BT Buzz: Reliance Jio gears up for next big disruption
Over the past year, Jio expanded its presence in the fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) business through acquisitions of large MSOs (multiple system operators) - Den Networks and Hathway Cable and Datacom
- Aug 21, 2019,
- Updated Aug 21, 2019 9:50 PM IST
Reliance Jio, the big boy in telecom is preparing for the next disruption. Chairman Mukesh Ambani recently detailed the telco's plans to enter a host of new areas which would expand its presence beyond pureplay mobile telephony. After its big-bang entry into the telecom and becoming the second-largest player (with 340 million subscribers) in less than three years, Jio plans to commercially launch broadband services - JIOFIBER as it is called - on September 5 to reach 20 million residences and 15 million business establishments in 1,600 towns.
In his 92-minute speech at Reliance Industries' 42nd annual general meeting, Ambani elaborated the plans to offer home broadband, IoT and enterprises services, bundled TV product, wired telephone, smart home solutions, home security, and first-day-first-show of movie releases. In many areas, Jio will be competing with a new set of players who are unlikely to match its financial strength.
"Till now, the attempt was to acquire as many subscribers as possible. Now it has realised that the subscribers' game is almost over. Incremental investments in acquiring additional wireless subs will be quite high. The focus will be to combine each and every piece in the (telecom) ecosystem," says Tarun Pathak, associate director with Counterpoint Research.
The biggest piece is wired broadband services which are under trial (at nearly half a million homes) for some time now. While Jio claims there are internal targets for this business - something on the lines of hitting 100 million mobile subs in 170 days - more details will emerge in coming months. "It is not like mobility where by putting just one tower, a whole area (over 2,500 subs) gets activated. The moment Jio enters a 1,000-house residential society; they will have to wire up houses, which is a long-haul process, before the connections are live," says a telecom expert.
Over the past year, Jio expanded its presence in the fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) business through acquisitions of large MSOs (multiple system operators) - Den Networks and Hathway Cable and Datacom. Hathway has over 50 per cent share in the MSO cable broadband market which has given Jio leverage to enter the already-established broadband and cable markets. Existing Hathway cable customers will get a technology upgrade, and gradually move towards Jio set-top boxes. Players like Airtel have been operating in broadband and DTH domains for a fair number of years, and have built a large base of high-value customers.
Reliance Jio, the big boy in telecom is preparing for the next disruption. Chairman Mukesh Ambani recently detailed the telco's plans to enter a host of new areas which would expand its presence beyond pureplay mobile telephony. After its big-bang entry into the telecom and becoming the second-largest player (with 340 million subscribers) in less than three years, Jio plans to commercially launch broadband services - JIOFIBER as it is called - on September 5 to reach 20 million residences and 15 million business establishments in 1,600 towns.
In his 92-minute speech at Reliance Industries' 42nd annual general meeting, Ambani elaborated the plans to offer home broadband, IoT and enterprises services, bundled TV product, wired telephone, smart home solutions, home security, and first-day-first-show of movie releases. In many areas, Jio will be competing with a new set of players who are unlikely to match its financial strength.
"Till now, the attempt was to acquire as many subscribers as possible. Now it has realised that the subscribers' game is almost over. Incremental investments in acquiring additional wireless subs will be quite high. The focus will be to combine each and every piece in the (telecom) ecosystem," says Tarun Pathak, associate director with Counterpoint Research.
The biggest piece is wired broadband services which are under trial (at nearly half a million homes) for some time now. While Jio claims there are internal targets for this business - something on the lines of hitting 100 million mobile subs in 170 days - more details will emerge in coming months. "It is not like mobility where by putting just one tower, a whole area (over 2,500 subs) gets activated. The moment Jio enters a 1,000-house residential society; they will have to wire up houses, which is a long-haul process, before the connections are live," says a telecom expert.
Over the past year, Jio expanded its presence in the fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) business through acquisitions of large MSOs (multiple system operators) - Den Networks and Hathway Cable and Datacom. Hathway has over 50 per cent share in the MSO cable broadband market which has given Jio leverage to enter the already-established broadband and cable markets. Existing Hathway cable customers will get a technology upgrade, and gradually move towards Jio set-top boxes. Players like Airtel have been operating in broadband and DTH domains for a fair number of years, and have built a large base of high-value customers.