DTH subscribers down 370,000 in India in 4Q 2021

NEW DELHI — The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) today has released the “Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicator Report” for the Quarter ending 31st December, 2021. This Report provides a broad perspective of the Telecom Services in India and presents the key parameters and growth trends of the Telecom Services as well as Cable TV, DTH & Radio Broadcasting services in India for the period covering 1 st October, 2021 to 31st December, 2021 compiled mainly on the basis of information furnished by the Service Providers.

                                      2018
------------------------------------------
End-March   End-June  End-Sept.   End-Dec.
---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
    67.53      69.37      69.45      70.49

                                      2019
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End-March   End-June  End-Sept.   End-Dec.
---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
    72.44      68.92      69.30      69.98

                                      2020
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End-March   End-June  End-Sept.   End-Dec.
---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
    70.26      70.58      70.70      70.99

                                      2021
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End-March   End-June  End-Sept.   End-Dec.
---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
    69.57      69.86      68.89      68.52

Direct-to-Home (DTH) Sector

Since its introduction in the year 2003, Indian DTH service have displayed a phenomenal growth. During the quarter ending 31st December, 2021, there were 4 pay DTH service providers in India.

Pay DTH has attained total active subscriber base of around 68.52 million. This is in addition to the subscribers of the DD Free Dish (free DTH services of Doordarshan). The total active subscriber base has decreased from 68.89 million in September 2021 to 68.52 million in December 2021.

Cable TV Sector

As on 31st December 2021, there are 1753 MSOs registered with MIB. As per the data reported by MSOs and HITS operator, there are 12 MSOs & 1 HITS operator who have subscriber base greater than one million.

Subscriber base* of major MSOs/HITS operators at the end of December, 2021
(more than one million subscribers)

                                                      2021
Rank  Operator                                    End-Dec.
----  -----------------------------------------  ---------
1.    GTPL Hathway Ltd                           7,906,424
2.    Siti Networks Ltd                          7,443,265
3.    Hathway Digital Ltd                        5,480,327
4.    Den Networks Ltd                           4,600,430
5.    Thamizhaga Cable TV Communication Pvt Ltd  3,864,781
6.    Kerala Communicators Cable Ltd             3,010,793
7.    Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable TV Corporation Ltd  2,746,828
8.    NXT Digital Ltd (HITS)                     2,245,427
9.    KAL Cables Pvt. Ltd                        2,098,600
10.   Fastway Transmissions Pvt Ltd              2,074,462
11.   V K Digital Network Pvt. Ltd               1,913,630
12.   NXT Digital Ltd (Cable TV)                 1,254,212
13.   Asianet Digital Network Pvt. Ltd           1,174,814

* Includes subscribers who have been inactive or temporarily suspended for not more than last 90 days.