Open access to existing infrastructure is essential in driving deployment of high-speed networks in Germany, a Deutsche Telekom board member states.
Niek Jan van Damme said fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) deployment in the country would happen faster if telcos are allowed to access existing infrastructure, including that of other industries, and through modern regulation that encourages investment.
“We...have to avoid a patchwork of local fiber-optic networks in Germany, which means the industry has to agree to mutual, open, network access,“ van Damme stated while revealing the telco’s fiber expansion plans this morning.
Deutsche Telekom plans to extend its FTTH network to 160,000 homes in ten major cities this year, and will back up the high-speed efforts by upgrading its current VDSL and DSL lines to handle 50 Mbps data rates, up from 16Mbps currently.
The telco also revealed that Cologne will be the first city to enjoy LTE services as it begins building networks in the 1800MHz and 2600MHz frequencies.
The combination of fixed and wireless technologies is necessary to offer “customers fast connections, high quality and attractive prices,” van Damme noted.
Deutsche Telekom currently offers VDSL service in 50 cities, and has been running pilot FTTH services in two cities since 2010. VDSL and DSL will be used to cover rural black spots on the fiber network, and Deutsche Telekom has signed 800 co-operation agreements in the past year to deploy DSL in the countryside.
The telco is the second major European carrier to outline its fiber plans this month, after France Telecom revealed partnerships are key to its deployments.
Both firms recently detailed a collaboration agreement aimed at cutting the cost of deploying new technologies and networks, with Wi-Fi and M2M applications top of the list.
Separately, Deutsche Telekom today revealed it has extended its domestic TV service nationwide, through a deal to piggyback on satellites operated by SES Astra.
The agreement makes the service available in areas not covered by the telco’s current DSL network, opening it up to a potential 16,000 new subscribers on top of the 20,000 already signed up.