Fixed operator strategies (1) -5 June 2005

Tata Teleservices (India) is to invest some €460m to add about 6m fixed wireless lines by 2008. It currently has some 2.5m users.

SBC is entering a pricing war on broadband internet access. Its new offer ($ 15/ mo) is far less than $40 currently charged by MSOs or $ 30 charged by other RBOCs and even lower than some dial-up plans.

UGC, the multinational MSO, to hand out digital set-top boxes at no additional cost to nearly all of its 2.3 million analog cable subscribers in the Netherlands. The move, worth some €300m, will allow nationwide rollout of all-digital service.

Malaysia: the government will launch a pilot test of Broadband Power line (BPL or PLC). If successful, the technology will be deployed in rural regions with no phone lines.

SK Telecom (South Korea) will offer a wholesale service to other operators over its Wireless broadband (WiBro) network. The network, worth $800m, will be operational from June 2006.

Belgacom is planning to provide broadband internet services via satellite services in Poland.

KPN (The Netherlands) said it is in talks with Tiscali on purchasing Dutch broadband Internet customer-base.