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.”
