Airtel takes on Jio Giga Fibre with Xstream STB, smart stick

New Delhi: Indian telecom major Airtel announced the launch of Airtel Xstream which offers live TV, video, music, news and sports using an over-the-top (OTT) smart stick as well as an Internet-enabled set top box. The move comes just ahead of Jio Fiber’s commercial rollout.

The set top box (STB) comes with an in-built Chromecast. It is being seen as a direct competitor to Reliance Jio's hybrid set top box which is expected to offer over the counter (OTT) content like Netflix, Hotstar and more along with Internet services.

The Airtel Xstream Box is priced at ₹3,999 and it will offer a complimentary year’s subscription to all Airtel Xstream app content. The year package starts at ₹999. It also comes with a month’s subscription to an HD DTH pack. Existing Airtel Digital TV customers can upgrade to Airtel Xstream Box by paying ₹2,249. The Xstream stick is available at a price of ₹3,999.

With all the content on one platform, Airtel Xstream will bring entertainment catalogues - hundreds of satellite TV channels, thousands of movies and shows in English, Hindi and multiple Indian languages, millions of songs, plus access to all the popular OTT entertainment apps on one platform, Airtel said at the event. Thanks to this, Airtel customers will receive access to content across the device of their choice—be it TV, PC or smartphone—along with a unified user interface.

Along with the option to choose from over 500 TV channels, the Airtel Xstream Box comes pre-installed with Airtel Xstream app (over 10,000 movies and shows), Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube and Airtel Store (for advanced gaming with high-end graphics).

The Xstream platform will integrate various OTT platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hungama, Eros and Wynk. The Airtel Xstream Box has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity and built-in Chromecast. It comes with a universal remote that features Google Assistant-based voice search and hot keys for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and YouTube.

Jio is also likely to provide access to its OTT services like Jio TV, Jio Cinema and Jio Saavan including services like gaming, video calling and virtual reality via the set top box.

With inputs from IANS.