As a full service provider, Telekom Austria Group entered the business field of satellite TV last year. This new business field opens up a multitude of opportunities, with analysts expecting the DTH market in CEE to grow by 7%.
By 2020 the addressable market of households will reach 75 million. Via the direct2home B2B platform for satellite pay TV the solution initiates to uplink TV signals via Telekom Austria Group’s earth station in Aflenz/Styria to the EUTELSAT16A satellite at the 16° East position for broadcasting to Central and Eastern Europe as well as wider regions of Western Europe.
The Telekom Austria Group has a strong history and global expertise in providing satellite services, thus satellite TV is a clear next step to convergence. The company has acted as a TV provider for IPTV as well as cable. To leverage further potential Telekom Austria Group has combined the available infrastructure and in-house know-how in the fields of satellite and TV content to bring this to a new business field.
With its eight markets across the CEE area, and a joint footprint with América Móvil, the direct2home satellite service covers all of Europe. Due to the digitalisation of TV signals, Central and Eastern Europe are identified as profitable target areas. Western Europe has virtually completed analogue switch-off and more and more Central and Eastern European countries are in the process of transitioning into digital. This trend represents significant growth potential for the Group as a DTH provider. DTH is the preferred route to digitalisation because the consumer transition can be implemented easily, quickly and cost-efficiently.
In response, the Telekom Austria Group has designed and implemented an open broadcasting solution combining one earth station, one encryption system and set-top boxes from multiple suppliers. Its B2B direct2home solution is aimed at two target groups: broadcasting companies and telecommunications companies.
Via Telekom Austria Group’s DTH solution, broadcasting companies can extend their footprint in the CEE, taking advantage of the reach of EUTELSAT 16A. The solution consists of a connection via Aflenz as well as various pay TV programme packages and EPGs (Electronic Program Guides).
Secondly, the Telekom Austria Group is offering other telecommunication companies (IPTV, cable TV and network operators) a white label solution. Providers can offer their own content to customers with their own branding and use the technical service of Telekom Austria Group. The advantage of this offer is that providers can rapidly extend their market peetration, use cross-selling potential and benefit from a wide range of channels and services without upfront investment. In addition, the Telekom Austria Group offers different kinds of set-top-boxes.
By using Telekom Austria Group’s direct2home product portfolio, providers are not only able to reach areas where they have their own or leased fixed line infrastructure but they can also offer satellite TV across the market in one go. This is particularly valuable for rural areas. Being able to offer fully convergent product portfolio over the whole country is a huge strength.
Also of importance is that product bundles lead to a lower churn rate, meaning a lower rate of customers changing their provider. Using direct to home in areas beyond the cable infrastructure’s reach with other Telekom Austria Group technologies like Bitstream or LTE will make product bundles and upselling possibilities soon available.
Economies of scale become possible due to the larger, nationwide customer potential and lower costs for new customer acquisition. These facts provide additional synergy effects for the user of the white label solution.
For details on Telekom Austria Group Wholesale visit www.telekomaustria.com/en/wholesale or see the team at IBC.
