From: nospam@needed.invalid   
      
   On Sun, 7/13/2025 5:49 PM, Richmond wrote:   
   > This looks really useful. What a shame it is only available in India   
   > (unless you are in India of course). Ubuntu Linux as a set top box.   
   >   
   > "JioPC turns any TV into a full PC, aiming to close India’s tech gap   
   >   
   > Mukesh Ambani, India's richest man and chairman of Reliance Industries,   
   > is launching JioPC, a virtual desktop service that aims to transform   
   > millions of television screens across India into fully functional   
   > personal computers through Jio's set-top box, potentially bridging the   
   > digital divide in a country where 70% of households have TVs but only   
   > 15% own PCs."   
   >   
   > "The service offers impressive specifications with 4 virtual CPUs   
   > running at 2.45 GHz, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage, all running on   
   > Ubuntu Linux with the Cinnamon desktop environment."   
   >   
      
   The catch is, you have to rent a fiber optic internet service   
   to start with, the STB is provided as a rental, to convert IPTV   
   packets into an HDMI signal. It's not exactly stretching anyones   
   mental muscles to run Ubuntu on a computer, given the STB is   
   a computer. Look at a video of a take-apart of the STB and   
   you can see it's just a computer (about as technically complicated   
   as an RPi).   
      
   It's a paid service, and this offering represents a cross-promotion.   
      
   *******   
      
   I asked CoPilot for some statistics on Indian Television.   
      
   Here's a comprehensive breakdown of television ownership and signal types in   
   India based on the latest available data:   
      
   ### TV Ownership in India   
      
     Percentage of households with a TV   
         Approximately 67% of Indian households owned a television as of 2024.   
      
     Total TV households   
         Around  210 million  homes have a TV set.   
      
     Urban vs Rural   
       Urban penetration: ~87%   
       Rural penetration: ~61%   
      
   ### Mode of Signal Reception   
      
   BARC India’s 2020 estimates provide a breakdown of how TV signals are   
   received:   
      
   | Mode of Signal Reception | Share of TV Households | Approximate Number of   
   Households |   
   |--------------------------|------------------------|-----------   
   ----------------------|   
   | Cable TV (Digital/Analog) | 48%                    | ~101 mill   
   on                     |   
   | DD Free Dish Over-the-Air | 19%                    | ~40 milli   
   n                      |   
   | DTH (Satellite)           | ~30%                   | ~63 milli   
   n                      |   
   | IPTV (Fiber Optic)        | <1%                    | ~88,000 (2025   
   figure)                <=== Jolly STB offering...   
      
   ### IPTV via Fiber Optic Set-Top Boxes   
      
      IPTV penetration   
         Extremely low, with only  88,504 connections  in 2025, down from over   
   600,000 in 2023.   
      Reasons for low adoption   
        High cost relative to DTH and OTT bundles   
        Limited broadband infrastructure   
        Competition from OTT-enabled DTH platforms   
      
   ###  Cable TV vs DTH vs IPTV   
      
   | Type         | Description                              | Popularity |   
   |--------------|------------------------------------------|------------|   
   | Cable TV     | Traditional wired service via MSOs       | High       |   
   | DTH          | Satellite-based service with set-top box | High       |   
   | IPTV         | Internet-based streaming via fiber       | Very Low   |   
      
   *******   
      
   I think you can see then, how the fiber-optic-man is throwing   
   a "novelty" to his declining user-base.   
      
   It's really no different than the fiber-optic consumption in my   
   own neighbourhood. So far, poor attach rate, seemingly nobody   
   wants to pay $200 a month for fiber, when cable is cheaper.   
   The situation in apartment buildings, or condo highrises, could   
   be quite different, where the installation is a lot easier. The highest   
   fiber rate available, is 3 Gbit/sec (for $200 a month). Whereas   
   the 1 Gbit/sec service represents better utility for the average user.   
      
      Paul   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)