Cable TV
Hathway eyes mass broadband Internet market with slashed price points
MUMBAI: Hathway Cable Internet has set its sights on netting the broadband internet mass market with its two new packages that offer twice the broadband access speed at less than half the price vis-à-vis its previous offers.
Aiming to lower the entry price of broadband cable Internet, the cable internet service provider (ISP) is introducing two broadband packages branded as Rush and Velocity.
While both packages allow an access speed of 128 kilo bytes per second (kbps) each, Rush offers a data transfer or download limit of 300 mega bytes (MB) for Rs 300 a month or Rs 3,000 a year whereas the other package, Velocity, offers a higher download limit of 750 MB for Rs 1,000 a month or Rs 10,000 a year.
While there may not be many takers for Hathway’s Velocity plan, which offers limited MB download for Rs 1,000 as against unlimited access from competitors at the same price point, the Rush plan is more likely to generate healthy consumer response as individual users usually do not require more than 300 MB downloads. Also, prospective individual consumers are more likely to pay a reasonable Rs 300 on a monthly basis for limited download access.Earlier, Hathway was offering an entry price of Rs 650 for an access speed of 64 kbps. Competitor SitiCable Networks offers two unlimited download plans for individual users for Rs 750 and Rs 1,000 per month each while the Tata owned Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL) offers an unlimited download plan for Rs 1,000 per month in the individual user category.
Earlier this year, Hathway had also halved its cable modem price from Rs 6,750 to Rs 3,333. The modem is built on DOCSIS (Data over Cable Services Interface Specifications) technology.
What remains to be seen is whether competitors react to Hathway’s slashed tariff plans with their own or sustain their existing price points.
MUMBAI: When margins wobble, liquidity talks and in Q3 FY25-26, cash did most of the talking. Den Networks Limited closed the December quarter with consolidated revenue of Rs.251 crore, marginally higher than the previous quarter but down 4 per cent year-on-year, even as profitability stayed resilient on the back of strong cash reserves and disciplined cost control.
Subscription income softened to Rs.98 crore, slipping 3 per cent sequentially and 14 per cent from last year, while placement and marketing income offered some cheer, rising 15 per cent quarter-on-quarter to Rs.148 crore. Total costs climbed faster than revenue, up 7 per cent QoQ to Rs.238 crore, driven largely by higher content costs and operating expenses. As a result, EBITDA dropped sharply to Rs.13 crore from Rs.19 crore in Q2 and Rs.28 crore a year ago, pulling margins down to 5 per cent.
Yet, the bottom line refused to blink. Profit after tax stood at Rs.40 crore, up 15 per cent sequentially and only marginally lower than last year’s Rs.42 crore. A healthy Rs.57 crore in other income helped cushion operating pressure, keeping profit before tax at Rs.48 crore, broadly stable quarter-on-quarter despite the tougher cost environment.
The real headline-grabber, however, sits on the balance sheet. The company remains debt-free, with cash and cash equivalents swelling to Rs.3,279 crore as of December 31, 2025. Net worth rose to Rs.3,748 crore, while online collections accounted for 97 per cent of total receipts, underscoring strong cash discipline across operations, including subsidiaries.
In short, while Q3 showed signs of operating strain, the financial backbone remains solid. With zero gross debt, steady profits and a formidable cash war chest, the company enters the next quarter with flexibility firmly on its side proving that in uncertain markets, balance sheet strength can be the best growth strategy.
