Braun: German cable needs to make return on investment

The German cable industry’s investment in broadband infrastructure needs to be supported and operators         must be given the opportunity to make a return on their investment, according to Thomas Braun, president of cable operators’ association ANGA.

Addressing the ANGA Cable Congress in Cologne this morning, Braun said that German cable operators had invested over 30% of revenues in the upgrade of their networks and this investment needs to be protected by politicians. Other technologies, by comparison, had yet to demonstrate their long-term positive effects on the economy, he said, and cable expects fair conditions in order to compete.

Braun said that 100% of cable networks were now digitised and more and more customers than ever were making use of digital services – 42% at the end of 2011. He said that analogue services were still important for a large number of subscribers and cable would continue to support this.

Braun said that use of video-on-demand was increasing, as was broadband content consumption. Cable has a 13% broadband market share, with two out of three new broadband customers opting for cable. Some 30% of customers now receive over 30Mbps internet access, said Braun. The rollout of broadband also enables web content to be taken to TV screens, he said. Over 50% of citizens now viewed HD content, with one in three watching TVs on PCs or laptops and 13% watching TV on their smartphones, said Braun.