Photo has been used for representation only. , Photo Credit: Nagra Gopal
In a letter sent to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Reliance Jio claimed that its ‘back-up broadband’ offering threatened the broadcasting market. April 6 response, of which Hindu has dismissed Bharti Airtel’s allegation that its low-cost broadband offering – launched in conjunction with the Indian Premier League – was encroaching on the television broadcasting market.
“A careful reading of the complaint letter would clearly establish that Airtel’s sole grievance is that Jio Fiber is offering reasonable tariffs to the customers,” Jio wrote in the response letter.
Bharti Airtel had argued that Jio’s broadband offering was bundling livestreams of TV channels, threatening the DTH distribution market. Jio countered that providing such streams was an accepted industry practice, and that live feeds of some of these channels come from the broadcaster’s own streaming apps, aggregated only in the JioTV app.
Additionally, Jio argued, Bharti Airtel was juxtaposing various regulatory regimes, as live streaming channels on the Internet are an accepted practice. The firm argued that the pricing of its back-up broadband offering at a low rate was not a ground for Bharti Airtel to complain, adding that users would have to pay five months in advance.
“It is pertinent to mention here that while RJIL is of the view that there is no need to regulate non-communication OTT services, however, if there is to be a change in position with regard to regulating OTT, It should be a holistic decision that includes the entire spectrum of OTT services and not just a particular subset,” Jio said.