Pay-TV giant MultiChoice is looking to leverage the MTN network to bring 5G services to its DStv Internet platform.
So said Nyiko Shiburi, CEO of MultiChoice South Africa, in an interview with ITWeb this week.
In September last year, MultiChoice launched its DStv Internet platform with MTN as the network partner.
MultiChoice, in its latest results for the year ended 31 March, said DStv Internet “is growing strongly”.
DStv Internet is a fixed wireless access service, which means users get connected to the internet with a SIM card and WiFi router. It’s an option for those who do not have fibre in their residential area but want to access the internet.
The company says customers can choose from three data packages: 25GB, 110GB and 220GB.
DStv Internet currently only offers a fixed 4G/LTE service.
Shiburi did not disclose the number of customers that have subscribed to the internet offering, saying: “What I can say is we have seen double-digit growth and there are primarily two reasons that have driven that good uptake.
“The first one is simplicity to the customer – you get a single bill that you have to pay (for the internet service and viewing). If you have issues, you just call DStv and not a number of service providers. The second, which I think is the bigger reason, is the value that we are offering.”
MultiChoice also did not disclose the figures in its latest results.
OTT speed boost
DStv Internet piggybacks on the MTN network, and when asked if the company has plans to partner with other operators, Shiburi said: “We are constantly evaluating what customers are telling us, but we have noticed that over the past couple of years, MTN has been winning a lot of awards around the quality of their network, particularly on the data side. So at this time, we feel they are still the greatest partner to go with.
Explaining the partnership arrangement, he said MTN provides the connectivity technology on its side.
“So whatever latest technologies they are using to connect, we will also be able to get that benefit. If they improve, we also get to improve. With 5G, we will be able to provide faster data. For us, it will also be about how fast our customers will be able to consume OTT services.”
Last month, MTN South Africa said it’s targeting at least 25% of the country’s population to have 5G coverage by the end of 2022. The mobile operator currently has over 1 000 active 5G sites across the country.
It is expected that with the conclusion of the spectrum auction earlier this year, mobile operators in SA will expand the rollout of 5G networks.
According to Shiburi, there has been an interesting shift in how people consume media television, and 5G will come in handy amid the shifting customer behaviour.
“Customers now want to watch content wherever they want to watch it, and at the time that is convenient to them. It makes this a very interesting transition that we find ourselves in, where we have to cater for both traditional television viewers (those who still prefer to have appointment viewing), and those that say they want to watch a particular show when it is convenient for them to do so.”
He noted the company’s over-the-top (OTT) services have also accelerated as a result of the DStv Internet offering.
“I am particularly proud of our Showmax service, as our paying base has increased 68% year-on-year, showing this has resonated quite well with our customers.”
On the competition brought by international streaming companies such as Netfix, Amazon’s Prime Video and Disney+, he said: “It’s always good to have competition – it forces you to evaluate a lot of things that you may have taken for granted, and it forces us to rethink some of the things that we have been doing.”
Removing the clutter
He revealed that to fend off the competition from these international giants, MultiChoice’s “super aggregator strategy” is bearing fruit.
“What we are seeing is that there are a lot of customers that are taking both our services as well as other OTT services. Because we have different types of information that we offer, we believe we are still the best place where you can get the best content − whether it’s sport, international movies or local content.
“We have also launched our super aggregator strategy where one gets access to Netflix, Showmax, Disney+, Amazon Prime, YouTube on our Explora Ultra decoder. Because just think of what the customer has to go through now – firstly, you have to sign up with multiple service providers with different accounts; then the second thing is you have to figure out which content comes from who; and third, which perhaps is the most important thing people take for granted, is that people do not need to have multiple remote controls – one remote control for DStv, one remote control for the TV and so forth,” he said.
“So what we have done with our super aggregator platform is a customer will have one remote control that controls their TV and the set-top box, and they will be able to access all those different OTTs on a single platform.”
Equally, he added, they will have one single bill for everything.
“For example, if you want to open a Disney+ account, you can do so through us and you will be able to save.
“We see this as a continuation of how MultiChoice started. If you think about it, M-Net started as a collection of different types of content to create a channel, then DStv became a collection of international channels. Now we are getting into the future where there are a whole lot of these apps that are coming through and we see the aggregator as a continuation of taking all those apps and putting them in a single place.”
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