It is already present in each of these segments individually
India’s largest telecom company, Bharti Airtel, is working on a platform wherein it could integrate television, mobiles and the internet to provide services across the value chain. The company is already present in each of these segments individually, as it offers broadband services and DTH services through Airtel Digital TV, in addition to its mobile connectivity.
“We will do that shortly. We can offer all the features, experience and capability of our DTH platform on the web as well. Strategically, we can look at all the three screens (mobile, TV and computer),” says Ajai Puri, CEO-DTH, Bharti Airtel. As reverse path capability comes on DTH, the company says a consumer can manage various services across these three mediums. “After you integrate services of DTH, mobile and television, you can manage your bank account on TV, pull content off your service provider on to the TV, etc,” adds Puri.
While this is a plan Bharti reserves for the future, the company has already achieved half of this milestone. Airtel Digital TV is about to launch a personal video recorder service (PVR)-based product. There is a similar product in the market in the form of Tata Sky Plus. However, Airtel has added a unique feature to this product, wherein one can record shows, browse through channels and operate the set-top box from a remote location, using a mobile phone.
A consumer can download an application on his mobile phone, which will then double as a remote. This feature is operator-agnostic and can also aid in other functions like viewing account balance. “This application has been tested in 225 handsets across Nokia, Samsung and others. And, all our applications are SMS-based,” says Puri. Commands to the set-top box can be given from three to four mobile handsets, thereby catering to an entire family. This product comes at a cost of Rs 6,990, which includes installation, one-month service and a set-top box. Existing DTH customers of Airtel get a Rs 1,000 discount.
Designed for the modern age’s time-pressed urban consumer, the company believes this premium product will see as much market as in developed countries. In countries like the US, PVR contributes 40-50 per cent of new customer additions in the DTH category. In India, this market is expected to grow at 15-30 per cent.
Bharti Airtel launched its DTH service a year earlier and claims it has 20-25 per cent share in the net additions. The DTH market stands at more than Rs 3,000 crore and has a customer base of 22 million. This rapidly growing segment added about 10 million customers last year.