Liberty Global will launch its OTT set-top box named Horizon in the Netherlands before the end of this year, with Switzerland following soon after that, probably in the first half of 2012, according to Liberty Global CEO Mike Fries in an interview with Swiss newspaper Sonntagszeitung. The set-top box will offer access to 'over the top' content from the internet, complementing the analogue or digital cable TV offerings. The set-top box will include a cable modem for broadband access and WLAN capabilities. Fries would not provide details about pricing, but said that the costs will be close to the current tariffs for interactive TV services offered by its subsidiaries. Fries is not concerned about competitors like Google TV and Apple TV which are still works in progress, but conceded that Liberty Global's cable subsidiaries were triggered by the initiatives to come with their own solution. With regards to its Swiss subsidiary, cable network operator Cablecom, Fries said that the performance is good with growth figures for all services (TV, broadband and telephony) during 2010. He also said that the negotiations about launching mobile services with Swiss mobile operators Swisscom, Sunrise and Orange Switzerland are ongoing for more than a year, as mobile is not a core business for Cablecom, thus no need for hurry.
