Unitymedia upgrades cable network in Homberg

Unitymedia Kabel BW, the German cable operator owned by US media company Liberty Global, has begun the upgrade of its networks with EuroDOCSIS 3.0 technology in the town of Homberg (Efze), located in the Schwalm-Eder-Kreis district of northern Hesse. From January 2014 around 4,700 households in the area will be able to access broadband internet at maximum download speeds of up to 150Mbps. Unitymedia Kabel BW was formed on 1 July 2012 following the completion of Liberty Global’s merger of Unitymedia, which operates networks in the federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Hesse, and Baden-Wurttemberg-based Kabel BW, notes TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database. Liberty purchased Unitymedia in January 2010 for an enterprise value of EUR3.5 billion (USD4.6 billion), before snapping up Kabel BW from Swedish private equity firm EQT in March 2011 for EUR3.16 billion.