Airtel says its new Xstream Fiber plans bundle more than 350 Live TV channels, as well as more than 20 streaming platform subscriptions, including Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar and Netflix.
“While Airtel Wi-Fi has historically had limited availability, Airtel has worked towards solving this problem, and now we have high-speed Wi-Fi available at present in more than 1,200 cities.
The new Airtel Xstream home broadband plans, Airtel confirms to HT, include more than 350 Live TV channels as well as subscriptions for more than 22 streaming platforms.
The Live TV channels will be delivered via an Airtel Xstream 4K Android TV Box, which the company says will utilise their DTH, or direct-to-home, platform.
In specific, this content delivered through Airtel Wi-Fi will give you access to 22+ OTTs and 350+ TV channels,” adds Vittal.
After a period of status quo with tariffs and packages, the home broadband space in India has been given a shake-up. Bharti Airtel has announced new subscription bundles for its Xstream Fiber broadband service, and yet, the proposition is expected to evoke a response from its rivals and alongside, impacts live television delivery platforms as well. Airtel says its new Xstream Fiber plans bundle more than 350 Live TV channels, as well as more than 20 streaming platform subscriptions, including Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar and Netflix. Airtel says its new Xstream Fiber plans bundle more than 350 Live TV channels (Official Photo)
The new subscription proposition comes as the company confirms there is now broader availability across the country of its home broadband and Wi-Fi services, something they’ve struggled with in the past. “While Airtel Wi-Fi has historically had limited availability, Airtel has worked towards solving this problem, and now we have high-speed Wi-Fi available at present in more than 1,200 cities. This means that those of you who were unable to access high-speed internet will now be able to do so,” says Gopal Vittal, CEO of Airtel, in an official statement.
The new Airtel Xstream home broadband plans, Airtel confirms to HT, include more than 350 Live TV channels as well as subscriptions for more than 22 streaming platforms. The Live TV channels will be delivered via an Airtel Xstream 4K Android TV Box, which the company says will utilise their DTH, or direct-to-home, platform. This will not use the Wi-Fi network and therefore, is not an IPTV (or internet protocol television) delivery.
While the 1Gbps plan that is priced at ₹3,999 doesn’t see any change in cost, there is an increment of ₹100 each for the ₹899 (100Mbps, otherwise ₹799), ₹1099 (200Mbps; otherwise ₹999) and ₹1599 (300Mbps; otherwise ₹1499) to include Live TV and OTT, or over the top, streaming add-ons bolted to the broadband subscription.
The entry spec plan, which otherwise costs ₹499 for 40Mbps internet speeds, gets this bundle at ₹699 per month. The top-of-the-line 1Gbps plan retains its ₹3,999 price tag, with the new additions.
Airtel also confirms to HT that these subscription packages will be available to new Xstream broadband users, as well as existing subscribers who wish to take advantage of the bundled Live TV and streaming app subscriptions. The company tells us that apart from Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ Hotstar content which will see redirection to their official apps with the bundled subscription, other streaming apps will deliver movies and TV shows via the Airtel Xstream Play app.
It means this content, via Xstream Play, will be accessible, irrespective of connectivity, on Android phones and tablets, Apple iPhones, iPads, and Apple TV as well as Android TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick and Windows PCs.
“As a mark of this capability, we have now chosen to offer you even more value here, including the largest selection of TV shows, movies and web series which come included with your Wi-Fi plan. In specific, this content delivered through Airtel Wi-Fi will give you access to 22+ OTTs and 350+ TV channels,” adds Vittal.
At this time, it is not clear if the existing Airtel Black subscribers, who often include direct-to-home (DTH) services alongside postpaid mobile connections and Xstream broadband within one bill, will have an option of new plans.
By leveraging their broadband and DTH networks for subscription bundles, Airtel is on the cusp of being able to deliver extreme value to either user base, if they opt for the bundling. It should worry not just Airtel’s broadband competition including Reliance Jio, ACT Broadband and Excitel, but also the DTH space including Tata Play and Dish TV.
Let us take the example of the new ₹1099 plan – there’s 200Mbps broadband (which otherwise costs ₹999 per month), Netflix ( ₹499 per month for Full HD and ₹649 per month for 4K streaming), Amazon Prime Video ( ₹299 per month as part of a larger Prime bundle), Disney+ Hotstar ( ₹299 per month onwards) and a 350 channel Live TV bundle that includes HD channels as well (this otherwise costs ₹348 per month onwards, depending on selection).
Reliance Jio also has similar bundles priced ₹599 per month onwards, which include as many as 17 streaming app subscriptions and a claimed 800 Live TV channels delivered on the JioTV+ platform using IPTV.
A few months ago, in a conversation with HT, Varun Pasricha, Chief Operating Officer at Excitel, detailed the company’s plans to roll out ‘The Cable Cutter’ broadband and TV streaming bundles in all 50 cities they are present in by the end of this year, rising to 150 cities by the year 2028.
