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Tag: Trai

  • Regulation & development of telecom sector must be blended, Prasad tells TRAI

    Regulation & development of telecom sector must be blended, Prasad tells TRAI

    NEW DELHI: Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the telecom regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) needs to understand that regulation and development of the telecom sector must be blended and the regulator should be made accountable to the Parliament.

     

    He said digital power, accelerated by smart phones in the hands of young people, has enormous potential to drive ‘Digital India’ and achieve the dreams of aspirational India.

     

    While the programme currently focuses on digital delivery of health, education, grocery and tourism services, “there is a need to promote e-health, e-education, e-internet, e-tourism and e-commerce,” he said while addressing the 88th Annual General Meeting of FICCI  over the weekend. 

     

    Prasad said, “‘Digital India’ should be empowered by private sector participation as it will provide a roadmap where good service and good productivity will also give good returns.”

     

    He also stressed on the importance of quick and fair decision making. Initiatives undertaken include strengthening the e-highway, expanding the optical fibre network and opening of BPOs centres in smaller cities and towns. 

     

    The Minister mentioned about measures being taken to improve the Indian postal service. He said that the massive postal network in the rural areas should be converted into community service centres and the postal department should be scaled up to provide e-commerce services and should be aggressively persuaded to enter into baking segment.

  • MIB to hold open house with broadcasters on 21 December for DAS

    MIB to hold open house with broadcasters on 21 December for DAS

    NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has slotted an Open House meeting with all broadcasters on 21 December in connection with the implementation of Digital Addressable System (DAS).

     

    The meeting will be held at 11 am in the office of MIB director (broadcasting) Neeti Sarkar.

     

    Any broadcaster wanting to attend has been asked to confirm their presence and query by the evening of 18 December.

     

    It is learnt that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is separately meeting the multi system operators (MSOs) earlier in the same connection.

     

    The action is heating up on all fronts as the 31 December, 2015 deadline for implementation of DAS Phase III draws closer.

  • TRAI to meet stakeholders to discuss DAS issues on 18 December

    TRAI to meet stakeholders to discuss DAS issues on 18 December

    NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has called a meeting of stakeholders – primarily broadcasters and multi system operators (MSOs) – on 18 December to sort out any problems relating to agreements in order to ensure a smooth transition to Phase III of Digital Addressable System (DAS) by 31 December, 2015.
     
    This information was given to the 12th DAS Task Force meeting presided over by its chairman and Information and Broadcasting Ministry special secretary J S Mathur this week. Joint Secretary (Broadcasting) R Jaya was also present.
     
    Broadcasters and MSOs were told categorically that there would be no extension of the deadline for Phase III and analogue signals should be switched off from 1 January, 2016 in all urban areas of the country. The final phase covering the rest of India will be completed by 31 December, 2016.
     
    TRAI had earlier asked all stakeholders to apprise it of any problems arising out of finalising agreements amongst various stakeholders.
     
    While Jaya referred to public awareness campaigns carried out by the Ministry, the broadcasters presented a report about the publicity campaigns that they have been carrying on both television and radio.
     
    TRAI also informed the Ministry about the meetings held with stakeholders since the last Task Force meeting on 22 September.
  • Videocon d2h armed with adequate STBs ahead of DAS III deadline

    Videocon d2h armed with adequate STBs ahead of DAS III deadline

    MUMBAI: Indian direct to home (DTH) operator Videocon d2h says it is fully geared up for Digital Addressable Systems (DAS) phase III, the deadline for which is 31 December, 2015. 

     

    The company expects Phase III to be 50 million TV household in terms of size.

     

    The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in its recent communication expressed satisfaction at the progress of the seeding of set-top boxes (STBs) in Phase III areas. TRAI has also advised consumers of urban areas who are still receiving cable TV services without STBs to avail and install STBs before the cut-off date in order to receive uninterrupted TV/services. It has reaffirmed its commitment to meet the deadline.  

     

    It is anticipated that there will be a huge demand for STBs for the Digitisation phase III, and Videocon d2h STBs are available in the markets. TRAI has been taking steps to create awareness among consumers and stakeholders by holding workshops on the implementation of DAS and consumer outreach programmes.

     

    Videocon d2h executive chairman Saurabh Dhoot said, “We welcome the digitisation mandate by Government wholeheartedly and will continue to support this initiative. The latest communication by Government in reaffirming its commitment is encouraging. This will ensure world class services to end consumer and create a level playing field between DTH and cable.”

     

    Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera added, “Consumers who are on analog cable mode can subscribe to a Videocon d2h Digital Set Top Box to access uninterrupted services before digitisation is implemented. Videocon d2h has ample STBs to cater to demand of the digitisation towns. Consumers can subscribe to Videocon d2h to avoid a black out of the analog cable services and enjoy the wide range of channels and services provided.”

  • TRAI‘s Draft of interconnect agreement out; seeks counter-comments by Jan 7

    TRAI‘s Draft of interconnect agreement out; seeks counter-comments by Jan 7

    New Delhi: With an aim of reducing disputes and because the regulations for pacts between multisystem operators and local cable operators can only be entered into on the basis of interconnect agreements, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI )today issued a draft Model and Standard Interconnection Agreement for offering cable TV services through Digital Addressable Systems (DAS) .

     

    Stakeholders have been asked to give their comments and counter-comments on the draft latest by 31 December and 7 January respectively.

     

    The interconnection regulation further provides that the interconnection agreement between the MSO and its linked LCO shall have the details of various activities rendered by LCO and MSOs, and the revenue settlement between the parties for these services. The regulatory framework applicable for DAS also provides that the revenue share between LCO and MSO shall be as determined by mutual agreement. In case the MSO and the LCO fail to arrive at mutual agreement, TRAI has mandated the subscription revenue share between the MSO and the LCO as a fall back arrangement.

     

    The model is the outcome of interactions with MSOs and LCOs in the various parts of the country between January and October this year, with the objective of enhancing awareness about the regulatory framework among stakeholders and to assess the compliance of the regulatory framework.

     

    During these interactions, the stakeholders raised the issue that the terms and conditions of the agreement offered by the MSO were one sided and do not provide a level playing field to the LCOs. Often the obligation of both the parties for meeting the quality of service norms prescribed in the QoS regulation was not clearly defined in the interconnection agreement and due to which, in the event of dispute between the MSO and the LCO, the quality of service was adversely affected.

     

    The existing regulation and tariff orders applicable for DAS may also require suitable amendments to incorporate necessary provisions relating to Model and Standard Interconnection Agreements between the MSO and the LCO, TRAI said in a consultation paper.

     

    The Model and Standard Interconnection Agreements contains mandatory provisions to ensure the compliance of the regulatory framework available for DAS. The proposed draft consists of a Model Interconnection Agreement (MIA) and Standard Interconnection agreements (SIA) in a single document, namely draft model and standard interconnection agreements.

     

    The draft contains necessary terms and conditions, to ensure the compliance of the regulatory framework available for DAS, and to provide a level playing field to the MSOs and the LCOs. The draft agreement also lists roles and responsibilities as well as rights and obligations of each party separately.

     

    While notifying the regulatory framework in 2012, TRAI did not formulate SIA and left it to market forces as there could be various relationship models between the MSOs and the LCOs. It was envisaged that this would provide enough flexibility to the stakeholders while transitioning from analogue un-addressable systems to digital addressable systems.

     

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    In cases where the revenue settlement was mutually agreed between the MSO and the LCO, the MIA part of the draft agreement would be applicable. In other cases where the revenue settlement could not be agreed mutually between the MSO and the LCO; and it wasdecided to continue relationship based on the fall back subscription revenue share arrangement as prescribed in the tariff order, the SIA part of the draft agreement would be applicable. 

     

    Apart from clauses 10 to 12 of the proposed draft agreement, which relate to roles and responsibilities of the MSOs and the LCOs, billing, and revenue settlement, other clauses would remain same in the final Model and Standard Interconnection Agreement.

     

    In clause 10 of the proposed draft agreement, some of the roles have been clubbed together to assign common responsibility of these roles either to the MSO or to the LCO. Splitting of these roles may cause inconsistencies and gaps in delivery of satisfactory services to the consumers. However at consultation stage, the stakeholders can provide their valuable comments on re-grouping of roles, if felt necessary, with justifications.

     

    In case of the SIA, the responsibilities for various roles shall be fixed as per column 4 of the clause 10 of this draft agreement after considering the comments of the stakeholders. Similarly the billing and revenue settlement responsibilities shall also be fixed as per clause 11 and 12 respectively of this draft agreement after considering the comments of the stakeholders. Accordingly, all the terms and conditions of SIA which include the revenue share settlement conditions also, shall be standardised after prescription of SIA. No additions, deletions, and or alteration would be permitted thereafter in SIA terms and conditions.

     

    In the case of the MIA, the responsibilities for various roles to be finalised in clause 10 of this draft agreement, can be mutually agreed by the parties and recorded in writing in the column 3 of clause 10 of this draft agreement. In this case, column 4 of the clause 10 of this draft agreement would not be applicable. Similarly the billing and revenue settlement responsibilities shall also be agreed mutually as per clause 11 and 12 of this draft agreement respectively and recorded in writing in the agreement. No deletions, and/or alteration would be permitted thereafter in MIA terms and conditions. However, the parties, through mutual agreement, may add certain additional terms and conditions subject to such terms and conditions do not dilute, override, and or alter the existing terms and conditions. In case of any conflict between the existing terms and conditions of the prescribed MIA, and new terms and conditions added through mutual agreement by the parties; the existing terms and conditions of the prescribed MIA shall prevail.

     

     

  • TRAI urges urban consumers to get STBs by end of month; rules out extension of Phase III

    TRAI urges urban consumers to get STBs by end of month; rules out extension of Phase III

    New Delhi,: Firmly ruling out any possibility of further extension of the deadline for digitization of cable television, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India today categorically said that cable TV services in urban areas in the country will be digital from January 1, 2016.

     

    In a press release Trai also advised consumers of urban areas who are still receiving cable TV services without Set Top Boxes to avail and install these before the cut-off date in order to receive uninterrupted TV.

     

    Trai said it had been taking steps for creating awareness amongst consumers and stakeholders by holding workshops and consumer outreach programmes about the implementation of DAS. Trai held a meeting with major stakeholders of the broadcasting and cable TV sector on December 1 with major stakeholders in the sector. Trai had earlier asked all stakeholders to inform it by 28 November for pending interconnect agreements or if they were facing any problems.

     

    The broadcasters, direct-to-home operators and multi-system operators were asked to carry out exhaustive consumer awareness programmes about digitization of cable TV services so that the remaining customers in the urban areas are able to install STBs before the cut-off date of December 31. 

     

    Broadcasters of TV channels were asked to send advance intimation by December 7 to the cable operators about non availability of TV channels for retransmission in analogue mode to the consumers from January 1, 2016.

     

    Trai noted that the progress of seeding STBs in DAS Phase-III notified areas is ‘satisfactory and a good number of customers are getting the benefits of digitization’.

      

    Trai said that while Phase -I had covered the four Metros of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai by October 31, 2012; Phase II covered cities with a population more than one million (38 cities) by March 31, 2013.

     

    Phase -III is aimed at covering all Other Urban areas (Municipal Corporation/ Municipalities) except cities /towns/areas specified for corresponding Phase-I and Phase-II by December 31, 2015. The final phase will cover the rest of India by 31 December 2016.

     

    The list of urban areas covered under Phase III of digitization is available on the website of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (www.mib.nic.in).

     

    At the outset, TRAI said cable TV is one of the most popular medium of mass entertainment and education and there are presently more than 100 million cable TV subscribers.

  • TRAI report: 139 channels violating 12 mins AdCap rule

    TRAI report: 139 channels violating 12 mins AdCap rule

    New Delhi: A Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) report reveals that 27 news and current affairs and 112 general entertainment channels continue to violate the regulations for telecasting a maximum of twelve minutes of advertisements and commercials.

     

    The report released by TRAI shows that the number of violators among news channels has come down from 36 while that of non-news channels has risen from the 105 as on June 29.

     

     Average duration per hour of Advertisements (commercial and selfpromotional) during peak hours (7pm to 10 PM) in pay news channels for the period June 29 to September 27, 2015 shows that the highest of these is 20.99 minutes by Zee Akaash News Pvt. Ltd and the lowest is 12.55 minutes by Zee Media Corporation Limited.

     

     Among pay non-news channels for the same period, the highest is 21.20 minutes by 4U Broadband India Pvt. Ltd and the lowest is 12.07 minutes by Movies Now+. There are at least fifteen news and 25 non-news channels clocking more than fifteen minutes per hour which indicates increase over June-end, reveals the TRAI report.

     

     According to information available to TRAI, the rest of the news channels are carrying less than 12 minutes of average duration per hour of advertisements (commercial and self-promotional) during peak hours (7pm – 10 pm) from June 29 to September 27. TRAI says that the information is based on the data submitted by the broadcasters and that it bears no responsibility for the figures given.

     

     A petition against the AdCap rule had been filed by the News Broadcasters Association and some channels challenging the TRAI decision to implement the directive of 12 minutes contained in the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act 1995. The Information and Broadcasting Ministry and TRAI are the respondents in the petition.

     

    As reported earlier, even as the broadcasters are still to come to an amicable solution with the government, the AdCap conundrum continues to drag on with another postponement for early next year. After the Information and Broadcasting Ministry told the Court on November 27 that it was discussing the issue with broadcasters, the matter was put off to 11 February. This was the first time that the Ministry had put in an appearance in the petition. The Bench observed that the matter had been pending for some time and therefore it will hear and conclude the case in the next hearing.

  • TRAI’s one month deadline for resolving 30 questions on spectrum auctions

    TRAI’s one month deadline for resolving 30 questions on spectrum auctions

    New Delhi, 27 November:  The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India wants to know whether the entire spectrum available with Department of Telecom in the 800 MHz band should be put for auction and how can the spectrum in the 800 MHz band, which is not proposed to be auctioned due to non-availability of inter-operator guard band, be utilized.

     

    In a consultation paper on “Valuation and Reserve Price of Spectrum in 700, 800, 900, 1800, 2100, 2300 and 2500MHz Bands”, it wants to know what should be the block size in the 700 MHz band.

     

    TRAI has sought comments to almost thirty questions in the paper by 21 December and counter-comments by 28 December and said no extra time would be given in view of the urgency of the issue.

     

    It also seeks to know if there is any requirement to change the provisions of the latest NIA with respect to block size and minimum quantum of spectrum that a new entrant/existing licenses/expiry licensee is required to bid for in 800, 900, 1800 and 2100 MHz bands.

     

    What should the block size in the 2300 MHz and 2500 bands be, the Regulator wants to know.

     

    Considering the fact that one more sub-1 GHz band (i.e. 700 MHz band) is being put to auction, is there a need to modify the provisions of spectrum cap within a band and is there any need to specify a separate spectrum cap exclusively for the spectrum in 700 MHz band?, TRAI has asked.

     

    Should a cap on the spectrum holding within all bands in sub-1 GHz frequencies be specified and should the existing provision of band specific cap (50 percent of total spectrum assigned in a band) be done away with, it has asked.

     

    TRAI wants to know whether the 2300 MHz and 2500 MHz bands be treated as same band for the purpose of imposing intra-band Spectrum Cap.

     

    In the auction held in March 2015, specific roll-out obligations were mandated for the successful bidders in 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2100 MHz spectrum bands.

     

    Stakeholders are requested to suggest how the roll-out obligations be modified to enhance mobile coverage in the villages and whether there should be any roll out obligation for the existing service providers who are already operating their services in these bands.  

     

    In the auction held in 2010, specific roll-out obligations were mandated for the successful bidders in 2300 MHz spectrum band. Same were made applicable to the licensee having spectrum in 2500 MHz band. Stakeholders are requested to suggest whether the same roll-out obligations which were specified during the 2010 auctions for BWA spectrum be retained for the upcoming auctions in the 2300 MHz and 2500 MHz bands and should both these bands be treated as same band for the purpose of roll-out obligations.

     

    TRAI has also asked if the ISP category ‘A’ licensee should be permitted to acquire the spectrum in 2300 and 2500 MHz bands or the same eligibility criteria that has been made applicable for other bands viz. 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2100 MHz band should be made applicable for 2300 MHz and 2500 MHz bands as well.

     

    Stakeholders are requested to comment on whether the guidelines for liberalisation of administratively allotted spectrum in 900 MHz band should be similar to what has been spelt out by the DoT for 800 and 1800 MHz band.

     

    Can the prices revealed in the March 2015 auction for 800/900/1800/2100 MHz spectrum be taken as the value of spectrum in the respective band for the forthcoming auction in the individual LSA, it wants to know.

     

    Should the value of the 2300 MHz spectrum be derived on the basis of the value of any other spectrum band using the technical efficiency factor and should the valuation of the 2500 MHz spectrum be equal to the valuation arrived at for the 2300 MHz spectrum, the Regulator has asked.

     

    What should be the ratio adopted between the reserve price for the auction and the valuation of the spectrum in different spectrum bands and why.  Should the realized prices in the recent March 2015 auction for 800/900/1800/2100 MHz spectrum bands be taken as the reserve price in respective spectrum bands for the forthcoming auction.

  • Adcap case to be heard on 11 February, MIB informs Court matter under discussion with broadcasters

    Adcap case to be heard on 11 February, MIB informs Court matter under discussion with broadcasters

    NEW DELHI, 27 November: The Information and Broadcasting Ministry today informed the Delhi High Court that it was in talks with the News Broadcasters Association and other stakeholders on the issue of the advertising cap of 12 minutes per hour.

     

    Consequently, the Court put off hearing of the matter to 11 February. This is the first time that the Ministry has put in an appearance in the petition filed by the News Broadcasters and others against the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and others.

     

    The Bench observed that the matter had been pending for some time and therefore it will hear and conclude the case in the next hearing.

     

    Counsel for NBA Nisha Bhambhani also said that talks were on with the Ministry in this regard.

     

    Meanwhile in an intervention MSO Home Cable Network (P) Ltd said it wanted to intervene as it was directly affected by the outcome of the present petition. Lawyer Vivek Sarin appearing for Home Cable said in the intervention application that “the ordinary subscribers are unduly burdened with unjustified charges when the cost of operating the channels can be recovered from the advertisement revenue. The said cost includes notional profits also.”

     

    The application wanted the NBA petition to be dismissed and added: “The Pay channel broadcasters are profiteering at the expense of subscribers and the DPO’s. There is no justification for changing monthly subscription when commercial advertisements are inserted. The Standards of Quality of Service (Digital Addressable Cable TV Systems) Regulations 2012 (with Amendments thereafter) is justified to the extent they are applicable to Pay Channels. The pay channel broadcasters cannot charge the subscription fee while inserting commercials into the content or in the alternative, the subscribers have to be compensated for the revenue earned on the basis of their being subscribers of the channels.”

     

    In the last two hearings on 8 and 23 September, the NBA had sought the adjournment on the ground that the matter was under discussion with the Ministry to seek certain clarifications.

     

    (It is learnt by indiantelevision.com that this comes in the wake of a statement made by Minister Arun Jaitley in January this year that there should be no ad cap in the print or electronic media, However, no instructions have been issued in this regard by the Minister so far,).

    The order that TRAI will not take any action against any channel pending the petition will continue. In an earlier hearing, the Court had, at the regulator’s instance, directed that all channels keep a record of the advertisements run by them.
      
    The NBA had challenged the ad cap rule, contending that TRAI does not have jurisdiction to regulate commercial airtime on television channels.
     
    Apart from the NBA, the petitions have been filed by Sarthak Entertainment, Pioneer Channel Factory, E24 Glamoru, Sun TV Network, TV Vision, B4U Broadband, 9X Media, Kalaignar, Celebrities Management, Eanadu Television and Raj Television.
     

    The news and regional broadcasters fear that the capping of commercial airtime will curtail their ad revenues. They also argue that the ad cap must be brought only after the benefits of cable TV digitisation start showing. 

     

     Meanwhile, TRAI had three months earlier released results of their records which show that around 36 news channels apart from 105 General Entertainment Channels are violating the ad cap by telecast ads of more than 12 minutes an hour.

  • Wired Broadband: ACT, Airtel lead growth in Sep 2015; MSOs’broadband numbers increasing

    Wired Broadband: ACT, Airtel lead growth in Sep 2015; MSOs’broadband numbers increasing

    BENGALURU:  ACT continues to lead the wired broadband growth in calendar year 2015 with 1.9 lakh subscribers(or 23.46 percent of the total all India additions since December 31, 2014) additions fromDecember 31, 2014 until September 30, 2015. However, month-on-month, Bharati Airtel leads growth in subscription numbers by contributing 40,000 additions or 30.77 percent of the 130,000 broadband numbers added all India in the month of September 2015. ACT added 30,000 subscribers or 23.08 percent of the total broadband subscribers added in September 2015. BSNL added 10,000 or 7.69 percent of the total subscribersadded in September 2015. Both MTNL and You BB did not report any change from their August 2015 subscription numbers.

    Are the MSOs’ initiatives by carrying internet on their cable TV infrastructure beginning to show? Definitely yes! Will they surpass the numbers attained by the top 5 ISPs’? Maybe with a concentred effort, yes they may, but it will take plenty of doing and make take some time.Please read on.

    Note:(1) 100,00,000 = 100 Lakh = 10 million = 1 crore

    (2) Trai reports indicate data in millions of numbers up to 2 decimal places. Hence it is assumed in this report that a figure of 0.47 million (4.7 lakh) subscribers for You BB for July-2015 would be granular to the nearest 10,000. While percentages perforce have been mentioned up to two decimal places, the accuracy may vary, depending upon the exact number.

    (3) Industry sources say that Trai numbers in the case of ACT for May-2015 are incorrect at 0.66 million and the correct number would be 0.693 million. This paper considers the number as 6.93 lakh or 0.693 million.

    (4) MSOs’ have a number of subsidiaries and alliances, hence broadband numbers are split as applicable. The consolidated subscription numbers of these entities could be larger. Hathway is a case in point.

    (5) Ortel’s numbers for Q3-2015 have been estimated from the numbers released by it for Q1-2015, Q2-2015, Q4-2015 and FY-2015.

    (6)  The term ‘operating revenue’ in this paper indicates ‘total income from operations’.

    The Top 5 ISPs’

    The latest subscription numbers disclosed by The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) as on September 30, 2015, reveal that the total number of wired broadband subscribers in India stood at 161.3 lakh. Hence 8.1 lakh subscribers were added between December 31, 2014 and September 30, 2015, and 1.3 lakh subscribers were added in September 2015. Please refer to figure 1 below

    The pecking order for the top 5 wireline internet service providers or ISPs’ remains the same with the top three – Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Bharati Airtel (Airtel) and Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Limited (MTNL) also providing voice (telephone) services and many of their wired internet customers use both services – voice and data. The big three are followed by ACT (Atria Convergence Technologies) and You Broadband India Private Limited (You BB).

    Please refer to figure 2 below. As mentioned above, ACT still continues to lead the growth in wired broadband subscriptions with a net addition of 30,000 subscribers in September 2015, taking its tally to 1.9 lakh subscribers (23.46 percent of the all India additions) added sinceDecember 31, 2014.Hence ACT’s market share in the wired internet space in India improved by 15 basis points to 4.96 percent in August 2015 as compared to 4.81 in Aug-2015. Since December 31, 2014, ACT’s market share has gone up 98 basis points (from 3.98 percent) based on a granularity of 10,000.

    However, telecom major Bharti Airtel is swiftly closing the gap. Like in August2015, the behemoth added 40,000 wiredinternet subscribers in September 2015, taking its tally to 1.7 lakh subscribers (20.99 percent of the all India additions) added between December 31, 2014 and September 30, 2015.  Airtel’s market share improved 17 basis points to 9.80 percent in Sep 2015 as compared to 9.63 percent in Aug 2015. Airtel had a market share of 9.20 percent on December 31, 2014.

    You BB did not report any subscriber additionsin September 2015, its tally remained the same at 4.8 lakh subscribers until September 30, 2015, and it had a net addition of 60,000 subscribers (7.41 percent of the all India additions) since December 31, 2014. Hence You BB’s market share has declined by 2 basis points to 2.98 percent in September 2015 as compared to the 3 percent in August 2015. You BB had a market share of 2.74 percent as on December 31, 2014.

    The public sector BSNL increased its subscription numbers by 10,000 to 99.3 lakh or 61.56 percent of the all India total. However, BSNL’s market share declined by 44 basis points as compared to 62 percent in August 2015.As on December 31, 2014, BSNL had a market share of 65.14 percent

     MTNL subscription numbers were the same as the numbers reported for June 2015, July 2015 and August 2015, and hence there appears to be no net growth in wired broadband subscribers on its part. However, since the overall market size is increasing,MTNL’s market share has also declined even further. MTNL lost 5 basis points to reach a market share of 7.01 percent as compared to 7.06 percent in August 2015. As on December 31, 2014MTNL had a market share of 7.38 percent.

    MSOs’ contribution to broadband

    The combined subscription number of the top five wired ISP’ as on September 30, 2015 was 139.2 lakh or 86.30 percent of the total number of the 161.3 lakh wireline broadband subscribers in India. On December 31, 2014, the corresponding combined number was 135.5 lakh or 88.45 percent of the total number of 153.2 lakh broadband wireline subscribers in the country. The combined share of overall wired internet subscribers of the top five companies is declining, with other players increasing their contribution to wireline broadband subscription numbers.

    The decline between December 31, 2014 and September 30, 2015 was 147 basis points. Other ISP’s share of subscribers has increased to the same extent. Among the ‘Others’ are included Cable TV MSOs’. MSOs’ in India are looking at broadband revenues to prop up their cable revenue numbers because of the comparatively higher ARPUs’ from broadband internet services.  Please refer to Fig 3 below.

    In the three month period starting July 1, 2015 until September 30, 2015 or Q2-2016 (current quarter), the wired internet subscriber base in the country has grown by 4.3 lakh. Of these, the top 5 ISPs added 2.3 lakh subscribers or 53.49 percent of total additions in Q2-2016. At the same time, MSOs’ have started reporting double digit increase in internet subscribers and revenue.  Four MSOs’ – Hathway, Siti Cable, Ortel and Den added 1.09lakh (25.34 percent of total additions in Q2-2016) subscribers during that period as per their financial reports filed at the bourses.QoQ, the combined broadband subscribers in Q2-2016 added by the four MSOs’ increased by 58.36 percent from 0.69 lakh added in Q1-2016.

    For Q1-2016, if the drop in broadband subscription numbers to the extent of 50,000 and 10,000 by BSNL and MTNL respectively is neglected, the other three players among top five wirelineISPs’ in India added 1.2 lakh (37.50 percent of total additions in Q1-2016) of the 3.2 lakh subscribers added in that period.If the drop in subscriber numbers by BSNL and MTNL is considered, the top 5 ISPs’ added just 0.6 lakh wireline broadband subscribers or 18.75 percent of the total subscribers added in Q1-2016. The four MSOs’ contribution to the subscriber base was approximately 0.69 lakh or 21.50 percent of the total additions in Q1-2016. Hence in Q1-2016, four MSOs’ actually added more subscribers than the combined number of subscribers added by the top 5 wired ISPs’ in India.

    Cable companies such as Hathway reported consolidated internet subscription numbers of 5.15 lakh with 2 lakh asDocsis 3.0at the end of the current quarter (Q2-2016). While ACT has laid separate optical fibre for internet and is exploring territories beyond which it has cable TV operations, for the other MSOs’ it is a lot cheaper to have the internet signal ride on their existing cable TV networks wires.

    Last quarter (Q1-2016), Ortel announced that it had introduced free broadband option for all Ortel Cable TV subscribers in the states of Odisha, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh as a complimentary special value added service in order to target to deeper penetrate into markets by making internet affordable. Ortel says that its offer includes a free data limit every month for a year. The subscriber will be charged a nominal amount after exceeding the free data usage for the month.

    Some MSOs’ broadband numbers

    Broadband contributes in double digit percentages to the total incomes or operating revenue of two of the four sample companies in this paper – Hathway (about 25 percent and growing) and Ortel (declined from 21.07 percent in Q1-2015 to 16.80 percent in Q2-2016). Please refer to Fig 4 below. In the case of Siti Cable and Den, revenue from broadband services contributed to less than 5 percent to their operating incomes.

    Hathway reported broadband revenue of Rs 71.9 crore (26.24 percent of operating revenue) in the current quarter, 58.4 percent higher YoY than the Rs 45.4 crore (17.23percent of operating revenue), and 10.4 percent more than the Rs 65.1 crore (24.62 percent of operating revenue)in the immediate trailing quarter.Last quarter, the company said that it had added 50,000 broadband subscribers in Q1-2016, and claimed a broadband subscriber base of 4.6 lakh, of which 1.7 lakh were under Docsis 3.0. Hathway says that broadband ARPU increased 6.8 percent QoQ to Rs 616 from Rs 577 and that its Docsis 3 consumer ARPU has reached Rs 750.

    Siti Cable says that it has added 16,950 broadband subscribers in Q2-2016, taking its broadband subscriber base to 91,450 from 74,500 in the previous quarter. Broadband revenue increased 50 percent YoY in Q2-2106 to Rs 9.30 crore (3.30 percent of operating revenue) from Rs 6.20 crore (3.95 percent of operating revenue) and increased 3.3 percent QoQ from Rs 9 crore (2.83 percent of operating revenue).

    Ortel’s broadband customers grew 8.9 percent to 63,663 in the current quarter from 57,528 in Q2-2015 and grew 4.5 percent from 60,900 in Q1-2016.Ortel’s broadband ARPU in Q2-2016 was Rs 395, in Q2-2015, it was Rs398 and in Q1-2016, it was Rs 393. Ortel reported 11.7 percent growth in YoY total broadband services revenue to Rs 8.1 (16.80 percent of operating revenue ) crore in the current quarter as compared to Rs 7.3 crore (19.89 percent of operating revenue ) and a 7.9 percent QoQ growth from Rs 7.5 crore(17.40percent of operating revenue).

    Den says that it has added 21,000 subscribers in the current quarter as compared to 12,000 in Q1-2016. Its total broadband subscriber base in Q2-2016 was 57,000 as compared to 35,000 in Q1-2016 and 16,000 in Q2-2015.Den’s broadband revenue increased 58 percent in the current quarter to Rs 8.23 crore(3.03 percent to operating revenue)  as compared to the Rs 5.21 crore (1.96 percent of operating revenue) in Q1-2016 and Rs 1.44 crore (0.49 percent of operating revenue) in the corresponding year ago quarter.

    End points

    The four ISPs’(other than ACT) in this report that use their MSO platform for internet service delivery currently are –Hathway, Siti Cable, Ortel and Den in that order in terms of number of broadband internet subscribers in Q2-2016. Three of the four have cable TV subscribers in excess of 100 lakhs each on a consolidated basis, while Ortel had around 5.72 lakh revenue generating units (RGUs)as on September 30, 2015.

    The largest cable TV ISP among them is Hathway with 5.15 lakh subscribers, or just around 5 percent of its total cable TV subscriber base. In the case of Siti Cable and Den, their own internet penetration within their respective cable TV subscriber bases is less than 100 basis points. Many of these MSOs’ subscribers must have opted for internet services from other ISPs’, and all must have some non-cable TV  broadbandinternet subscribers. For these MSOs’ (and other MSOs’) the potential for converting their cable TV subscribers to double play subscribers is huge. This is the low hanging fruit that the MSOs’ can easily pluck if they do it right and increase their revenues and profitability.