Tele Columbus to debut 400Mbps consumer service in Germany

Tele Columbus CEO and chairman, Ronny Verhelst.

German cable operator Tele Columbus is to launch a 400Mbps internet service on April 1, initially available in Potsdam.

According to Tele Columbus the service will set a new record for the German consumer market, with an offering that is twice as fast as the top speeds currently available in the market.

About 40,000 homes are connected to the Tele Columbus network in the Brandenburg state capital.

The launch follows Tele Columbus’s multiyear investment in its fibre-to-the-building network and DOCSIS 3.0 infrastructure. For the Potsdam launch, the active components in the local head-end facility are being updated and the network’s broadband data connection is being expanded further, the operator said.

Pricing for the service will be announced ahead of the market launch. The operator said a rollout of the service to further regions is planned, but a precise timetable has yet to be set.

“Data rates that, until recently, were classified for only a small group of top-end users have very quickly become the minimum standard required to adequately meet the multimedia needs of all households – and demand for new top speeds has also increased accordingly,” said Ronny Verhelst, CEO of Tele Columbus Group.

“The combination of an infrastructure based on broadband cable and Tele Columbus Group, one of Germany’s leading cable network operators, makes it possible to meet these growing demands not only at a basic level but also at the level of top-end and intensive users.”