Broadband
Airtel’s fixed line broadband biz under pressure as Jio enters the fray
MUMBAI: More than a tenth of Airtel’s India revenue is generated through its cable business, through broadband and digital TV. And now with Reliance Jio’s entry in the cable market through its acquisition of controlling stakes in DEN Networks and Hathway cables, Airtel is very certain to face pressure in the cable industry.
According to ET, investment banking company Credit Suisse in a note said, “The buyout of DEN Networks and Hathway Cables will give Reliance Jio Infocomm “a headstart” in the ultra-fast fibre-to-home service turf, which “we see as a real threat to Bharti’s non-mobile businesses —namely, home broadband and digital TV — which garner as much as 12 per cent of Bharti’s India revenues, excluding Bharti Infratel revenues”.
Airtel generates as much as 17 per cent of its India operating income through home broadband and digital TV business.
Reliance acquired a 66 per cent stake in DEN Networks and a 51.3 per cent stake in Hathway Cables last week. The deals are said to be aggregating around Rs 5,230 crore.
As per the Swiss brokerage, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance will gain access to 24 million cable homes and leapfrog Bharti’s modest 2.1 million fixed-line homes, very few of which have fibre connectivity. Nearly out of 24 million cable homes, 16 million reside in the top 100 cities.
Analysts believe that Reliance Jio will have more bargaining power regarding content negotiations with broadcasters as they have access to a combination of 24 million cable homes and 252 million 4G mobile broadband customers.
However, Japan-based financial services company; Nomura Holdings does not expect Jio’s evaluated home broadband spending of $120-140 per home to reduce drastically as “the last-mile network infrastructure of DEN and Hathway will need to be upgraded.”
Broadband
ACT Fibernet elevates Aditya Singh to chief customer experience officer
Former senior vp to drive service, retention and delivery revamp
BENGALURU: ACT Fibernet has elevated Aditya Singh to chief customer experience officer, effective 1 January, 2026, as the broadband provider seeks to tighten its grip on service quality in an increasingly competitive market.
Singh, who previously served as senior vice-president – customer experience and loyalty at group level, will now join the executive committee and lead the company’s end-to-end customer transformation agenda.
The move gives him oversight of customer service, customer retention and service delivery, alongside a broader mandate to strengthen network resilience and field operations. The company said the reshuffle underlines its intent to deliver a “consistent, seamless and superior” experience to its 2.3m subscribers across more than 30 cities.
Headquartered in Bengaluru, ACT Fibernet, the consumer-facing brand of Atria Convergence Technologies Limited, is one of India’s largest wired internet service providers. It has built its pitch on high-speed connectivity and responsive customer support, at a time when fibre roll-outs and price wars are redrawing the broadband map.
In a statement, Singh said he was “deeply honoured” to take on the expanded brief and join the executive committee as the company sharpens its focus on simplifying customer touchpoints and turning subscribers into brand advocates.
The elevation signals a clear priority: in a crowded fibre market, customer experience is fast becoming the decisive battleground.
