Mandatory Channels Will Be Available to Subscribers As per the new regulations mentioned in the new NTO 2.0, the determination of channel count is quite simple. one HD channel is equivalent to two SD channels. Not only this, in case of Multi TV connections, NCF for each additional connection beyond the first TV connection in multiple sets up will be 40% of the network capacity fee of the parent STB....

The putting in of 5G modems in the smartphones was a big leap for the smartphone manufacturers to make. It goes without saying that the inculcation of 5G capability makes the cost of smartphones skyrocket. This was visible from the price hike done by phone makers on their flagships with the launch of 5G enabled smartphones. However, that is not the only issue, the support of various 5G bands on the smartphone is yet another thing to be taken into consideration....

Sony on Wednesday announced its financial results for the quarter ended March with the company posting operating profits of 35.45 billion yen (US$331 million). The operating profits represent a 57% decrease from the prior year quarter while its overall revenue decreased 18% to 1.75 trillion yen. The company said that the COVID-19 situation has had an impact on several segments that Sony operates including music and pictures. Hiroki Totoki, CFO of Sony provided further breakdown of COVID-19 impact on Sony in the earnings call with Totoki highlighting the television business has faced a major impact in countries like India....

India ranks four in the list of countries with the most spam calls, Truecaller report stated. In 2020, India was at the 9th position and moving to position four is a significant rise in spam calls. The data on spam calls was revealed in Truecaller’s fifth edition of Global Spam Report that studies spam calls and how they affect people’s lives. According to Truecaller, scam business remains an issue globally as it is hugely profitable for minimal effort and consequences....

Though India’s broadband scenario is not comparable with its global counterparts, the scene can see lots of improvements. The wired vs Wireless debate is going to be over soon, as satcom is coming to India at an affordable (not cheap) price. Bharti Airtel has infused 361 million Euros in OneWeb till July 2021, taking its stake to 39%. Other investors in OneWeb are French Eutelsat, Japan’s Softbank & UK Government - each holds a 19....

Starlink, a SpaceX owned satellite communications (satcom) company, has signed its first in-flight Wi-Fi deal. JSX, a semi-private jet service, will be purchasing in-flight Wi-Fi service from Starlink. The deal involves 100 aircraft to be equipped with Starlink terminals. The value of the partnership is unknown at the moment. Internet on commercial airlines will be one of the biggest advantages of satellite broadband services. Other satcom companies are also trying to do the same....

Sterlite Technologies Limited (STL) had a particularly good performance in FY22. The digital network integrator posted a record revenue of Rs 5,754 crore and a robust order book of Rs 11,639 crore. In FY21, STL had announced its total revenues to be Rs 4,852 crore, out of which PAT (profit after taxes) came to be Rs 275 crore. However, despite record revenues in FY22, the company’s PAT fell to Rs 62 crore only....

Set-Top Box Prices Compared Between Dish TV and Tata Sky Tata Sky was the first DTH operator in the market to slash prices of its set-top boxes officially and it was later on followed by Airtel Digital TV, Dish TV and D2h. Tata Sky’s Standard Definition (SD) set-top box is now available for purchase at just Rs 1,399, whereas the HD set-top box of Tata Sky can be picked up for Rs 1,499....

When it comes to buying DTH services, the consumers often resort to popular brands like Tata Sky, Airtel Digital TV, and the likes. With the plethora of Set-Top Box options available with these DTH services, the subscribers of DTH feel comfortable with the freedom they get to exercise choice with features like OTT enabled box, SD quality, or HD quality. Tata Sky is a popular DTH operator and as such, for its subscribers from almost every part of the country, it offers multiple channel bouquet options....

Tata Sky Binge Partners With CuriosityStream Not only for the Binge subscribers, but CuriosityStream will also be available for the subscribers of the satellite-TV platform with an option to view live and catch up content on-the-go through Tata Sky Mobile app. Subscribers of the Tata Sky can stream through the content of CuriosityStream on channel number 715. The partnership between both the platforms will bring users access to popular titles such as Mumbai Railway, Stephen Hawking’s Favourite Places, Dragons & Damsels and Deep Ocean Narrated by Sir David Attenborough, Age of Big Cats, and Amazing Dinoworld....

Tata Sky, the largest Direct-to-Home (DTH) operator in India is set to hike its Tata Sky Binge service from August 13, 2020. The development was initially shared by the operator on Wednesday as it announced that the VOOT Select and VOOT Kids will be part of the Tata Sky Binge service. The DTH operator in 2019 introduced the Tata Sky Binge service that enables users to watch Over-the-Top (OTT) content from selected platforms including Disney+ Hotstar and SunNXT through a single subscription....

Tata Sky Broadband is one of the rapidly growing internet service providers (ISPs) in India. The company has a 100% fibre network that will provide you with end-to-end connectivity. If you are working from home and also have a large family who is connected to the same Wi-Fi network as yours, it will only work out if you have a high-speed internet plan backing you up. Tata Sky Broadband offers value filled 200 Mbps, and 300 Mbps plans to the users....

Leading DTH operator, Tata Sky, is currently offering up to Rs 400 discount on its STBs with the +HD STB getting the maximum discount. Tata Sky currently has five Set-Top Boxes on offer- Tata Sky SD, Tata Sky HD, Tata Sky Binge+, Tata Sky +HD PVR and Tata Sky 4K. The prices of these STBs start at Rs 1,499 and go all the way up to Rs 6,400. The last price drop on Tata Sky STBs happened back in December 2019, but since October 2020, the operator is offering a discount of up to Rs 400 on its STBs....

Asus had previously promised to bring Android 9 Pie to Zenfone Max Pro M1, Zenfone Max Pro M2, and Zenfone Max M2 by February this year, but sadly that didn’t happen. Both the Zenfone Max Pro M1 and Zenfone Max Pro M2 got the Android 9 Pie beta updates very recently. All the three Asus phones including Zenfone Max Pro M1, Zenfone Max Pro M2, and Zenfone Max M2 will get the Android 9 Pie over-the-air (OTA) update by April 15 this year....

The Italian incumbent’s third-quarter results on Thursday received a positive response from the markets, despite the fact that it continues to face challenges in its home country. In essence, TIM’s operational numbers indicate domestic improvements while its Brazilian operations are generating top-line growth. While all was going on, Deutsche Telekom, which is located further north, made news by once again increasing its full-year guidance due to robust revenue growth. The German operator’s stats are a lot more reliable, even though they didn’t match the increase in TIM’s share price....

There are a ton of prepaid and postpaid plans on offer from the telecom service providers (TSPs) in India. Multiple plans from either of the telcos fall in the same or nearby price range and offer similar benefits. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) might soon conduct a survey seeking the answers for a perfect tariff plan. What would be a perfect tariff plan anyway? One that fulfils the need of the users in the desired price range, sure....

Up to 25% Subscribers Churn Out of LCOs in Kolkata It is worth noting that in Kolkata, many reports had surfaced about incidents where consumers were facing blacked out screens even after migrating to the new tariff regime. Also, some customers reported that the cable operators were not giving the choice of a-la-carte channels and were forcing them to go with the channel packs which pushed them to switch over to DTH operators....

Situation Better Since Implementation of New Imagery To base our argument, it is imperative to look at two pieces of report one which was published in Apr-June quarter, and the one from Trai which has been recently published studying the quarter of July-Sep. To recall, in the previous report which was published right after the implementation of the new Trai tariff regime when the changes in the industry were fresh, we got to see some drastic numbers like the fall of the total DTH subscribers to 54....

OTT Apps Creating Unlevel Playing Field in Industry A senior official from Trai said about this, “Carriage of TV programming has been licensed out to registered broadcasters who are then allowed to give the content to cable operators or satellite players, under a licensing framework. If a third party, like an app, is showing the same channels without paying carriage charges and licence fee, it creates disparity.” He added to his words, “Either both should be under the ambit of the licence, or both should be exempted....

The world of telecom and connected technology is going into a new advanced era with 5G. To ensure that India can reap the most benefits out of 5G, there is a dire need for a skilled workforce ready to go to work. The Telecom Sector Skill Council is taking care of that. The body will now be skilling the Indian workforce in 5G and emerging technologies through the new Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Hyderabad, Telangana....