The Dutch 2.6GHz spectrum auction finished almost six months ago, and the Ziggo/UPC consortium has yet to unveil its plans. That can be due to the immense complexity of deploying a new network, and possibly the two cable operators are also waiting for spectrum in the 800/900 MHz band. Whatever the case, the Canadian cable operator Videotron could serve as a model. In July 2008, Videotron acquired spectrum for CAD 555 million, and in October it signed a contract with Nokia Siemens Networks for the construction of a HSPA+ network, at a cost of up to CAD 1 billion. On 9 September 2010, the network went live. It's finished, but the full commercial launch is planned for next year.
Videotron is one of the big Canadian cable operators, alongside Shaw and Rogers. Rogers is already an incumbent on the mobile market. Videotron has 1.78 million customers, of which 1.14 million for digital TV, 1.20 million broadband subscribers and 1.07 million telephony customers. In terms of customer numbers, it's somewhat smaller than UPC (1.93 million), but the penetration for digital TV, broadband and telephony is higher at Videotron, which has also rolled out Docsis 3.
The comparison is interesting for a number of reasons. First, the Canadians have rolled out a network quickly. It's worth noting that Videotron is active in Quebec, which is at least 40 times larger than the Netherlands. The population density helps: out of a population of 7.9 million, 4.3 million live in Montreal or Quebec city. Still, NSN must of had its hands full with covering cities, villages and connecting roads.
It's also interesting Videotron's choices for its offering. The company is the first in Canada to launch an HTC handset running Android and offering access to a range of content (1,000 hours of free TV/video, 27 TV channels and 45 radio stations).
What lessons can Ziggo and UPC take from the developments at the Canadian cable company? First, that it's possible to roll out quickly an HSPA network, with speeds of up to 21Mbps (soon 42Mbps). Furthermore, there's no legacy of 2G or 3G, and the fixed network serves as a good basis for connecting base station sites. Second is the strong focus on (video) content. What can help further with that is the new NSN Multiscreen TV platform, just launched at the IBC show in Amsterdam. This should make it possible for Videotron to integrate its content, both broadcast and over-the-top, and offer it on any given device. The system is also handy in its support for all kinds of operating systems, including Android and Symbian.
Videotron had six months to decide. How long do Ziggo and UPC still need?
