Reliance Jio, the telecom arm of Reliance Industries, said it has received a provisional license from the government of India to conduct cable TV operations across India.
The license will enable the company to launch its brand of Jio boxes, which work over LTE as well as over regular cable.
Jio boxes will enable users to watch movies, songs and TV channels. For videos, Jio will rely on LTE or fibre broadband, and for broadcast channels, it could rely on cable TV.
Jio could also now start buying smaller cable operators across India.
India’s cable TV industry is extremely fragmented, except in states like Kerala and Delhi, and is ripe for consolidation.
Jio will operate its TV business under Reliance Jio Media Private Ltd, a unit of Reliance Industries.
The company is set to launch its services by December.