Ziggo no longer wants to telecom provider with its own mobile network, but wi-fi routers of customers opening and additional access to Vodafones network. The isp was seen as a future competitor for KPN, Vodafone and T-Mobile.
With the rollout of a network with wi-fi routers of customers, supplemented with access to the Vodafone network, one Ziggo the high costs for the construction of a private mobile network, while in many places customers at high speeds surf the internet, argues the kabelaar in the recently published prospectus for the ipo. “We are working on a service call, broadband internet and video services to offer, using our own infrastructure in and around homes, offices and public hotspots, complemented with access to the network of an other provider at other locations in the Netherlands”, in the prospectus.
Thus, it is excluded that Ziggo is a full-fledged competitor for the current telecom providers KPN, Vodafone and T-Mobile. Ziggo, together with UPC and Tele2 is seen as the main candidate for accession to the mobile market. Through acquisitions a few years ago, the number of telecom providers with an own network in the Netherlands down from five to three. The Second Room forced therefore to conclude that at least two new companies in the upcoming auction of telecomfrequenties this fall frequentieruimte would be able to obtain.
The wi-fi routers of Ziggo get in the future, and support for 4g-network lte, and be as “personal cell tower” for the network of Ziggo. Moreover, Ziggo about two months a test network, the size of the city of The Hague is ready to meet the conditions of the frequentieveiling in 2010. Ziggo bought together with UPC for a million frequentieruimte in the 2.6 GHz band. Then had the kabelaar still the plan to have a traditional telco provider to be.
It is unclear whether UPC, the same strategy will be followed as Ziggo, but research firm Telecompaper, suggests that also the other large Dutch kabelaar not a full-fledged telecom provider. UPC installed a year and a half ago to sneak a second network on wi-fi routers that could have been used for the construction of its own network of wi-fi hotspots, an indication that UPC in the same direction, think as Ziggo.