Cable Europe, the trade association that connects leading broadband cable TV operators and their national trade associations throughout the European Union (EU), has welcomed this week’s decision by the European Heads of States to give the green light for EU action in support of the digital economy to create an integrated single digital and telecoms market. ‘It is the first time that the digital economy has been brought to the highest level of European decision making and this is applauded by Cable Europe,’ the association said in a statement.
Commenting on the EU decision, Cable Europe chairman Matthias Kurth said: ‘We are committed investors in our networks that we upgrade in anticipation of our customers’ needs. Cable companies have recently launched 500Mbps services and further upgrades of the networks to deliver ultra-fast speeds are yet to come, pushing competitors to react. The continued growth of 8.4% in cable broadband subscribers tells us that the demand for connectivity is healthy – and on an upward growth trajectory’.
Cable Europe’s press release goes on to say: ‘We are encouraged by the potential opportunities in legislative reform for the single telecom market proposals. But more must be done to harness growth in our sector as Europe’s investment climate needs improvement. The new legislation should complement and not overturn the existing regulatory framework. Telecom liberalization in the EU has delivered good results. Cable has emerged as one of the strongest contenders to the incumbent telecom companies, which is the result of extensive R&D and investments cycles. This healthy competition on the market should pave the way to a lighter regulatory regime going forward.’