Multi system operator Ortel Communications said it had 73,087 broadband subscribers on its network during the quarter ended March 31, 2017 (Q4 FY17), up marginally from 72,503 subscribers it reported in the previous quarter. Broadband users accounted for 9.7% of Ortel’s subscribers. This number was 10% in the Q2 FY17. On the other hand, Ortel’s Cable TV base increased to 750,471 subscribers during the quarter, which is up from 738,963 subscribers reported in the last quarter. The operator seems to have recovered from the impact of demonetization and competition, which led the marginal decrease in subscribers in the previous quarter. However, Ortel is now making less money per broadband subscriber: Broadband ARPU decreased to Rs 375 in Q4 FY17, which has been reducing constantly from a peak ARPU of Rs 401 reported in Q1 FY17. Cable TV ARPU also fell to Rs 147 during the quarter, from Rs 150 in the previous quarter. Apart from falling ARPU, monthly data usage per customer also decreased 23.6% QoQ to 4,133 MB from 5,415 MB in the preceding quarter. The operator recently launched high-value plans with FUP of up to 1 TB to help increase data usage on its network. Currently, it offers Cable TV and fixed broadband connections (of up to 100 Mbps) in 78 towns across states like Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The company said its network length (broadband cable) stood at 64,685 Kms as of Q4 FY17. Segmented Revenues Ortel reported Cable TV…
