4cE company new market leader in Croatian cable TV

Burgenländische Elektrizitätswirtschafts-AG (BEWAG) acquired Croatia’s two leading cable TV companies. Adriatic Kabel and Digitalni Centar Medija together currently control 72 percent of the Croation cable TV market. They shall be merged with and into B.net Croatia by September, covering the business segments digital and analogue cable TV, digital fixed line telephony, broadband internet, and business services. BEWAG’s telecommunications subsidiary B.net Burgenland Telekom is 4cE member since April 2002.

Croatia currently ranks third to last of all European countries regarding broadband penetration, so B.net Croatia sees huge potential for future growth in this field. Infrastructure and digital services like IPTV or VoD shall be upgraded. Wireless internet access shall be made available outside metropolitan areas and digital services in Croatia shall be improved.

Austrian 4cE member has new name and additional services

Austrian 4cE member Well.COM Datahighway Burgenland has merged with its former sister company, Burgenländisches Kabelfernsehen (BKF), to form B.net Burgenland Telekom.

The new company provides triple-play services – internet, cable television and phone – in the southeastern Austrian state of Burgenland, reaching more than 60,000 households via coaxial cable and providing more than 2,000 customers with broadband internet access via Wireless Lan. For this purpose, more than 100 access points for point-to-multi-point WLAN were installed in the b.net area.

As a 4cE member, B.net offers redundant dark fiber and leased lines connecting the Austrian capital Vienna with Budapest/Hungary and Bratislava/Slovakia. Interconnections to further Central and Eastern European countries are also available.

4cE basis in Poland strengthened

EXATEL S.A., the new 4cE partner in Poland, has started operations on a strong footing in October 2004: The new company, product of the merger between 4cE founding member Tel-Energo S.A. and BPT Telebank S.A., operates Poland’s second largest telecommunications network, connecting approximately 400 towns and cities and spanning more than 15,000 kilometers. The network is interconnected with IP networks of major Polish and foreign operators at a capacity of up to 320 Gbps.

Both, Tel-Energo and BPT Telbank, have many years of experience in providing modern telecommunications services to different kinds of businesses such as banks, power companies, telecommunications companies, and public authorities. Together with the other 4cE companies, EXATEL will offer a broad range of reliable high-quality telecommunications services in the Central European country and beyond.

New name for established telecom company:
VEAGCOM is now Vattenfall Europe Netcom

East-Germanys’ VEAGCOM, one of the 4cE founder members, has changed its name. Since 19 April 2004, the Berlin-based optical-network operator goes by the name of Vattenfall Europe Netcom.

“The new name reflects that we are part of the Vattenfall-Europe group”, says Gunnar Wilhelm, Managing Director of Vattenfall Europe Netcom. “In the future, we will offer our well-tried telecom services under the new name Vattenfall Europe Netcom. As a member of 4cE – For connecting Europe, an alliance of network operators from Denmark, Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, we will, of course, continue to offer cross-border broadband connections to and from all 4cE member countries”.

Vattenfall Europe, the fifth-largest power company in Europe which ranks third in Germany, was founded in 2002 after Swedens Vattenfall AB acquired Hamburgische Elektricitätswerke (HEW), BEWAG (Berlin), Vereinigte Energiewerke (VEAG), and Lausitzer Braunkohle (Laubag) (both East Germany) to create a new subsidiary in continental Europe. 4cE – For connecting Europe was founded beginning 2000 as a marketing alliance of telecom-network operators in West-, Central- and Eastern Europe. Via “One-Stop-Shopping”, cross-border broadband connections from 2 Mbps to 2.5 Gbps can be leased in each of the 4cE member countries.

More information about Vattenfall Europe Netcom is available at
Networkers/Vattenfall Europe Netcom or at
www.vattenfall.de/netcom

VEAGCOM transmits phone calls between Poland and West

The liberalization of Polands telecommunications market assigns VEAGCOM new tasks. While in the past Polands national telecommunications agency Telekomunikacja Polska S.A. (TPSA) had a monopoly position regarding international calls, since 2003, private telecommunications companies like VEAGCOM’s Polish partner Tel-Energo are allowed to deal with international voice minutes.

Via its own voice network which is connected to the TPSA-network at more than 25 connection points all over Poland, Tel-Energo distributes international voice minutes: Calls from abroad are transmitted by Tel-Energo to the telephonees in Poland while their calls are transmitted in westward direction.

VEAGCOM connects the voice network of 4cE partner Tel-Energo with those of regional, national and international carriers in Germany.