Fixed operator strategies - 25/05/06

BT Ireland has been selected as the multiplex and network service provider for the digital terrestrial television (DTT) pilot in Ireland.

A British broadband consortium has launched a 5-year project to give broadband access to 2,500 London schools.

KPN (NL) is to buy Enertel for €10m. In the transaction, KPN will get more than 200 hotspots in the Netherlands.

France Telecom has launched IPTV service in Spain. Coverage will be extended to 7m households by year-end. The service will go in front competition with Telefonica' s Imagenio IPTV service.

Verizon Communications won a state-wide franchise in New Jersey; a big step for the company in its roll-out of IPTV services.

23 operators plan to form the WiBro & mobile WiMAX Community (WMC). Among the founders are NTT, KT, Telekom Malaysia and PCCW.

Venezuela approves the sale of Digitel to Telvenco for $425m and the merger of Digitel with two other operators ( Infonet and Digicel). The new entity will have a national reach.

ATT is extending its its Wi-Fi footprint in Europe with a deal with WeRoam . The deal brings AT&T's European Wi-Fi to more than 10,000 hot spots. Worldwide, AT&T hot spots surpass 33,000 locations.