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Ist das der Hintergrund, wieso Primacom abschmiert? Primacom ist mit Multikabel in den Niederlanden aktiv (Alkmaar Region), insofern ist Primacom ebenfalls betroffen. Was die holländische Consumentenorganisation sagt, scheint mir an sich ganz vernünftig. Dutch antitrust body queries cable TV price plans By Helen Bromige AMSTERDAM, July 5 (Reuters) - The Dutch competition authority, NMa, said on Thursday it has requested more information from Dutch cable television companies about their plans to raise basic monthly subscriptions. The NMa sent a letter earlier this week to United Pan-Europe Communications <UPEC.AS> <UPCOY.O> and France Telecom-owned Casema <FTE.PA>, asking for more information after the companies said they supported higher tariffs in order to fund the roll-out of digital services. "We want to know what they want to do, because together Casema and UPC have almost a monopoly position," NMa spokesman Richard Matthijsse told Reuters. Casema has launched a media campaign designed to encourage local and national governments to allow the monthly fees to be increased, and UPC has said it supports higher rates. Both companies are in the process of rolling out higher revenue generating digital services, but say those new services require additional investment in infrastructure and customer equipment. "EXTRAORDINARILY LOW" CABLE PRICES UPC said it had not yet received the cartel watchdog`s letter, but said cable fees are too low in the Netherlands compared with other European countries. A recent report issued by the Dutch transport and infrastructure ministry also concluded that cable tariffs in the Netherlands are "extraordinarily low". Customers in the Netherlands pay on average 12 euros ($10.09) per month for basic cable TV services, at the bottom of a table of Western European countries, and well below the 33 euros per month customers in Britain pay. The Netherlands also has one of the highest penetrations, with 95 percent of the population receiving cable TV. Until some years ago, the cable networks were run by local municipalities. Consumer organisations oppose attempts to increase the fees, however, saying the increases would unfairly subsidise new services that the average consumer might not want. "Companies should invest their own cash, and if the customers like it, then they can raise the prices," a spokesperson for the leading Dutch consumer organisation Consumentenbond said. The Netherlands should also not be compared to other European countries, he added. "When the local governments sold the cable networks to commercial enterprises, these were warned that there would not be many opportunities to make a profit. However, they took a risk and thought they could make the money from selling digital services, which has not paid off. But that`s business," he said. Casema, which has been offering digital cable services since November, has only signed up 34,000 digital customers out of a total 1.5 million cable clients. It has blamed low basic cable fees for the slow take-up, saying customers are loath to pay extra for digital services when they already get so many channels so cheaply. UPC, which is only beginning its digital roll-out, supports Casema`s call for higher fees, but says its services will be more popular as it will offer e-mail and Web services too. It plans to have 250,000 digital subscribers by the end of the year. ($1=1.189 Euro) |
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| aus der Diskussion: | PRIMACOM THREAD 94 |
| Autor (Datum des Eintrages): | Nullgesicht (06.07.01 11:03:21) |
| Beitrag: | 99 von 247 (ID:3896680) |
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