Wednesday 5 April 2017

Reliance Jio might launch its own set of DTH and IPTV services: reports

A set of unconfirmed leaks and reports suggests that Reliance Jio might soon enter the broadcast segment with its own set of DTH and IPTV services. A BGR report claims that Jio might launch its own DTH/IPTV service with more than 350 channels, along with hardware features like voice control and a software feature that allows users to watch TV shows from the past 7 days. When contacted by MediaNama, a Jio spokesperson declined to confirm or deny these plans.

Leaked images from a blog named CandyTech shows that the set-top box has a built in HDMI port for HDTV output, an RJ45 port meant for Internet connectivity (IPTV), and an USB port in the back and in the front side of the set-top-box, possibly for media streaming using flash drives. The box also has coaxial output and a Cable Input for receiving TV signals via a cableTV connection.

Competition

Jio will look to compete with existing players like Airtel which offers IPTV services starting at Rs 1380 per month, Hathway which provides 290 HD channels for Rs 550 per month and ACT Digital which provides 450 channels for Rs 500 per month. RCOM also provides IPTV services, although the company had earlier de-merged its IPTV entity from its core DTH business.

Other rumored launches from Jio

Apart from this, Jio is also expected to come out with:
–IoT devices: ‘Jio Car Connect’, an OBD device leaked last year, allows users to plug it in into a car’s OBD module to record and track engine and other vehicular related data.
–Broadband: The telco has also been testing its fiber Internet service in Mumbai with a select number of users. The service dubbed “Jio Fiber” claims to provide speeds up 100 Mbps, according to this BGR report.
–Laptop: A PhoneRadar report also claimed that Reliance might be working on its own branded laptop with an inbuilt hardware feature that supports 4G SIMs.
4G feature phone: Reliance-owned mobile brand LYF is also expected to launch its own 4G supported feature phone, which is rumoured to be priced as low as Rs 1,000.

Jio retains 72M paid subscribers

Elsewhere in its core telecom segment, Jio was able to retain 72 million users after initially garnering over 100 million users via promotions and free services. These users have signed up for the telco’s paid package named Jio prime, which claims to offer access to special recharges, premium content and deals that normal Jio users won’t have access to.  More on this here.
Resource :https://www.medianama.com/2017/04/223-reliance-jio-iptv-dth/