KOLKATA: While Mukesh Ambani’s Jio has made quite a buzz for its innovation and acquisitions to expand its Jio Fiber business, Sunil Mittal’s Bharti Airtel is scaling up its DTH and broadband business. Airtel Digital TV added 1.2 million subscribers in FY 20 thanks to its premium HD content. 

The DTH service has 16.6 million subscribers as of 31 March 2020 compared to 15.4 million subscribers in FY 19. Although the subscriber base went up, the revenue fell by 29 per cent. It has reported Rs 29,238 million for the year as compared to Rs 41,001 million in the previous year (an increase of 16 per cent on an underlying basis).

The company introduced Airtel Xstream services in FY 20 for its broadband and DTH customers with a 360 Degree campaign ‘Don’t just watch TV on your TV.' Moreover, its converged proposition of integrated home offering has been launched in ten cities as on 31 March 2020. Under the new offering, customers can opt for multiple services from Airtel i.e., postpaid, broadband and DTH under one bill. 

“With an aim to widen our DTH market, we adopted an inclusive approach to empower our Rural Sales Fraternity, wherein freelancer technicians (electricians) and other workers were encouraged to sell and install new DTH connections at customer premises. In FY 2019-20, there were 4,099 active DOST executives across the country, engaged and empowered to drive new DTH activations,” it said in its annual report.

Airtel currently provides fixed-line telephone and broadband services for homes in 111 cities across India. The Homes business had 2.4 million customers as on 31 March 2020 up by 6.3 per cent as compared to 2.3 million at the end of the previous year. Revenues from this segment stood at Rs 22,451 million for the year as compared to Rs 22,391 million in the previous year, an increase of 0.3 per cent. 

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