HIGHLIGHTS
- Even before the commercial launch of GigaFiber, there is a rising wave of consolidation in the sector
- The rival DTH providers are gearing up for some tough competition
The Mukesh Ambani led telecom operator forayed into the industry in 2016 with dirt cheap tariff prices and dented the revenue of the industry. However, Reliance Jio also established a very strong foothold in the country and became the fastest telecom operator in the world to gather 300 million subscribers. But, now the telco is onto its next chapter and is looking for a way to repeat its success in the broadband and DTH segment as well. Its next service, Reliance Jio GigaFiberis being highly awaited by the consumers for the same reason of extra cheap plans and bundled freebies. The likely pricing of GigaFiber has also been revealed for the triple play service; however, now the question remains whether or not the telco will be able to bring a revolution in the DTH and broadband industry with the commercial launch of the service.
The beginning of Consolidation in the DTH Industry
There are no two thoughts about the fact that the broadband industry is already preparing for the coming of Reliance Jio FTTH service. BSNL and Airtel have already debuted their revised plans which offer more to the users. The government led telecom operator has also removed FUP limit on many of its plans which means that it is trying to attract more and more consumers to stick. Similar is the case for many other providers in the industry.
As per the consumers and experts noting the industry trends, there is a chance that the DTH industry might suffer a similar fate in the hands of Reliance Jio GigaFiber. There is already a very nascent wave of consolidation ongoing in the DTH industry with Airtel Digital TV, the DTH wing of Bharti Airtel looking to acquire Dish TV, a significant DTH player along with Singtel. The Singapore based telecom giant will buy a 60% stake in Dish TV along with Airtel. Tata Sky is also on the lookout of investors lately as Temasek and Tata Opportunities Fund which together own 19% stake in the company are also looking for a way out. For Airtel Digital TV, having a consolidated large market share when the GigaFiber arrives will be an upper hand, while for Tata Sky the investment would mean more capex opportunities. Right now, it’s said that Jio’s TV service will be called as Jio HomeTV and the telco will bundle broadband, TV and home security billing into a single one. It’s recently said that the ISP will bundle broadband, landline and Home TV services at Rs 600 per month.
GigaFiber Already Rolled Out in Select Cities
It is worth noting that currently, Reliance Jio GigaFiber is live on a preview basis in cities like Delhi NCR, Mumbai and Ahmedabad and Surat. The consumers will have to deposit Rs 4,500 as security amount after which they will be able to avail the Reliance Jio GigaFiber router and data along with its other services. The telco is currently providing high-speed fibre internet with 100 Mbps speed in these regions with the data limit set at 100GB.
It will be interesting to see, how the arrival of Reliance Jio GigaFiber affects the DTH industry. Causing a wave in the wired broadband segment is sure. However, how long this wave lasts and whether it will replicate the intensity of the revolution in mobile telephony is yet a looming question
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