Europe cool on fibre as Deutsche Telekom invests ?3 billion

摘要

Deutsche Telekom's pledge to invest ?3 billion over the next two years to build a VDSL network represents the largest operator commitment to the hybrid fibre-and-copper technology in Europe to date. But while the resulting network may help the German incumbent defend its rapidly declining market share from competitors, most of its European counterparts remain reluctant to commit to VDSL because of high costs and regulatory uncertainty. Deutsche Telekom plans to roll out high-speed access via VDSL to Germany's 50 largest cities by 2007, eventually covering the vast majority of the country's 82 million population. Pilot schemes are already under way in Hamburg and Stuttgart, where around 100 participants can trial speeds of 25Mbps, about half the maximum speeds VDSL will eventually be able to offer.