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HanseNet's Alice IPTV to ditch fees |
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| Jörn Krieger, on 25-08-2008 |
 German telco HanseNet is planning to offer its IPTV platform Alice homeTV free of charge.
“We have revised our strategy,” HanseNet manager Michele Novelli told
German newspaper Die Welt. Until now the company has charged €9.90 per
month for its basic package comprising around 70 TV channels, but from
Wednesday all channels will be made available for new customers without
charge while existing customers can switch to the new deal within one
to two months. The precondition is that subscribers order an internet
and telephone connection with a domestic fixed-line flat rate for
€29.90 per month.
With this latest initiative the Telecom Italia subsidiary pushes the
competition to win broadband internet customers to a new level. “Sooner
or later our competitors will certainly respond with similar offers,”
said Novelli. Besides HanseNet, only Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone
subsidiary Arcor currently offer IPTV services in Germany, with limited
success. Telekom has only been able to win 250,000 customers, HanseNet
20,000 and Arcor even fewer. According to industry sources, Arcor is
also considering offering IPTV to its internet and telephone customers
free of charge.
Despite the fierce competition, HanseNet is not planning any further
drop to tariffs. “The price war can’t go on forever,” explained
Novelli. “If the price is less than the cost, no one can hold on.” He
expects good customer service to become increasingly important to
differentiate offers.
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