Airtel launches video streaming platform ‘Airtel IQ Video’

Indian telco Bharti Airtel has this week announced the launch of ‘Airtel IQ Video’, a Video Platform as a Service (VPaaS) solution they have developed in-house.

 

The platform has been designed as an end-to-end, omnichannel cloud solution that will allow businesses to build their own video streaming products, optimised for both large and small screens, without having to invest heavily in the technology themselves. 

 

The platform contains various component parts, including app development, content hosting, analytics, and monetisation models, all designed to help facilitate a faster and more seamless journey to market. 

 

According to Airtel, the beta version of the service is already in use by three customers. Raj Television Network, for example, is currently using the platform to digitise its old analogue content, which it can then host on its app. 

 

“Airtel IQ Video brings an easy-to-use platform that can enable anyone to quickly build and scale their business in video streaming. This will encourage enterprises to focus on content while Airtel IQ Video anchors the end-to-end technology ensuring a great viewing experience for customers,” explained Airtel’s chief product officer Adarsh Nair. “With Airtel IQ Video, we expect to see more content startups and traditional content companies coming online and directly engaging with consumers digitally.”

 

In the next 12 months, Airtel hopes to have attracted over 50 brands to use the platform, with Nair saying that Airtel IQ Video is initially targeting $100 million in revenue from the service. 

 

“In terms of revenue target, we are very ambitious. You can think of us as a young start-up going after a $100 million opportunity first and then take it from 100 million to one billion,” Nair said.

 

To begin with, Nair suggests that around 50% of the platform’s customer base will come from India, but it is hoped that international markets – especially in South Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. 

 

For almost a decade now, telcos have been lamenting the profits that so called over-the-top services like Facebook have been enjoying via the telcos’ connectivity. But while challenging these tech giants directly is by now almost impossible, the launch of Airtel IQ Video shows Airtel engaging in a growing trend throughout the telecoms industry, with operators increasingly evolving to become integrators and digital service providers.