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Eventful winter predicted for German cable market |
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Friday, 02 November 2007 |
Broadband services in
Germany have developed significantly over the last year and subscriptions have grown by over 40% (Q206-Q207). However, cable operators have managed to increase their market shares by 0.7% and grew by almost 75% during the period Q206-Q207 in subscriber terms.
While this is a significant percentage increase it is worth noting they are starting from a relatively low base compared to DSL. By the end of June 2007 3.7% of the whole broadband market was served via a cable connection. Cable operators are now gearing up to offer bundled internet services.
The German cable market has seen changes this year as cable operators prepare to offer bundled internet services. Some of the operators have developed their networks through the acquisition of smaller competitors. For instance, in September one of the main operators, Kabel Deutschland signed a purchase agreement with the Orion Group to acquire for €585 million several local networks which serve about 1.2 million cable TV subscribers
Others such as Telecolumbus GmbH decided to rebrand their local networks. In late May 2007, ish (North Rhine-Westphalia), iesy (Hessen) and TeleColumbus West became a part of UnityMedia.
Both these trends – rebranding and acquisition – reflect a strong tendency for the German cable operators to consolidate. The process should lead to the strengthening of this group of the broadband operators. They are looking to offer a competitive challenge to DSL operators in terms of the delivery of a bundled internet services. It ought to be an eventful winter for the cable operators in
Germany.
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