Move Aside DTH, MyWay IPTV Is Here
The television medium sure is going places as different business models try to integrate this traditional and trusted medium with the internet services. After covering the rise of web TV in India previously, here, I am going to analyse another interesting service which if everything goes well should take up well with the Indian consumers. And that’s IPTV or Internet Protocol Television.
IPTV gives television content which you receive through computer networks just like the internet, rather than the traditional cable formats. The state owned telecom pair of MTNL (Mahangar Telephone Nigam Ltd) and BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd) are all set to roll out the country’s largest IPTV service called MyWay over the next three months in over 54 cities. They have franchised the service to a Delhi based company called Digivision who has big plans and hopes for the future of IPTV in India.
“It’s time for DTH to retire, introducing MyWay IPTV”, says the bold adverts for the campaign.
The DTH (direct to home) hotshots in India sound skeptical of the service. “We really do not see any competition,” says Jawahar Goel, who heads Zee group’s DTH venture Dish TV. “Some operators offered IPTV but it did not take off because of the poor quality of the pictures. Also, you need to have a broadband connection which adds to the cost and there are so few broadband homes in the country,” he added.
The requirement of a broadband connection is of course going to be a huge factor in the diffusion of the service to the masses. But where BSNL and MTNL take the cake is the fact that they have a pretty large fixed line network base as compared to the private competitors. The private players together have a measly 4.5 million lines as compared to the 33 million in the other party’s kitty.
Out of the total broadband usage of 6 million in India, MyWay plans to capture 1.5 to 3 million within the next three years. The company is calling out all the big guns for the launch with an investment of whopping INR 500 crore with 54 major cities which use broadband in India.
Let’s have a look at the subscription rates of the IPTV service and DTH in India and how IPTV can inch ahead in terms of value added services. The next figure shows the subscription rates for DTH and IPTV and also for some of the other add-ons available in both.
It’s not just about the subscription rates though, the real deal here is the interactivity which internet is bringing into the service, right on your fingertips, while sitting on the couch! Unlike DTH, IPTV offers two-way interactivity between the user and the machine. Not only can it be used to watch premium content just like normal TV but it also combines superb features like browsing internet, checking emails, and book tickets etc. just in a click! The company has already tied up deals with Gmail, Firefox, MapmyIndia.com etc. and Yahoo and MSN online are also going to be finalized soon.
It is also working on other VaS such as net banking via ICICI, a Railways website portal etc. The possibilities of adding content and interactivity are just endless!
Upsides for BSNL/MTNL
- This is a country wide launch unlike previous IPTV experiments.
- They are going to utilize the fact they have a huge share of the fixed landlines market in India and can distribute their service in a much better way.
- They are going to earn fixed assets with no investments.
Shortcomings
The efficiency of the complete platform depends on getting high speed broadband to users and if this is not done properly, it can come crashing down pretty fast.
I personally believe that IPTV is going to be the thing of the future, how fast it happens is going to be decided by how efficiently can BSNL and its franchisee roll this one out. Oh and yeah, let’s hope that the days are not far away when every home will have broadband connections at home.
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When talking about channels and programs on demand, why have a bundle of channels that I will never watch? Like Assamese or Telugu? If I am a malayalee or a maharashtrian, I would demand to see all the channels I want to watch, and not what IPTV thinks I should watch.
Moreover, I have seen the bouquet of channels, and no foreign channel with the exception of NatGeo etc are there. I would have liked to watch BBC or CNN which is not on offer.
Actually with IPTV, like in other countries, one can have a choice of over 2500 channels worldwide, which is not being offered here, even if you were ready to pay per channel.
Ideally, I would not think of more than 15 channels that I would like to watch, but pay for them individually
Till such a choice comes through, there is nothing special about the IPTV for homes, even the interactive stuff is a dud, as not too many people will have use for stuff like video conferencing for some time to come.
Article is about IP TV in general detailing lts advantages over cable & DTH. But the ground reality of acquiring IP TV seems different. In INNUMERABLE BLOGS, I read many many would-be subscribers from all the regions of the country narrating their owes, especially about collecting the cheques [for initiation] & not responding once you part with the cheque, neither connectivity given nor money refunded, MYWAY’s customer care not coming forth at all. In the whole process, BSNL is NOT coming in the picture, Only myway & Smart Digi are dealing with us. Atleast in case of troubles, BSNL should come forward. It is not only MYWAY & Smart Digi, atleast 3 different firms phoned me they are sending persons to collect cheque but not taking about giving connectivity. Will BSNL wake up or somebody should wake them up thru court etc
I am user of MyWay IPTV services from last few months, installation was rapid and quick. Till now, I have not experienced any difficulties with them. It is working great. The picture quality is very good and especially movies on demand section have a collection of lots of new and old movies. Also the BSNL have pretty large network in most of the places that makes it very feasible. I am enjoying this service so much.
I’m an user of myway IPTV. First two montha were very fine. The picture quqlity is above question. The quality of service they offer is very bad. I’m not having connectivity for more than one week but nobody responded even after repeated requests.