Trai Tariff Regime Will Open New Markets for DPOs, Says GTPL Hathway Business Head

Like we have mentioned before, the new national tariff order (NTO) by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has had negative and positive effects. For the cable TV service providers and broadband service provider GTPL, the impact of the mandate has mostly been bumpy and troubling. The operators hasn’t seen a good quarter after the implementation of the new tariff regime. But, even then, GTPL Hathway sees a good prospect in consolidation. The service provider is likely to use this opportunity to pave the way for an expanded footprint across the country.

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GTPL Sees Good Avenue in Consolidation

GTPL Hathway promoter and managing director Anirudhsinhji Jadeja announced in the earnings call after the Q4 results, “We are also expanding into other markets. Now because of NTO, there is no area demarcation and we can enter all India. So we are planning to consolidate small players also as they are facing a lot of issues because of the new NTO. It is a good opportunity for us.”

It is worth noting that although GPTL Hathway seeded 800,000 STBs in FY19 and the total seeded STBs stood at 9.5 million, the company witnessed a decline of 200,000 subscribers due to the implementation of the new regulatory framework as the entire LCO mode was transformed to auto-dunning mode. GTPL Hathway Piyush Pankaj said in a statement, “Going forward you will see an increase in subscription revenue and in the pay channel cost. By quarter 1, you will see the full implementation and the full effect.” He also said that the full effect of the NTO was not visible in the Q4 as the implementation and migration was still ongoing. He also expects the company EBITDA to rise due to it in the coming times.