India adds 610,000 active DTH subscribers in 1Q 2015

NEW DELHI — The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) today released the “Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicator Report” for the Quarter ending March, 2015. The Report provides a broad perspective of the Telecom Services and presents the key parameters and growth trends for the Telecom Services as well as Cable TV, DTH & Radio Broadcasting services in India for the period covering 1st January to 31st March, 2015 and is compiled on the basis of information furnished by the Service Providers.

Cable TV Services

As on 31.03.2015, there are a total of 155 Multi System Operators (MSOs), who have been granted Permanent Registration (for 10 years) by Ministry of I&B, for providing Cable TV services through Digital Addressable Systems.

The digitization, with addressability of cable TV sector is in progress, in a phased manner. It is planned to be completed in four phases. The cut-off date for migration to “Digital Addressable Cable TV Systems” for the first phase, covering four metropolitan cities, was 31.10.2012 and for second phase, covering 38 cities having population more than 1 million, was 30.03.2013. The cut-off date for third phase was 30.09.2014 and for the fourth and final phase was 31.12.2014. However, the cut-off date for third phase & fourth phase was further extended up to 31.12.2015 & 31.12.2016 respectively.

DTH Services

At present, apart from the free DTH service of Doordarshan Prasar Bharati, a public broadcaster, 6 private DTH Operators are offering pay DTH services to the subscribers.

As per the information submitted by the DTH operator through quarterly PMR for DTH services, total number of registered subscribers and active subscribers being served by these six private DTH operators, as reported to TRAI, are 76.05 million & 41.15, million respectively as on 31st March 2015.

DTH subscribers (millions)

                                                  2014
            ------------------------------------------
            End-March   End-June  End-Sept.   End-Dec.
            ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
Registered      64.82      67.57      70.33      73.06
 Active         37.19      38.24      39.13      40.54
 Inactive       27.63      29.33      31.20      32.52

                 2015
            ---------
            End-March
            ---------
Registered      76.05
 Active         41.15
 Inactive       34.90

India has over 34 million inactive DTH subscribers

India has 34.9 million inactive direct-to-home service subscribers, according to latest report from Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.

Tata Sky, Dish TV, Videocon d2h, Airtel Digital, Sun TV and Reliance Digital TV are the six operators that provide DTH services in the country. Together, they have about 41.15 million active subscribers. According to the TRAI report, total number of registered subscribers stands at 76.05 million compared to 73.06 million subs that were registered last year. Around 155 MSOs have Permanent Registration for providing Cable TV services. Permanent licences are issued for a period of ten years.

Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has said that the country has 829 TV channels as of 31 March, 2015. Total number of pay TV channels stands at 245, reports Indian Television.

DTH players showcase strong performance in FY15

Direct-to-Home service providers are finally seeing an uptick in their revenues. The latest financial reports from Airtel Digital TV, Dish TV and Videocon d2h show that expanding subscriber base as well as a rise in average revenue per user could help these players grow during fiscal 2015.digitoisa

According to Dish TV, digitisation in India has given the company sufficient headroom to expand business in both urban are rural areas. The operator has added as many as 1.5 million net subscribers during the year. Dish TV’s net profit for the quarter was at INR350 million for the quarter that ended March, 31, 2015. Its ARPU was at INR172.

“All pack prices, for new as well as existing subscribers of Dish TV, have been moved by Rs 10 each in the 42 cities under phase I and II. We are confident that pack price hikes, higher HD uptake, as well as industry level developments such as initiation of packaging in cable will be key contributors to ARPU expansion going forward,” said Dish TV managing director Jawahar Goel, according to Indian Television.

Airtel Digital TV has announced that its revenue has increased by 19% year-on-year from INR20.7 billion in FY 2014 to INR24.7 billion in FY 2015. The company’s subscriber base stands at 10.07 million as on March 2015. Airtel’s ARPU was at INR214 in FY 2015 as compared to INR201 in FY 2014.

Another player in the DTH space, Videocon d2h, also narrowed net loss to INR2.73 billion during the financial year that ended 31 March, 2015. Last year, the net loss stood at INR3.2 billion. “We maintained our market leadership in subscriber growth and reported key financial metrics ahead of the guidance provided during the listing process. We believe, with our strong balance sheet and continued momentum, we are well-positioned for the future,” said Saurabh Dhoot, Executive Chairman of the company. Its average revenue per user was at INR196 for the fiscal.

Inverto ships Entropic-based Unicable multi-switch to DTH operator in India

Tuesday, January 21st, 2014 

Inverto Ships Entropic-Based Unicable Multi-Switch to a Major Satellite Operator in India for Support of Multi-Dwelling Unit Subscribers

NEW DELHI, India — 22nd Convergence India 2014 Conference — Entropic (Nasdaq:ENTR), a world leader in semiconductor solutions for the connected home, and Inverto Digital Labs, a leader in broadcast reception and streaming products, today announced a major direct broadcast satellite (DBS) operator in India has deployed Inverto’s Quad Unicable™ multi-switch based on Entropic’s proven, third-generation Channel Stacking Switch (CSS), the EN5288. By implementing Inverto’s Quad Unicable multi-switch, the operator can enhance TV viewing experiences of Multi-Dwelling Unit (MDU) subscribers by enabling multiple tuners and viewing locations off a single-cable run from the trunk system that already exists in the building.

Inverto’s Unicable multi-switch with Entropic CSS technology enables the DBS operator to significantly reduce satellite installation costs by sending multiple video streams from multiple satellites into and around the home – over a single-cable feed. This simplified cabling approach allows the operator to deploy set-top boxes (STBs), with multiple tuner capabilities, in multiple rooms, without adding additional cabling by using the existing single-cable run from the MDU’s trunk.

The new multi-switch leverages the industry standard CENELEC EN50494, which facilitates the delivery of broadcast programming to a maximum of eight STBs over a single coaxial cable. This in turn allows operators who have incorporated the standard into their STBs ahead of deployment to future-proof subscribers’ in-home networks allowing seamless deployment of DVR and multi-room solutions – at any time – with CSS products.

“We are working with a major India-based DBS operator who is taking a unique single-cable architecture approach to delivering entertainment and advanced services into the homes of its subscribers,” said Gil Laifer, Senior Director of Products, Inverto Digital Labs. “By implementing our Unicable products with Entropic’s advanced CSS technology, operators can increase average revenue per user, improve subscriber satisfaction and have the ability to reduce churn. Specifically, Unicable products allow upgrading services to users in multi-dwelling units without the need to change the single cabling architecture which is prevalent across the Indian market. These savings for the operator can be of a significant order.”

Entropic’s EN5288 is a widely-deployed CSS solution that significantly reduces both the cost and complexity of direct broadcast satellite (DBS) installations. Designed to address both MDU and Single Family Unit (SFU) requirements, the integrated circuit solution offers the lowest bill of material (BoM) component count, smallest package size and adds key advancements in power-efficiency.

“Our CSS technology continues to be the global standard for DBS single-cable architectures,” said Al Servati, vice president, Marketing, Entropic. “Deploying our technology with long-term partner Inverto in the India satellite market is proof that service providers recognize the opportunity to deliver more entertainment and increase service offerings – all through the simplified single-cable approach.”