Hills are alive: what are they going to do about the Mayors?
Austrian mobile operator Magenta Telekom has announced a gemeinschaftsunternehmen (joint venture) with French investor Meridiam to finance the expansion of its fibre network, with a bias towards connecting rural and remote areas.
According to their newly announced plan, by 2030 the companies will have spent €1bn on connecting 650,000 new homes and businesses in rural regions of Austria to a high-speed fibre network. Magenta is undergoing a diplomatic mission to address the concerns the community, with a team dedicated to assuaging the fears of local mayors and stakeholders as construction starts sometime year.
“Meridiam is a strong partner with a wealth of experience in working successfully with industry partners and local communities,” said Magenta Telekom CEO Andreas Bierwirth. “Together we will turn the Alpine republic into a digital republic.”
Magenta’s stated strategy is to become Austria’s top high-speed network provider. After upgrading its network to a uniform speed of 1 Gbps it is looking to build on this momentum, said Bierwirth. Though it is not ignoring Austria’s big cities, it is consciously reaching into rural areas, it said. Bierwith is dispensing with formalities in favour of agility. “We can bring high-performance internet to the regions faster without [waiting] for a minimum number of customers who have to sign a preliminary contract,” said Bierwith, who prefers to expand “immediately” and “directly”.
The secret ingredient of success is to expand fast and orchestrate tightly, said Bierwith (if we are translating accurately). “We offer coordination with expansion, so that every community can boast the best, perfectly integrated fibre optic and cellular infrastructure.”
Austria is a very important market for Magenta’s parent company Deutsche Telekom, according to board member Dominique Leroy. “We have been investing in the expansion of digital infrastructure for 20 years. This is the largest private fibre optic initiative in Austria to date,” said Leroy.
The joint venture is subject to approval from the EU Commission in a process that is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Magenta inherited a hybrid coaxial fibre (HFC) network in a merger with UPC Austria in 2019. the project provides an opportunity to expand gigabit connectivity to over 2.5 million homes and businesses (or 60% of the total) in Austria. The operator’s HFC network currently covers 1.5 million premises. In addition to the investment with Meridiam, Magenta Telekom has already announced plans to invest €1 billion in its fixed and mobile network.
Meridiam launched its own fibre strategy in 2020 and is laying cables in Austria, Germany, North America and Romania. Meridiam’s business development director Stephan Wehrmann said the finance company is committed to creating sustainable infrastructure that improves people’s quality of life.