Reliance Jio, Airtel look set to disrupt the DTH sector
05 Apr 2017
Reliance Jio, whose entry disrupted the market for mobile phone services with its 4G services, is now looking to disrupt the direct-to-home television channels with its digital content service.
Reports say Reliance Jio Infocomm (RJIL) will soon come out with Jio DTH, and that Jio will not be alone in the new disruptive business as Airtel is also looking to take on Jio's IPTV based DTH with its new high-tech hybrid DTH STB service.
Jio will be facing stiff competition from India's largest telecom operator, Bharti Airtel, in the new venture as well.
However, the impact that the new ventures will make on existing DTH STBs will depend on the features.
The upcoming Jio STB service is rumoured to be powered by Android and Jio will facilitate outdoor customer premise equipment (CPE), which will be connected to the nearby Jio tower and the wire will be attached to the STB in user's house.
In some areas, Jio is planning to give the wiring via optical fibre cable, instead of CPE.
The Jio DTH set top box is reportedly ready and the company is all set to launch it in April. The services can be availed using an Android setup box or Apple setup box to stream any TV channel on the TV with plans starting at Rs180 per month.
The Jio DTH setup box will be powered through Jio broadband connection which will give a streaming speed up to 1 Gbps.
Reports also say that customers can expect Jio to offer 90 days of free Jio DTH service as a welcome offer promotion.
But recently leaked pictures suggest that Jio is planning to release the STB with basic features such as Ethernet port, USB port, etc.
Airtel's high-tech hybrid DTH service is also said to work on the same principle. Airtel will use the FTTH cabling service to connect the STBs. These STB's will allow viewers to stream content online.
It is also said that both the brands are partnering with digital content services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hotstar to provide the exclusive content.
Airtel recently partnered with Netflix and it is likely that their STB comes preinstalled with Netflix app. Jio has collaboration with India's Hotstar to provide online content services.