Recent Posts

11

Technology / Route Acquisition of Masiv, Interteleco and SendClean

« Last post by wiredlife on October 19, 2021, 01:10:19 PM »

Akin to peers, Route Mobile's acquisition strategy is aimed at expanding beyond core Markets as well as augmenting the CPaaS capabilities. Recently announced acquisitions of Masiv (LATAM), Interteleco (Kuwait) and Send Clean (Email messaging) are all in-line with this strategy. Simultaneously, the company continues to consolidate its business in the core markets through a mix of farming and hunting new clients as adoption for digital communication continues to accelerate.

We note that Route saw a 47% YoY revenue growth in FY21 (versus 28% revenue CAGR between FY17-20). Similarly Route continues to broad base it’s business as is evident from the scale up evident from the client metrics over time.

12

FTTH Broadband / Jio - India's Number 1 All FTTH Wired Broadband ISP

« Last post by wiredlife on September 30, 2021, 11:43:30 AM »

Jio added 0.25 mn fixed broadband subscribers in the month of July 2021, continuing to gain momentum in the recent months. Airtel's subscriber additions also increased by 0.17 mn versus an average of 0.1 mn over the past four months.

Jio FTTH and Airtel now each have 3.5 mn wired broadband subscribers. Overall fixed Broadband subscriber base increased by 0.5 mn to 24 mn versus an addition of 0.8 mn in the previous month.

Jio is the only 100% FTTH ISP in India while BSNL, Airtel and others are a combination of age old DSL, Cable Broadband and little bit of FTTH.

13

5G / Wi-Fi / COAI - Thoughts on 5G in India

« Last post by wiredlife on September 29, 2021, 10:11:58 AM »

COAI has said that the recently announced reforms in the telecom sector, by the govt, go a long way in providing cashflow relief to the sector.

The reforms also provide the players with enough liquidity to be able to bid for the 5G spectrum auction. The govt wants its to be a success, and is willing to relook at the spectrum prices too, to make them affordable for the players.

The current eco system for 5G is well developed – but the use cases are very few. Hence 5G rollout will only be a gradual one, not a pan India in one go. TSPs will first look at urban pockets to roll out their 5G network, and then gradually move towards rural areas. Over this period, they will also have to decide whether to migrate the existing 2G/3G customer base directly to 5G, or stepwise first to 4G and then 5G.

Use of Open RAN technology and the PLI schemes by the govt should help bring the cost of 5G equipment down in the country, and lower the 5G capex requirement. In any case, 5G capex (excl spectrum purchase) is expected to be significantly lower than 4G rollout.

14

Technology / Online Insurance Tech - PolicyX.com

« Last post by wiredlife on September 29, 2021, 10:07:02 AM »

Insurance industry has been a late participant of technology adoption from distribution perspective compared to other ecommerce platforms. However, in last few years witnessing a big thrust from both insurance and distributor side. In last few years people have become more aware about insurance and now engaging and evaluating products on their own and this is changing dynamics from push to pull. Further more and more insurers are now offering digital products, technological capabilities of Insurers have also improved over the years.

Conversion rate in Online Insurance Portals of India
While increasingly number of consumers are comparing products online, conversion rates are still very small compared other developed markets. In health insurance conversion rate is around 5% but this has almost doubled over last 2/3 years. Going forward expect more business will be done through D2C over next 10-15 either through web aggregators and Directly through Insurers. Web aggregators will have an edge as there consumers can compare price across all insurers.

Web aggregators are source of cleanest and high-quality business, it is evident from the fact that claim ratio for business sourced from web aggregators are very low compared to traditional channel. This is because of 1) lower fraud rates and 2) Insurers are able to collect high amount of data hence better underwriting and 3) Access to customers with higher income and education level

In terms of technology other insurers are not behind digital players such as Acko or Go Digit. Players like ICICILOMBARD and HDFCERGO are doing better job in term of technology adoption and have mindset like these digital players.

Insurance broker and Web aggregator are largely same except for two broad difference 1) Web aggregator cannot renewal commission and 2) Web aggregator cannot enter POS model. Broking license makes sense for players who would want to enter POS model in a big way. Offline model is very different compared to online where consumer behavior and cost of acquisition is very different. It’s a very cost heavy model and less lucrative compared to online market. However once certain size has been achieved in online channel then next step is to go to next available market like offline.

15

5G / Wi-Fi / CPaaS - 15% Growth

« Last post by wiredlife on September 29, 2021, 08:54:24 AM »

Tanla's cloud-based platforms provide ease of connectivity to enterprises and aggregators with a plug-and-play approach. Tanla recently expanded the bouquet of services by acquiring Karix, the market leader in the Indian Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) space and Gamooga, a marketing automation company, in FY20. It also recently launched Trubloq, a blockchain based solution to filter spam SMSs. Trubloq processes 62% of India’s SMS traffic.

Tanla sees the existing Indian CPaaS market growing by 15% annually and the entry of new-age companies in ad-tech, ed-tech, fintech and gaming will add to market growth by more than 5%. The multiple use-cases of Trubloq and the above opportunities in conversational platforms and OTT channels would further expand the addressable market. The international opportunity will be in addition to these.

Tanla has been working on driving partnerships and expects to announce two significant partnerships soon. The company also sees sizeable opportunities in conversational platforms and OTT channels, and one of the above-mentioned partnerships would focus on these areas. Though we await more clarity, we believe these could add an extra leg to growth.

16

Smart Connected Devices / Connected Home Over IP

« Last post by wiredlife on September 19, 2021, 04:32:23 PM »

Due to the lack of unified Smart Home standards slows growth. Competing standards such as Bluetooth, Zigbee, Z-Wave, and Wi-Fi
complicate interoperability among devices. However, devices in a smart home are seldom used separately. Customers do not want to switch devices and technologies when controlling, e.g., their home entertainment or security systems. Given this, Apple, Amazon, Google, and the Zigbee Alliance formed a working group in 2019 called "Connected Home over IP" to create an industry standard for smart home connectivity.

The future of the Smart Home will be an integrated platform solution with a universal communication standard interlinking all smart devices.

The connection of all Smart Home devices, more sophisticated AI-driven services and the gathering of a gigantic amount of data presents a challenge for Smart Home development. In this respect, the implementation of 5G is vital. Sharing the data of homeowners with businesses will foster the growth of new individualized technologies and services in the market.

17

Cable / DSL Services / Online Advertising to Reach $500 Billion in 2025

« Last post by wiredlife on September 18, 2021, 07:35:59 PM »

Global spending on Digital Advertising outpaced TV ad spending for the first time in 2017. Considering how great a role television used to play for generations of media consumers, this is quite a revolutionary development. And it shows how important Digital Advertising has
become.

The Big Demand for Ads - Search Advertising, Social Media Advertising, and Online Classifieds are categorized with in-page ads as Banner Ads, and in-stream ads – be it videos or text overlays – are part of Video Advertising.

Google the Global Leader commands a major share of the 45% Online Advertising Market in Search Advertising with a volume of US$159 billion in 2020. The global Social Media Advertising market size is about US$99 billion in 2020.

Although we can observe an advancement in the field of targeting solutions, Banner and Video Advertising still face the challenge of
reaching the right audiences. They have a much more random advertising environment than social networks and search engines.  With a volume of US$53 billion, Banner Advertising has a share of only 15% of the total Digital Advertising market. Video
Advertising has an even smaller share of 8%, corresponding to a market volume of US$27 billion.

Online Classifieds make the smallest contribution to overall market revenues with US$19 billion in 2020.

Together, in 2025 it is estimated that the following verticals will have a share of USD 500 Billion as under,
Search Advertising - 203 B
Social Media Advertising - 135 B
Banner Advertising - 73 B
Video Advertising - 50 B
Classifieds - 25 B

18

4G / LTE / JioPhone Next - Android SmartPhone Strategy of Mukesh Ambani

« Last post by wiredlife on September 18, 2021, 07:23:44 PM »

The upcoming launch of JioPhone Next seems to worry Airtel investors – is it the beginning of a new price war?

Targeting the US$50 smartphone segment is neither here (average Android phone ASP US$165), nor there (average feature phone ASP US$18). Android volumes at US$50 are thin.

We have seen the smartphone premiumization trend in many emerging markets, India included. As such, we think that JioPhone Next probably targets the feature phone upgraders with an affordable 1st experience device.

Jio also has a problem to solve: the 132m installed base of JioPhones is now 2.5 years old on average and due for replacement. Contracts are expiring and JioPhone users free to move to another carrier. It is quite possible that JioPhone Next is the replacement device of JioPhone. Concurrently, Jio is also targeting premium 4G segments at Rs499 and we should not conclude that Jio’s strategy is only a race to the bottom.

19

Web 2.0 / How eCommerce will Transtion Now ?

« Last post by wiredlife on September 18, 2021, 04:32:03 PM »

The growth of cross-border eCommerce is a hot topic in the Western markets, especially within the EU free trade zone. Geographic proximity and logistics make it possible for sellers to offer attractive shipping times and convenient returns to not only local buyers but to the entire EU population.

eCommerce marketplaces continue to gain momentum. Marketplaces such as eBay and Amazon have a firm grip on the market as they have long become primary product search engines. They enjoy a significant amount of repeat customers, who come back for best prices,
transparent quality, and easy returns. We expect marketplaces to become the primary shopping destination for almost all product
categories. The exception will be context-rich categories such as luxury goods, interior design, and fashion, where stand-alone shops will have their share of the market.

Mobile eCommerce is now the fastest-growing segment as customers enjoy shopping on the go and increasingly browse shops and place orders on their smartphones or tablets. Its scope is not limited to creating mobile-friendly shop interfaces or separate shopping apps. Rather, its major potential lies in AI applications, augmented reality, voice eCommerce, and customer profiling.

Both online-only players and traditional retailers are developing various multi-/cross-channel strategies to reduce inconvenience and increase customer satisfaction throughout the customer journey. Package delivery boxes and precise delivery times for working people, drone deliveries of time-sensitive products such as medicines as well as same day- delivery services are only a few of many ambitious innovations and optimizations in the area of product and service delivery.

20

Web 2.0 / China World's Largest eCommerce Market

« Last post by wiredlife on September 18, 2021, 04:28:44 PM »

In 2020, the global eCommerce market was worth US$2.4 trillion. China was the biggest eCommerce market globally, with Gross Merchandise Sales of Whopping  US $1,116 billion. China's eCommerce market growth is fueled by both the increasing purchasing power of the local population and crossborder eCommerce. With revenues of US$411 billion in 2020, the U.S. constitutes the second biggest eCommerce market, followed by Japan with US$105 billion.

Chinese key market players such as Alibaba Group, JD, and Tencent jointly contribute to the comprehensive eCommerce ecosystem in China – and are increasingly penetrating other promising Asian markets such as Indonesia and India. The Chinese population is tech savvy and mobile first, and Chinese eCommerce giants are therefore constantly pushing technology forward. They have diversified into literally every sphere that comes in touch with online retail, from payments to logistics. Current developments in China will - to a large extent – define the next decade's global eCommerce

Many players from both online and offline retail are moving to multi-channel strategies and are continuously reinventing the way we shop online. Expectations are growing rapidly as customers discover more convenience on all levels – be it product customization, mobile-optimized search, quick checkout processes, and/or hassle-free delivery