Vodafone Germany has signed a network access agreement with Deutsche Telekom which will enable it to offer German customers high-speed fixed-line broadband and IPTV.
Announcing the deal today, UK-based Vodafone, traditionally a mobile-only operator,…
Vodafone Germany has signed a network access agreement with Deutsche Telekom which will enable it to offer German customers high-speed fixed-line broadband and IPTV.
Announcing the deal today, UK-based Vodafone, traditionally a mobile-only operator, said it forms part of its strategy to offer “unified communications services” in European markets.
Earlier in the year Vodafone had considered a bid for German cableco Kabel Deutschland (KDG), but the agreement with DT will enable Vodafone to offer fixed line services without owning a network.
Philipp Humm, group CEO for Northern and Central Europe, said the agreement, subject to the approval of the German telecoms regulator, “will greatly enhance our ability to offer our German customers a range of competitive, high-speed broadband and TV services in a addition to our industry-leading mobile services, in line with our broader, Europe-wide strategy”.
The new agreement in Germany will see Vodafone, which has about 34 million customers in Germany, use DT’s network under an IP-based ‘Layer 3’ bitstream agreement. This will enable Vodafone to provide customers with connection speeds of up to 50Mbps initially and up to 100Mbs once DT has deployed vectoring technology in addition to its existing IPTV services.
Vodafone has come under pressure recently to prove it can compete with telcos and cablecos which offer quad-play bundled packages for mobile, fixed-line, broadband and pay TV services.
In Spain, Vodafone recently launched a joint venture with Orange to build a new fibre-to-the-home network.
