Czech infrastructure provider Ceska telekomunikacni infrastruktura (CETIN), part of Petr Kellner’s PPF Group that was spun off from incumbent PTO O2 Czech Republic in June 2015, has announced an improved proposition for wholesale IPTV via a new Mass Market Offer (MMO). CETIN says the new MMO – which promises an improvement in the quality of its multimedia transmissions, an improved data to cost ratio and removal of limits on Wi-Fi broadband services – has been offered in its network since April, allowing its wholesale partner to receive up to four times the capacity with no increase in price. ‘With a new MMO, service providers … will not be forced to limit peak performance and can further enhance their content to HD or Ultra HD quality,’ a press release read.
CETIN also noted that overall data consumption in its network is growing at a rate of around 35% per annum – the largest share of which is for multimedia and video services. While over-the-top (OTT) broadcasts depend on the quality and speed of the connection and its usage in homes (e.g. in many cases multiple devices are sharing the line affecting the quality of services such as Facebook, YouTube, Netflix and HBO GO, CETIN claims its native IPTV offer benefits from a guaranteed quality of service. ‘Native IPTV is a priority service, meaning that content from the IPTV platform from the provider to end-user devices is captured in real time and in the same quality in the CETIN network,’ it claims.
Under its seven-year programme, CETIN is investing CZK22 billion (USD898 million) in the development of its national telecommunications networks. The company says that at the core of the build-out is its fibre-optic next generation network (NGN), while in terms of technology, it is investing mainly in VDSL2, VDSL3 and Vectoring – all of which effectively shorten the local loop by upgrading the copper tail between the telco’s cabinet and the user’s home to achieve the ultra-high speeds needed for the NGN. Optical fibre, therefore, is being run to the neighbourhood via the building of fibre-to-the cabinet (FTTC) to improve speeds over the last mile. The current average available speed in the CETIN network is 45Mbps. Around half of households served now have internet access above 50Mbps and 831,000 Czech households can order fixed internet at speeds above 100Mbps. CETINhas wholesale contracts with 15 operators.