GTPL Hathway, Gujarat’s biggest cable provider, has unleashed a new set of tariffs that offer as much as 39 GB for just 1 rupee.
The new tariff plans have been unveiled along with its new fiber to home service.
“Currently, the services are launched in Ahmedabad only, but there are plans to progressively launch in other key cities of Gujarat,” the company said.
The company said these plans are truly unlimited, and will be marketed as “Sach Mein Unlimited”.
The plans will provide data speeds ranging from 6 Mbps to 100 Mbps, the company said.
On a per-GB basis, the cheapest tariffs are in the 100 Mbps plans.
Under the new plans, which cost anywhere from around Rs 420 per month to Rs 1,100 per month, customers can consume data at ultra-low prices ranging from 2.54 paise per GB to 33.48 paise per GB.
In comparison, the cheapest data price offered by any 4G operator in India is 2.67 rupees per GB — a difference of over 100 times.
However, these new plans have to be purchased for terms ranging from 5 months to 12 months.
From an initial-cost perspective, the cheapest plan is Rs 4,500, which is valid for five months. The unlimited plan provides 32,850 GB per month at a speed of 100 Mbps. In terms of a per-GB cost, this works out to 2.74 paise per GB.
Another similar scheme is the Rs 4,999 plan, which provides 13,140 GB of data per month (unlimited) at a speed of 40 Mbps for six months. This works out to a total cost of Rs 833 per month, and a per-GB cost of 6.34 paise per GB (see chart above).
“Currently, the company is offering 40Mbps and 100Mbps speed under this plan,” said Managing Director Aniruddhasinhji Jadeja.
“However, the technology can provide up to 1Gbps, if customer demands,” he added.
FIBER UPGRADE
The company said its fiber broadband service is based on the Gigabit Passive Optical Network or GPON technology, the most popular platform used for providing fiber-to-the-home services.
The technology replaces Internet-over-cable technologies, which were being used by cable operators to deliver broadband.
GPON is cheaper to operate on a per-GB basis, but not on a per-customer basis. In other words, operators benefit from deploying GPON only if customers start consuming much more content than before. However, the increasing popularity of TV and video streaming apps is expected to make this a reality.
“GTPL has been making continuous enhancement in its technological capabilities and deploying most advanced available technology in cable and broadband industry,” Jadeja added.
“Our deployment of the latest GPON FTTX technology has enabled us to provide a unique offering of high speed ‘no data restriction’ internet connectivity. This offer is a game changer.”
RELIANCE JIO & JIOFIBER
The move is seen as preparation to take on Reliance Jio’s JioFiber service, which too will offer both cable and high-speed internet over fiber.
However, unlike GTPL, Reliance Jio’s cable box will support rewind, pause and repeat of live TV programs and channels.
That said, players like GTPL Hathway are also likely to introduce such set-top-boxes, which do not require a separate cable, but work on the fiber connection.
Meanwhile, there has been no news of Jio’s fiber roll-out.
The company continues to give fiber connections in select localities of cities like Mumbai and Chennai, but has not officially launched the product yet.
It has promised that JioFiber will be launched in the top 100 cities of India.
Players like GTPL Hathway, which currently has a 67% market share in the cable business in Gujarat, will face tough competition once that happens, due to the advanced nature of its set-top-box.
GTPL Hathway is currently present in over 200 towns, including in West Bengal, Maharashtra, Bihar, Assam, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh.
The company has 7.1 million (71 lakh) digital cable users and 0.26 million (2.6 lakh) broadband subscribers. The company’s broadband network covers 1.15 million homes.
| GTPL NEW GPON FIBER PLANS | |||||||
| Price | Validity | Mbps | GB/Month | Rs/Month | Paise/GB | ||
| 9999 | 12 | 100 | 32850 | 833 | 2.54 | ||
| 4500 | 5 | 100 | 32850 | 900 | 2.74 | ||
| 8999 | 12 | 40 | 13140 | 750 | 5.71 | ||
| 4999 | 6 | 40 | 13140 | 833 | 6.34 | ||
| 7499 | 12 | 10 | 3285 | 625 | 19.02 | ||
| 4999 | 12 | 6 | 1971 | 417 | 21.14 | ||
| 5499 | 5 | 10 | 3285 | 1100 | 33.48 | ||
| ultra.news | |||||||