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Tag: Reliance Jio

  • Mukesh Ambani promises market disruption with JioGigaFiber

    Mukesh Ambani promises market disruption with JioGigaFiber

    MUMBAI: Mukesh Ambani today gave a clarion call to competitors saying that Reliance GigaFiber will bring about the same revolution in fixed line broadband as Reliance Jio had done with mobile data consumption making India the biggest mobile data consumers in the world.

    Speaking at the India Mobile Congress being held in New Delhi today, Ambani said, “Jio is committed to building a deep-fibre network across the country and ensuring that every premise is connected with the highest quality network. All of us are proud that India has become the world’s largest mobile data consuming nation. We now have a similar opportunity to replicate this success in fixed broadband as well.”

    When Reliance Industries announced the launch of JioGigaFiber, it was revealed the project would be rolled out in the shortest possible time. Additionally, RIL has acquired 58.92 per cent stake in Den Networks and 51.34 per cent in Hathway Cable and Datacom Limited, both MSOs.

    “From day one JioGigaFiber will offer complete fixed-mobile convergence where Indians will travel seamlessly between mobile and fixed broadband network 4G and 5G when on the move and Wi-Fi when indoors,” Ambani added.

    In the last two years, the Indian telecom sector has gone through a revolutionary change. In less than two years, India has moved from 155th rank in mobile broadband penetration to the top position. Now after 2G to 4g transformation, India is on the verge of experiencing 5G soon.

    “By 2020, I believe that India will be a fully-4G country… and ready for 5G ahead of others. Every phone in India will be a 4G enabled phone and every customer will have access to 4G connectivity,” he said.

    He also mentioned that digital connectivity can transform rural India comprehensively. According to statistics shared by him, as many as 50 million villagers have got affordable smartphones in the last eight months. Moreover, for many of them, this is the first radio and music player, TV, camera internet.

    “This combination of connectivity with affordability is unparalleled in the world. I would like to acknowledge the contribution of the government’s BharatNet program in providing high-quality connectivity in some of the remotest areas of our country. This transformation will accelerate as we get ready for a 5G world driven by the pro-active approach of the government,” he added.

    The highly optimistic man thinks digital technologies like artificial intelligence, robotics, blockchain, internet of things, virtual reality and augmented reality will propel the entire economy of the country along with the fourth industrial revolution.

  • Airtel, Jio turn to AI to improve customer service

    Airtel, Jio turn to AI to improve customer service

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Reliance Jio to maintain ARPU lead over Airtel, Vodafone Idea

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • RIL close to buying majority stakes in DEN, Hathway

    RIL close to buying majority stakes in DEN, Hathway

    MUMBAI: Reliance Industries is expected to buy controlling stakes in two of India’s largest cable TV and broadband service providers, DEN Networks and Hathway Cable & Datacom, according to a report by the Times of India (TOI). The plan mostly is to increase the reach in particular regions of the country for its Gigafiber, Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) service.

    In May 2017, Reliance Jio had begun rolling out beta trials of the FTTH service at select locations in six cities- Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Ahmedabad, Jamnagar, Surat and Vadodara.

    RIL is likely to own more than 25 per cent each in the two companies which will enable it to control developments and get a seat on the board. The deal is expected to be announced in the next few days. Both companies have told the stock exchanges that the respective boards are meeting on 17 October to discuss and approve a proposal for raising funds.

    “RIL wants to create a platform which will accelerate home broadband penetration in India, which is currently in a low single-digit. The aim is to push home broadband penetration to around 60 per cent in the coming years,” TOI quoted a source.

    Last September, RIL was in advanced talks to acquire DEN but could not reach an agreement. Some months ago, it began talks with Hathway as well.

    Industry experts told TOI that a stake in Hathway and DEN will be a major boost to Jio. Both operators have 7.2 million digital cable subscribers each, with operations across 350 and 200 cities, respectively.

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

    3 more quarters of losses for telecom industry, says COAI

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • DoT moves Supreme Court to secure dues worth Rs 33,000 cr

    DoT moves Supreme Court to secure dues worth Rs 33,000 cr

    MUMBAI: A recent move from the Department of telecommunications (DoT) may push telecom players in the country deeper into trouble. According to a report from Economic Times, DoT has moved the Supreme Court for approval to secure dues worth almost Rs 33,000 crore from all operators. The department in favour of the move has argued that existing bank guarantees aren’t enough to cover the “huge public money” at stake.
    According to the report, DoT(http://www.indiantelevision.com/regulators/trai/trai-stands-up-to-dot-on-use-of-foreign-satellites-for-comms-services-on-aircrafts-180605) filed two petitions pleading the court to ensure that the “government’s interests are secured”. In the separate but identical petitions, they claimed that fresh bank guarantees for Rs 28.70 crore and Rs 32,655.58 crore are needed from the operators.
    DoT(http://www.indiantelevision.com/regulators/ib-ministry/dot-seeks-views-on-blocking-mobile-apps-like-fb-whatsapp-180807 )said in the petitions that it is “not adequate security towards its outstanding assessed annual license fee and SUC dues” even with existing financial bank guarantees and withholding the performance bank guarantee of the licensee companies.
    Telcos think it will increase the financial burden on them if the court speaks in favour of the petition.
    Shares of telecom companies including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) plunged up to 6 per cent in morning trade following the move of DoT.
    Reliance Communications would be in deep trouble as it is already debt burdened. Any decision favouring DoT could add to its financial liabilities which could lead to delay of the sale of its spectrum to Reliance Jio.

  • Star India, Jio sign landmark 5-year cricket deal

    Star India, Jio sign landmark 5-year cricket deal

    MUMBAI: Star India and Reliance Jio unleashed a new era in sports entertainment by announcing a 5-year deal. The partnership will cover international matches in all three formats (T20s, ODI and test) and also the premier domestic competitions of BCCI.

    Jio and Star will make all televised India-cricket matches available to users of JioTV and Hotstar in India. This will be the first time that a streaming platform and a high-speed data network have come together to deliver the best of cricketing content with connectivity to benefit the Indian consumers.

    Star India MD Sanjay Gupta said, “Over the last five years, we have re-invented the sports experience in India across screens, both television and digital. Indian cricket under BCCI is one of the most compelling properties in the world and we are excited to apply the same lens of innovation and re-invention to the property that we have applied to other sports in the last few years. And, with a new partner in Reliance Jio, we will have even more opportunities to raise the bar for cricket fans.”

    Jio director Akash Ambani said, “Jio continues to bring the most exclusive content to its users, this time around through the JioTV app. Cricket is not just played, its worshipped in India. Every Indian must have access to the best sporting events as well as quality and affordable bandwidth to consume the content. With this partnership, we intend to address both these objectives of providing the best sporting content with the best digital infrastructure to the Jio users. Jio promises to and will continue to bring a superlative customer experience in the areas of sports, AR, VR, immersive viewing and more in the coming days.”

    Jio and Star have been instrumental in leading many such disruptive initiatives, where they have put the consumer in the centre of innovation.

  • Punit Goenka says talking to Jio to renew content deal

    Punit Goenka says talking to Jio to renew content deal

    MUMBAI: A few days ago Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) had pulled out all its content from Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Jio. Soon after scrapping the deal with Jio, ZEEL entered into a partnership with another telco operator Airtel . While there were many questions regarding the development, ZEEL MD and CEO Punit Goenka has cleared the air. In an interview with CNBC, he said conversations are still on with Jio.

    “We did have a deal with Reliance Jio and it was up for renewal and our negotiations failed. Hence, we had to pull our content out. Conversations are still on, and I am sure we will find an amicable solution with them as well,” Goenka commented.

    Goenka expects the company’s new big bet ZEE5 to emerge as the number one entertainment app at the end of 12 months from now. Though he did not comment on the number of subscribers, he said that since the platform started showing original content in July, the number of subscribers doubled month-on-month.

    “We are seeing a lot of traction on the OTT platforms and there is no worry yet on the television side of consumption. If you look at the television growth itself, over the last year, we have seen growth in number of television households. We have seen growth in time consumption per consumer on a daily basis,” he also said commenting on the TV business .

    Goenka on a confident note said, TV itself is growing both on advertising as well as on the subscription side. He also added phase three monetisation has started and the company is seeing good traction coming on the subscription from there.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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