in Goregaon. Priyanka Chopra is now a global star and now India needs to be a global leader.”

Concluding his remarks, he said: “The whole country today is looking at what Mukesh Ambani is busy with, there is a wave of expectation and the expectation is from Ravi Shankar Prasad (C and IT Minister) too. They are the two stakeholders on whom the digital wave depends. Hope they do the best as that will be the best of media and the entertainment Industry.”

Reliance Industries Chairman and MD Mukesh Ambani said: “I was here in 2004 when the industry was 2 billion dollars strong, and today it is 18 billion dollars strong. It is a great success and but there are miles to go. I believe the industry will be a 100 billion dollar one in the next decade, which means we have a major task in our hands.”

Referring to the theme of the annual meet, he said: “There could not be a better theme than Change or Perish. To my mind digitization is the key to the industry’s success and that’s why we have JIO which can be called as the world’s largest startup.”

He was confident that with the launch of Jio, India will be among the top ten in the next few years from the current rank of 155 among the top countries using mobile data. “Jio will provide coverage, and wherever you are you will be able to access. Quality will be 40 to 80 times faster than at present. Quantity and capacity currently is 0.15 GB per annum, with capacity of over 10 GB per user per annum We will be affordable to consumers, and I believe affordability is the key “

India, he said, will leapfrog and be a leader in the digital world. The world is moving from "orality to visuality. Images and videos will rule the digital world. Human beings and our thinking are linear. Technology is an exponential idea. Exponential changes will create large opportunities," he said.

Sharing his analysis he said, “The world is graduating to a telemedia world. The focus will be on all from all. The telco will focus on content, the broadcaster will invest on technology and producers will have new delivery platforms. We are all part of a telemedia world. Downloading has now become streaming, linear has become interactive.”

Ambani drew light on the way forward. “Abundance will be a global trend. Data is the new oil of this industry, and intelligent data is the petrol. It is not about technology – it is about humanity, the true power of technology is in the evolution of humanity. All our efforts need to be to make India the leader in 21st century. Together we can make India the leader with more than one-sixth of humanity residing in India.”

March 30, 2016
Uday Shankar, Mukesh Ambani set the tone for FICCI FRAMES

MUMBAI: For a meet that is perhaps the largest in the country covering all all media and entertainment platforms, it was heartening to see the the universe of M & E industry gthered under one roof.

FICCI Frames 2016 is up and rolling. ‘Change or Perish’ says the LED backdrop and that’s the theme of the 17th edition.

And Communication and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Star India CEO Uday Shankar, Reliance Industries Ltd Chairman and MD Mukesh Ambani FICCI Entertainment wing Chairman Ramesh Sippy, Discovery President J B Perrete, and FICCI Secretary General Deedar Singh showed the way forward.

Star India CEO Uday Shankar, FICCI Chairman Ramesh Sippy, Minister of Telecom and Information Teachnology, Discovery President JB Perrete, and Deedar Singh secretary general FICCI were among the dignataries who lit the lamp to mark the beginning of the edition.

“Cable TV continues to struggle, struggling to be relevant in the ever changing scenario. Digitization is still to taste success; and the content is becoming more and more redundant. Overall the M&E sector is the same as it was while the timelines have changed and changed again,”

Those opening lines by Star India CEO Uday Shankar touched many raw nerves, welcomes by loud claps at the inaugural session of the FICCI FRAMES 2016.

But he added that even as there are certain teething issues that the industry is facing, there are great happenings to talk about too. In his un-orthodox manner, he touched on these. “But at the same time there is a disruption happening, there are four young boys who made more headlines than any other content creators. They took on the biggest of the players be it Mark Zukkerberg’s Facebook when their friendly internet’s neutrality came under threat. They had the guts to keep a name that the news channels in India chose not to pronounce wholly. They call them AIB.”

Talking about his own network, he said “the biggest launch in the media and entertainment industry was not a newspaper, nor a TV channel but an app. Hotstar drove the wave, 5crore times the app was downloaded, more people watched EPL on Hotstar than on TV and this is how India is changing.”

He also spoke about the global success story: “Imagine where Netflix Facebook were 10 years back and see the empire they have made in such a short span. Also remember the best animators are no longer sitting in California, they can now be spotted in Goregaon. Priyanka Chopra is now a global star and now India needs to be a global leader.”

Concluding his remarks, he said: “The whole country today is looking at what Mukesh Ambani is busy with, there is a wave of expectation and the expectation is from Ravi Shankar Prasad (C and IT Minister) too. They are the two stakeholders on whom the digital wave depends. Hope they do the best as that will be the best of media and the entertainment Industry.”

Reliance Industries Chairman and MD Mukesh Ambani said: “I was here in 2004 when the industry was 2 billion dollars strong, and today it is 18 billion dollars strong. It is a great success and but there are miles to go. I believe the industry will be a 100 billion dollar one in the next decade, which means we have a major task in our hands.”

Referring to the theme of the annual meet, he said: “There could not be a better theme than Change or Perish. To my mind digitization is the key to the industry’s success and that’s why we have JIO which can be called as the world’s largest startup.”

He was confident that with the launch of Jio, India will be among the top ten in the next few years from the current rank of 155 among the top countries using mobile data. “Jio will provide coverage, and wherever you are you will be able to access. Quality will be 40 to 80 times faster than at present. Quantity and capacity currently is 0.15 GB per annum, with capacity of over 10 GB per user per annum We will be affordable to consumers, and I believe affordability is the key “

India, he said, will leapfrog and be a leader in the digital world. The world is moving from "orality to visuality. Images and videos will rule the digital world. Human beings and our thinking are linear. Technology is an exponential idea. Exponential changes will create large opportunities," he said.

Sharing his analysis he said, “The world is graduating to a telemedia world. The focus will be on all from all. The telco will focus on content, the broadcaster will invest on technology and producers will have new delivery platforms. We are all part of a telemedia world. Downloading has now become streaming, linear has become interactive.”

Ambani drew light on the way forward. “Abundance will be a global trend. Data is the new oil of this industry, and intelligent data is the petrol. It is not about technology – it is about humanity, the true power of technology is in the evolution of humanity. All our efforts need to be to make India the leader in 21st century. Together we can make India the leader with more than one-sixth of humanity residing in India.”

March 30, 2016
Mukesh Ambani 20 billion investment plans in television and telecom

MUMBAI: Mukesh Ambani’s recent focus in the telecom sector hasn’t gone unnoticed, where he has spent at least $18 billion ($1,800 crore) on 4G telecom brand RJio. Industry insiders observe that Mukesh Ambani’s aggressive take on the telecom and television sector may also pit him against his brother Anil Ambani and his company.

Now reports are out that he intends to spend another $2 billion ($200 crore) over three years to capture TV sets as he eyes an opportunity to use his financial clout in what is a highly fragmented sector. To put matters into perspective, Mukesh Ambani’s television unit has been aggressively signing up deals with hundreds of small players in a street-by-street effort to root out any final hurdle in its cable TV drive, reported Reuters.

Industry observers note that this could also snap up rival operators as part of that push, those sources and analysts said, driving tie-ups in a crowded sector that includes Hathway Cable, Den Networks and Siti Cable.

Industry sources quoting un-named Reliance officials say that Reliance’s mid-year goal of 1 million (10 lakh) subscribers would rise to 5 million (50 lakh) homes in the medium-term. Within three years, the aim is 20 million (2 crore).

With only 20 million (2 crore) homes in India having a broadband or another Internet connection, it goes without saying that there is a huge growth potential in a country with a population of some 1.3 billion (130 crore).

“Once the company manages to crack the last mile… it will be a formidable player,” Den Satellite Network MD Rajev Gavi shared with Reuters.

Reliance executives say it will offer a bundled package with hundreds of channels and video-on-demand in high definition, along with broadband Internet, a landline phone and home surveillance. It will also offer Jio Play, its version of the Netflix movie and TV series streaming service.

March 9, 2016
Mukesh Ambani 20 billion investment plans in television and telecom

MUMBAI: Mukesh Ambani’s recent focus in the telecom sector hasn’t gone unnoticed, where he has spent at least $18 billion ($1,800 crore) on 4G telecom brand RJio. Industry insiders observe that Mukesh Ambani’s aggressive take on the telecom and television sector may also pit him against his brother Anil Ambani and his company.

Now reports are out that he intends to spend another $2 billion ($200 crore) over three years to capture TV sets as he eyes an opportunity to use his financial clout in what is a highly fragmented sector. To put matters into perspective, Mukesh Ambani’s television unit has been aggressively signing up deals with hundreds of small players in a street-by-street effort to root out any final hurdle in its cable TV drive, reported Reuters.

Industry observers note that this could also snap up rival operators as part of that push, those sources and analysts said, driving tie-ups in a crowded sector that includes Hathway Cable, Den Networks and Siti Cable.

Industry sources quoting un-named Reliance officials say that Reliance’s mid-year goal of 1 million (10 lakh) subscribers would rise to 5 million (50 lakh) homes in the medium-term. Within three years, the aim is 20 million (2 crore).

With only 20 million (2 crore) homes in India having a broadband or another Internet connection, it goes without saying that there is a huge growth potential in a country with a population of some 1.3 billion (130 crore).

“Once the company manages to crack the last mile… it will be a formidable player,” Den Satellite Network MD Rajev Gavi shared with Reuters.

Reliance executives say it will offer a bundled package with hundreds of channels and video-on-demand in high definition, along with broadband Internet, a landline phone and home surveillance. It will also offer Jio Play, its version of the Netflix movie and TV series streaming service.

March 9, 2016