T-Mobile Netherlands plans additional greenfield FTTH deployments
T-Mobile Netherlands has announced its intention to connect at least 100,000 households to its fiber to the home (FTTH) network, working alongside partner Primevest Capital Partners. The company emphasized that such deployments will be in greenfield scenarios.
“I miss the point of creating a fiber-optic network where other parties have already done so or are still doing so. I endorse the conclusions of the Netherlands Authority for Consumers & Markets (ACM), which recently concluded that these practices only lead to delays in digitizing the Netherlands,” commented T-Mobile CEO Søren Abildgaard. Thus, T-Mobile will lease capacity on other’s FTTH networks if they are already in place. The company offers gigabit broadband services at a price of 25 euros monthly to subscribers of its Unlimited mobile plan.
The company has had success with its FTTH broadband offerings. For example, T-Mobile says that, starting this past summer, it has provided fiber-optic services to more than 20,000 premises out of a total of 32,000 in the Segbroek district of The Hague. T-Mobile partnered with VolkerWessels Telecom on this FTTH deployment.
“I call on all owners of fiber-optic networks to also open up their network to (potential) competitors for an attractive fee,” added Abildgaard. “That is not the case now. Some providers charge unreasonably high rates to others for access to their network. That is bad for competition on the fixed telecommunications market. And the worst thing is that the consumer is the victim."
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About the Author
Stephen Hardy
Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.
He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.
You can connect with Stephen on LinkedIn as well as Twitter.