Idea Cellular Creates Its Own On-Demand Entertainment Setup
Idea Cellular is introducing its own on-demand entertainment system. The third-largest telecom company in India, Idea has been developing its own system that would provide people with movies, television shows, music and games on demand. It would compete directly with a similar system that Jio offers.
Idea is expected to launch the Digital Idea service around the end of January 2017. This is being marketed as a contribution to the ongoing Digital India movement that has been spreading around the country in recent time.
Idea is aiming to develop more services for today’s digital service users. Idea is aiming to move beyond the world of voice and data services and is aiming to offer more to customers around the country. This is a part of the “Changing Lives” goals that Idea Cellular has been working with over the years.
Part of Growth
The company has also been planning its own on-demand system for a while. It has first announced its on-demand plans in September 2016 with the intention of getting the setup ready before 2018. This is all part of a plan to get more subscribers to its system. It already has 400 million around the country but it is aiming to get as many as 500 million before the end of 2017.
In addition, Idea is aiming to get its mobile broadband system out to a larger number of sites. In 2016, the network had around 34,000 sites for its network. About the same number of sites is expected to be rolled out in 2017. This is to work alongside the ongoing demand for mobile services all around India and the desire for more downloadable content in many forms.
A New Contender
Idea Cellular would be the latest telecom company in India to get into the on-demand entertainment industry. Vodafone has been offering on-demand services for a while on its Vodafone Play App while Airtel has a series of on-demand apps in the Wynk family of programs. However, there have been reports that the move from Jio to develop its own on-demand system is the true catalyst of Idea’s decision to enter the fray.
The competition that Idea has with Jio will especially be intriguing. This comes as Jio is offering free online access to customers through a special welcome offer. This is then followed by heavily discounted 4G access. The pressure that Jio is posing is only adding to the demand for Idea to put in a strong effort to make its service more valuable.
Regardless of the competition, Idea is entering a market that has been growing in size in recent time. Idea is especially aiming to keep up with the demand for video traffic as such traffic has increased by more than half in recent time on its network. That demand is expected to continue to expand.
Its Own System
This move from Idea Cellular is also being used as a means of allowing Idea to have its own on-demand setup. Currently, Idea supports subscription-based on-demand programs from other entities. These include the EROS Content and Hungama Digital services. By using its own system, Idea will have more control over what it can offer and may even provide people with some additional content to go alongside what they already work with.
How the Setup Works
The system that Idea is using will entail a few points:
- Idea will bring in content for its on-demand service but it will not actually create the content in particular. Idea has stated that it is more interested in curating content than generating it. Also, Idea is aiming to get a better variety of content available when working with other parties to gather it for its service.
- The Value Added Services offered by Idea will be expanded to include more branded content. This refers to all sorts of items provided by third-party companies entailing many genres and formats. Third parties may also be eligible to prepare their own exclusive applications on Idea through its on-demand system.
- Individual sections relating to games, videos and music will be offered. Details on what specific things will be included in these sections will be revealed at a later time. This will also include support for content in a variety of languages including English and many different regional languages supported all around India.
- A chat system will also be offered. This will come from an application that lets people get in touch over an online network without having to use any traditional phone signals to provide people with faster access to better signals.
The plans that Idea Cellular has for getting into the on-demand market will be worth taking a closer look at. This especially comes amid the strong competition that Idea is getting into at the moment.
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