Jio platforms, the Reliance Industries digital arm launched A virtual desktop service for Set-Top Box users. This means that India’s richest man, President of Reliance Mukesh Ambani, hopes to turn millions of televisions into the world’s most populous country into computers.
Called JiopcThe service offers a cloud-based experience through Jio’s set-top box, which is accompanied free of charge with the Telco broadband service or can be purchased separately for ₹ 5,499 ($ 64). Currently in a free trial and available via waiting list, users can access the virtual desktop on their TV by connecting a keyboard and mouse as soon as they receive an invitation and install their account.
Currently, the service has some restrictions, including support for external peripherals, such as cameras and printers. Similarly, it supports LibreOffice Open Source, which is pre -installed. To use Microsoft Office applications, users must access them through the available browser.
Taking this, Ambani’s move with JIOPC seems very promising – at least on paper.
Tarun Pathak, Counterpoint Research Manager, told TechCrunch that JIOPC is a very effective way for the Mumbai -based company to increase its users’ base, which already has Over 488 million users.
About 70% of Indian households have TV, but only 15% of which have a computer per Pathak. But Jio platforms could have her hands full of marketing and explanations. “You have to convince people that you can still use a computer on your TV using the set-top box,” he said.
India’s active function base is user user base Nearly 57 millionper government data. However, the traditional television market directly to the home (DTH) shrinks as more consumers shift to internet -based services. Since March, the active DTH subscriber base had decreased by 8% on an annual basis, the data show.
Prabhu Ram, Vice President of the Industry Research Team (IRG) at Cybermedia Research (CMR), said JIOPC, JIO could oversee new Set-Top Box users from unattractive agricultural and low-income sections.
“While its dynamic scope is wide, its success will depend on execution – especially in dealing with gaps and digital literacy – and its ability to escalate beyond the first adopters to effectively serve communities that are not served,” he said.
In the first quarter, India’s total computer market experienced Over 8% growth on an annual basis In the missions, reaching 3.3 million units – marking the seventh consecutive quarter of growth, per IDC. However, penetration PC in the country remains relatively low, delay basic purchasesIncluding the US and China, mainly due to limited income and widespread use of smartphones as primary computing devices.
Pathak said that for JIO to reach potential PC buyers with JIOPC, it would require corporate relationships with several applications and productivity solutions and productivity providers and ensures that it has several productivity applications to make the service valuable to consumers.
Companies, including Microsoft and many other cloud providers, offer virtual desktop services that target Enterprise customers for some time. However, Jio’s move represents the first serious consumer -oriented move, Ram said.
