Over a decade, internet service providers in India have seen a tremendous growth in offering internet access to individuals and organizations. Now consumers are enjoying approximately 40Mbps of internet speed in various parts of the country compared from the ages of dial-ups to connectivity of 256Kbps few years back itself. According to independent research, soon Indian consumers might have an average broadband speed of up to 100 Mbps. Since, the rapid technological development and customer demand has inclined to new dimensions in the industry; people can observe more transformation to be happened in the days to come.
Currently, one of the leading national players in cable and broadband business is GTPL Hathway Limited. The company is serving around nine million active digital CATV subscribers with its presence in eleven states in close to over 500 towns across India. It is estimated to serve more than 290k broadband active subscribers as well. Through its technology, GTPL has been able to touch the lives of millions of its customers. The company firmly believes that business grows only when the customer is delighted. It also constantly endeavors to provide the best value to its subscribers for the services they avail.
The Promoters
GTPL was incorporated in August 2006 by its promoters, Aniruddhasinhji Jadeja and Kanaksinhji Rana through the consolidation of cable service businesses in Ahmedabad and Vadodara. In October 2007, Hathway acquired a 50% share of its business. In the past ten years, the company has reached newer heights both organically and inorganically through the expansion of its services, acquisitions and joint ventures including entering into ‘right to use’ agreements with several other smaller regional players like MSOs, LCOs and ISOs.
Aniruddhasinhji Jadeja, the Managing Director and CEO of GTPL Hathway Limited, is an entrepreneur who has over 24 years of experience in the cable and broadband industry. Mr. Jadeja started his career as local cable operator in Ahmedabad, Gujarat and created GTPL by consolidating his different cable operations.
In last eleven years, he has been instrumental in expanding the GTPL’s cable and broadband business to a Pan-India scale with its quality service to millions of subscribers. Mr. Jadeja’s strategic visions coupled with his collaborative work methodology are the corner stones for the meteoric rise of GTPL. This has led the company to become as India’s one of the fastest growing multi system operator and broadband service provider. He has been presented an award of excellence by One Alliance and an award for social services excellence by Dr. Kamla Beniwal, erstwhile Governor of Gujarat.
Kanaksinhji Rana is the Executive Director of GTPL who has been one of the founder members of the organization. His insightful networking skills have played a key role in shaping the organization and garnering around seventy percent market share in Gujarat. He is also actively involved in successful operations of Gujarat news and other in-house channels.
Under the leadership of the promoters and through the company’s technology, GTPL has been able to expand itself to larger boundaries. The promoters firmly believe that business grows only when employees grow. The company constantly endeavors to provide an adequate work environment to its team members. The pillars of GTPL HR philosophy are fairness, recognition, integrity and teamwork.
A Unique Service PropositionAt present, the wireline broadband penetration in India is about 19 million which is way beyond the developed countries of America and Europe. However, the growth rate is estimated to be positive in case of hi-speed broadband penetration, which is expected to breach 53% by 2020. The internet user base in rural markets is also expected to increase close to 52% from current level of 38% by 2021; and will overtake urban penetration. This will create a great opportunity for innovation and improvement of the existing broadband players as well as new entrants.
In this highly-competitive market, GTPL offers a unique proposition of high speed broadband and digital cable solutions to its consumers under a single umbrella. Further, the company is offering its solutions at a competitive pricing with its state-of-the-art technology and with the help of a committed sales and service team. This competitive pricing composes the more exciting proposition for its customers. This unmatched bouquet of services coupled with consistency, speed and volume is the unique selling proposition of the company.
Being a distinct leader of digital cable market in Gujarat, GTPL has a significant market share in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Goa and Assam. GTPL Digital Cable TV services have successfully reached an estimated sum of more than nine million households across the country. Due to this, the company has been able to effectively penetrate its high-speed broadband connectivity as well.
According to Mr. Jadeja about the company’s services “GTPL’s cutting edge entertainment and connectivity opportunities are here to give a view to aspirations and passion for imaginative India. With our services and products, which are designed to deliver simplicity and value, we can better enable our customers to access opportunities 24×7”
Today, GTPL Hathway is the largest MSO in Gujarat with a 67% share of the Cable TV market and is the second largest player in the cable market of Kolkata and Howrah with a 24% market share. GTPL Hathway also has a significant presence in numerous other markets that it operates in.
Preparing to Face the Challenges
There are certain obstacles that every company of this sector might be facing in the coming years. Firstly, since the user base of wireline broadband customers in India is expected to reach around 50 million in the next four years horizon, which will require a huge infrastructure and investments. Therefore, GTPL is encouraging the new players to enter into the market which would help in the expansion process. The new entries can also create more opportunities for innovation and quality offerings in the sector.
Additionally, being the largest private ISP in Gujarat with its 25000+ KM long pan-India fiber, its deep rooted last mile connectivity, wide industry experience, competent and skilled workforce and on top of that its pocket friendly plans, it is well geared-up for the upcoming competition and changing market demands.
Secondly, due to the increasing affordability of high-speed, consistent broadband connectivity to various parts of the country, plus wireless internet has taken a leap in the last couple of years yet consistent, reliable and affordable internet is not available for the masses. GTPL has been trying to address this gap and meet the requirements of the masses with plans starting as low as INR 388 per month to provide a whooping speed of 40Mbps with unlimited data services.
Future Endeavors of GTPL
Sooner or later, the technological changes or innovations will be continuing to act as a data centric, be it internet of things (IoT), smart homes, autonomous car, 3D plotting or real-time streaming. These technologies not only require high speed data connectivity but also need an un-interrupted flow of the same.
To meet this, GTPL is continuously and consistently investing in latest technologies, upgrading skill-sets of its workforce and updating its systems & processes. More importantly, the company is expanding its territories of operations at a parallel pace. With all these initiatives, GTPL is set to conquer the market, delight its customers and bring-up the industry standards.
The company’s vision is to become India’s Leading Multi System Operator (MSO). Its endeavor is to deliver the latest and high quality video products and data services through technologically advanced fiber optic networks, strong trade partnerships and empathetic customer service.
