Airtel Digital TV has ceased issuing new STB import orders, however some shipments will continue to arrive under existing orders, which will expire in December
Bharti Airtel’s direct-to-home (DTH) arm wants to stop importing high-definition set-top boxes (STBs) by the end of the year, after partnering with Skyworth Electronics to commence domestic manufacturing of the devices in Noida.
Airtel Digital TV has ceased issuing new STB import orders, however, some shipments will continue to arrive under existing orders, which will expire in December. As a result, by the end of 2021, all STBs, including the high-end Airtel Xstream 4K Android TV Box, will be built in India. Customers can watch linear TV and OTT content on the Airtel Xstream Android 4K TV Box.
MyBox Tech, a subsidiary of Hero Electronix, and ST Microelectronics previously built non-smart STBs in Pune (Ranjangaon). To ensure higher product quality, it halted production in India and began importing gadgets from countries such as Vietnam and Thailand. These nations possessed superior capabilities to India.
“This is a significant step forward in Airtel Digital TV’s development and a testament to India’s rapidly expanding manufacturing capabilities. “The supply chain interruptions caused by Covid-19 have hastened our attempts to make our supply chain more India-reliant,” Taldar said.
The company has already begun supplying customers with locally built products. Sunil Taldar, CEO of Bharti Airtel’s DTH division, told ET, “We are really delighted with the level of product quality our partners have achieved.”
Tata Sky, a competitor of Airtel Digital TV, has begun manufacturing set-top boxes in India in collaboration with Technicolor Connected Home and Flextronics.
The switch to local production is in keeping with Sunil Mittal’s objective of sourcing all telecom equipment, networking, and STB devices domestically.
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Bharti Enterprises Ltd and Noida-based contract manufacturer Dixon Technologies India recently announced the formation of a joint venture to manufacture telecom and networking products for the telecom sector, including modems, routers, STBs, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Dixon Technologies India has submitted the relevant paperwork to the communications ministry in order to receive benefits under the government’s Rs 12,195 crore production-linked incentive plan.
Bharti Airtel has also instructed its Nokia and Ericsson partners to supply exclusively locally manufactured 4G and 5G equipment. The telco is collaborating with Tata Consultancy Services on 5G. Bharti Airtel has stated that the businesses will begin trials of the locally designed 5G stack early next year and will deploy locally made equipment.
Airtel Digital TV, which has 18 million customers at the end of June, delivers 667 channels, including 86 HD channels, 60 in-house services, six overseas channels, and four interactive services, including EduTech, to its customers.
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