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Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Airtel leads over Jio in 5G speeds in June; Vodafone Idea gains in 5G availability: Opensignal
NEW DELHI: Bharti Airtel continued to retain its leadership in the 5G upload and download speed metrics in June, compared to its closest rival Reliance Jio , while third-ranked Vodafone Ide (Vi) is already competing with the larger telecom carriers in terms of 5G availability in select circles, networking testing firm Opensignal said on Wednesday. It, however, cautioned that Jio and Airtel's 5G download speeds are reducing, pointing to a slowdown in their latest-generation networks. Airtel's users recorded an average 5G upload speed of 22.6Mbps in June, which dropped by about 1Mbps compared to October 2024, while Jio's average 5G upload speed increased by 2Mbps to 15.1Mbps during the same period. Airtel's average 5G download speed decreased by 28Mbps since October 2024 to 212Mbps in June, whereas Jio's fell by 21Mbps to 204Mbps in the same period. 'There are further signs that India's established 5G networks — Airtel's and Jio's — are slowing down, as their 5G download scores have fallen,' said Peter Boyland, principal analyst at Opensignal. He attributed the decline in 5G download speeds to an increase in network congestion led by an acceleration in 5G adoption and a rise in data consumption per 5G subscriber. The findings are based on a study of all four Indian telcos for 90 days, starting on February 1, 2025, and ending on May 1, 2025, to see how they fared. Over 300 mn 5G users in India Both Jio and Airtel cumulatively have over 300 million unique 5G subscribers. Gopal Vittal, vice chairman & managing director of Bharti Airtel, at the company's Q4FY25 post-earnings conference call, said that Airtel has 135 million 5G subscribers, and the telecom operator continues to capture its 'fair share' of the 5G device market. As per market trackers, 5G devices now represent 85% of the total smartphone shipments. Anshuman Thakur, head of strategy at Reliance Jio Infocomm, at Reliance Industries' Q4FY25 post-earnings call had said that Jio now has 191 million 5G subscribers, the largest base outside China, and the telecom carrier is also the world's-largest data company in overall data consumption and continues to be ahead of companies from China, including China Mobile. '5G traffic as a percentage of total traffic has been growing, so we are now at 45% of total wireless traffic is on 5G,' Thakur said. 'Vi shows regional 5G gains, BSNL improves too' Vi, which has been losing subscribers to Jio and Airtel, commenced 5G services in Mumbai, Delhi, Chandigarh and Patna in March this year and plans to commercially roll-out its 5G services in 17 priority circles by August. Opensignal found that Vi is already neck-and neck with Airtel for 5G availability, but trails in 5G download and upload speeds. 5G availability refers to the proportion of time users with a 5G device and subscription have an active 5G connection. 'Nevertheless, in Mumbai, our Vi users see the greatest uplift out of the three 5G operators when comparing 5G download speed scores against those for overall download speed experience,' Boyland said. Vi's average 5G download speeds are more than four times faster than its overall speeds, the network testing firm found. State-controlled Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), the only non-5G operator, saw a more-than-double increase in its download and upload speeds. 'However, the operator remains some distance behind its rivals across all of our metrics, and will have to work hard to close this gap,' Boyland added. The analyst added that there is barely any difference among the three telcos in terms of 5G video experience, 5G live video experience and 5G games experience metrics.
Mint
21-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
It's time telcos walked the talk on fighting fraud and spam–will they?
Airtel, India's second-largest telecom firm by subscribers and revenue, has called on its competitors to collaborate on what it calls a 'joint telecom fraud initiative'. The aim is to create a common platform with Reliance Jio, Vodafone-Idea and state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd to tackle the growing menace of cyberfraud proliferating over telecom networks. This follows the launch of Airtel's proprietary, AI-driven tool, which will operate in the backend to automatically detect and block malicious links in text messages (SMS), OTT messaging services like WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, and emails. Airtel claims the tool, which is auto-enabled for its mobile and broadband users, is a global first. It works in real time and not only identifies malicious links but also blocks page loads if a user happens to click on such links. There's no gainsaying the fact that cybercrime is not only a serious problem, but also a high-growth sector. According to data compiled from the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal, more than 1.9 million complaints were registered last year, and people had been cheated of ₹22,812 crore in 2024, up sharply from just ₹551 crore in 2021. Also Read | Good lord! Is that another spam call? Here's why scammers keep getting through to you Will they, won't they Airtel's initiative sounds timely and much-needed for India's more than 1 billion mobile and internet users. Unfortunately, it's unlikely to succeed for two key reasons. First, any meaningful industry-wide effort requires sharing data such as customer information, usage patterns, etc. However, in a fiercely competitive market, telcos are highly unlikely to voluntarily share such sensitive data. There is a way this can happen, but the government will need to make such sharing mandatory. Even then, it may not work unless a neutral, digital exchange is created where the data can be anonymised and shared. A similar initiative, also mooted by Airtel last year, failed. In September 2024, Airtel's CEO Gopal Vittal had urged competitors to share data on corporate names and active users, to try and curb spam calls and unsolicited/fraud SMS text messages. Its peers declined to join, claiming that they had their own systems for scam protection. Second, there's a financial angle to this. Most bulk SMSs and robot calls are sent out on behalf of entities that specialise in this business. Such a shared database would have helped to massively curb the incidence of spam/scam messages. However, cracking down on these entities would mean that telecos' toplines and bottomlines would take a sharp knock, since this accounts for a good chunk of their revenue. India sees one of the highest volume of commercial messages in the world, averaging more than 1.7 billion per day. Knocking this out would severely dent telcos' P&L, which is why the initiative didn't go anywhere, and pesky calls and SMSs continue unabated. A study by cybersecurity firm McAfee found that Indians receive an average of 18 scam messages a day and spend almost two hours a week being targeted by scam calls. Also Read | Spam calls: Vodafone Idea, Jio, Airtel tap vendors for caller ID service Regulators need teeth Regulators have so far played a futile game of catch-up with scammers. Under the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2018 (TCCCPR-2018), entities were classified as either access providers, principal entities, or telemarketers. The rule mandates registration on distributed ledger technology (DLT) platforms. It also specifies '140' series for promotional calls and '160' series for transactional/service calls. Further, digital consent acquisition via QR codes, APIs, or DCA platforms is mandatory. Every user in India knows how effective these have been in practice. There are also fines for non-compliance. According to reports, a cumulative ₹141 crore of fines have been imposed on telecom companies for non-compliance with one or the other provision of TCCCPR. A fleabite for an industry with gross revenues of more than ₹2.65 trillion in FY24. Expecting voluntary action from telecom operators to tackle spam, fraud messages and calls is futile. India requires mandatory data sharing as seen in countries like Singapore; protocols to prevent identity masking, like STIR or secure telephone identity revisited and SHAKEN or signature-based handling of asserted information using tokens used in the US; and robust KYC enforcement. India's billion-plus users will continue to be fair game for scamsters if the regulator doesn't step up. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India must ensure that not just the fraudsters, but also the intermediaries enabling them – telecom operators included – feel the real bite of non-compliance. Fleabite fines are not going to work. Airtel, Google team up to counter Jio's free cloud blitz with 100 GB storage
Time of India
17-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Regulatory issues hurt DTH business: Bharti Airtel's Gopal Vittal
Mumbai: Bharti Airtel , which recently called off talks to merge its direct-to-home (DTH) business with Tata Play , said the decline of the DTH business in the country has more to do with regulatory imbalances than with technology. During the company's Q4 earnings call, vice-chairman and MD Gopal Vittal said different distribution systems-like cable TV, DTH, and broadband-are governed by different regulations, despite serving the same set of consumers, with DTH facing stringent rules such as cross-holding restrictions and pricing caps. "The DTH industry is going through its moment of reckoning-not just due to legitimate technological disruption, like IPTV and broadband-enabled connected boxes, but also because of how it has been regulated," Vittal said, adding, "Today, three neighbouring homes-one with DTH, one with cable, and one with broadband-operate under entirely different regulatory constructs. DTH faces price controls and cross-holding restrictions; cable has a different set of rules, and broadband is completely unregulated." He also pointed out the impact of DD Free Dish on the pay-DTH universe, which he said was launched by the government for entirely different purposes. "Then there's the rise of DD Free Dish, which offers strong entertainment content at little to no cost. These are some of the other headwinds that the industry is facing," he said, pointing out that the original intent of DD Free Dish was to provide educational programming in domains like agriculture in rural areas. Despite these headwinds, Vittal believes DTH still has a future, as home broadband won't reach every household-out of 260-270 million homes in India, which includes 150-160 million TV homes. "Perhaps 75-80 million will have broadband in the next five years. That leaves a significant market for linear TV, where DTH will continue to play a role. And there's still an opportunity to grow from cable," Vittal said. On May 3, Airtel announced that it and Tata Play-70% owned by Tata Sons-had mutually agreed to end their discussions, having failed to reach a satisfactory resolution. The deal, if consummated, would have created India's leading pay-TV operator. Airtel has also done away with subsidies on set-top boxes (STBs) to reduce capex in DTH. In FY25, the company's capex on digital TV , which also includes IPTV from Q4, rose 16% to ₹1,665 crore. "We've taken a brave call and done it. We're waiting for the competition to follow, and we hope sense will prevail to strip those subsidies out-because there's no point in subsidies that just rotate your customer," he said. Airtel Digital TV, the DTH brand of Airtel, competes with Tata Play, Sun Direct and Dish TV in the DTH industry, which had 58.22 million paid DTH subscribers as of December 2024. "We've now launched IPTV, which will further enhance our customer experience drive. Convergence has also lowered our capex spend on the box," Vittal noted. Airtel's digital TV business added 76,000 customers in Q4, largely aided by the IPTV launch . In March, Bharti Airtel launched its IPTV service in 2,000 Indian cities, offering 600 TV channels, high-speed Wi-Fi, and on-demand content from 29 streaming apps. "Our IPTV launch has seen an encouraging response from customers. IPTV delivers enhanced convenience with a better user experience and flexibility to watch on demand as well as catch-up content, in addition to linear broadcast content," he noted.
Business Mayor
17-05-2025
- Business
- Business Mayor
Regulatory issues hurt DTH business: Bharti Airtel's Gopal Vittal
During the company's Q4 earnings call, vice-chairman and MD Gopal Vittal said different distribution systems-like cable TV, DTH, and broadband-are governed by different regulations, despite serving the same set of consumers, with DTH facing stringent rules such as cross-holding restrictions and pricing caps. 'The DTH industry is going through its moment of reckoning-not just due to legitimate technological disruption, like IPTV and broadband-enabled connected boxes, but also because of how it has been regulated,' Vittal said, adding, 'Today, three neighbouring homes-one with DTH, one with cable, and one with broadband-operate under entirely different regulatory constructs. DTH faces price controls and cross-holding restrictions; cable has a different set of rules, and broadband is completely unregulated.' He also pointed out the impact of DD Free Dish on the pay-DTH universe, which he said was launched by the government for entirely different purposes. 'Then there's the rise of DD Free Dish, which offers strong entertainment content at little to no cost. These are some of the other headwinds that the industry is facing,' he said, pointing out that the original intent of DD Free Dish was to provide educational programming in domains like agriculture in rural areas. Despite these headwinds, Vittal believes DTH still has a future, as home broadband won't reach every household-out of 260-270 million homes in India, which includes 150-160 million TV homes. 'Perhaps 75-80 million will have broadband in the next five years. That leaves a significant market for linear TV, where DTH will continue to play a role. And there's still an opportunity to grow from cable,' Vittal said. On May 3, Airtel announced that it and Tata Play-70% owned by Tata Sons-had mutually agreed to end their discussions, having failed to reach a satisfactory resolution. The deal, if consummated, would have created India's leading pay-TV has also done away with subsidies on set-top boxes (STBs) to reduce capex in DTH. In FY25, the company's capex on digital TV, which also includes IPTV from Q4, rose 16% to ₹1,665 crore.'We've taken a brave call and done it. We're waiting for the competition to follow, and we hope sense will prevail to strip those subsidies out-because there's no point in subsidies that just rotate your customer,' he said. Airtel Digital TV, the DTH brand of Airtel, competes with Tata Play, Sun Direct and Dish TV in the DTH industry, which had 58.22 million paid DTH subscribers as of December 2024. 'We've now launched IPTV, which will further enhance our customer experience drive. Convergence has also lowered our capex spend on the box,' Vittal noted. Airtel's digital TV business added 76,000 customers in Q4, largely aided by the IPTV launch. In March, Bharti Airtel launched its IPTV service in 2,000 Indian cities, offering 600 TV channels, high-speed Wi-Fi, and on-demand content from 29 streaming apps. 'Our IPTV launch has seen an encouraging response from customers. IPTV delivers enhanced convenience with a better user experience and flexibility to watch on demand as well as catch-up content, in addition to linear broadcast content,' he noted.
Time of India
16-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Regulatory issues hurt DTH business: Bharti Airtel's Gopal Vittal
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Mumbai: Bharti Airtel , which recently called off talks to merge its direct-to-home (DTH) business with Tata Play , said the decline of the DTH business in the country has more to do with regulatory imbalances than with the company's Q4 earnings call, vice-chairman and MD Gopal Vittal said different distribution systems-like cable TV, DTH, and broadband-are governed by different regulations, despite serving the same set of consumers, with DTH facing stringent rules such as cross-holding restrictions and pricing caps."The DTH industry is going through its moment of reckoning-not just due to legitimate technological disruption, like IPTV and broadband-enabled connected boxes, but also because of how it has been regulated," Vittal said, adding, "Today, three neighbouring homes-one with DTH, one with cable, and one with broadband-operate under entirely different regulatory constructs. DTH faces price controls and cross-holding restrictions; cable has a different set of rules, and broadband is completely unregulated." He also pointed out the impact of DD Free Dish on the pay-DTH universe, which he said was launched by the government for entirely different purposes."Then there's the rise of DD Free Dish, which offers strong entertainment content at little to no cost. These are some of the other headwinds that the industry is facing," he said, pointing out that the original intent of DD Free Dish was to provide educational programming in domains like agriculture in rural these headwinds, Vittal believes DTH still has a future, as home broadband won't reach every household-out of 260-270 million homes in India, which includes 150-160 million TV homes. "Perhaps 75-80 million will have broadband in the next five years. That leaves a significant market for linear TV, where DTH will continue to play a role. And there's still an opportunity to grow from cable," Vittal May 3, Airtel announced that it and Tata Play-70% owned by Tata Sons-had mutually agreed to end their discussions, having failed to reach a satisfactory resolution. The deal, if consummated, would have created India's leading pay-TV has also done away with subsidies on set-top boxes (STBs) to reduce capex in DTH. In FY25, the company's capex on digital TV , which also includes IPTV from Q4, rose 16% to ₹1,665 crore."We've taken a brave call and done it. We're waiting for the competition to follow, and we hope sense will prevail to strip those subsidies out-because there's no point in subsidies that just rotate your customer," he Digital TV, the DTH brand of Airtel, competes with Tata Play, Sun Direct and Dish TV in the DTH industry, which had 58.22 million paid DTH subscribers as of December 2024."We've now launched IPTV, which will further enhance our customer experience drive. Convergence has also lowered our capex spend on the box," Vittal noted. Airtel's digital TV business added 76,000 customers in Q4, largely aided by the IPTV launch In March, Bharti Airtel launched its IPTV service in 2,000 Indian cities, offering 600 TV channels, high-speed Wi-Fi, and on-demand content from 29 streaming apps."Our IPTV launch has seen an encouraging response from customers. IPTV delivers enhanced convenience with a better user experience and flexibility to watch on demand as well as catch-up content, in addition to linear broadcast content," he noted.
