The partially state-owned A1 Telekom Austria is opening up its fiber optic connections to Austrian end customers for competitors. Drei (Hutchison Drei Austria), which already operates the third largest mobile network in Austria and, to a lesser extent, also has fixed network infrastructure, is the first to do so. Drei will soon be selling its own Internet access offerings that use the A1 fiber optic network for the “last mile” (FTTH, fiber to the home).
Both companies have that announced on Monday. A1 also announces that it is planning further fiber optic partnerships with regional telecom providers. With a length of more than 67,000 kilometers, the A1 fiber optic network is by far the largest broadband network in Austria.glass fiber
Conversely, Drei would also like to include fiber optic connections from regional fiber optic network operators. With whom is not yet known. For example, Infotech EDV-Systeme GmbH from Upper Austria could be considered. This Glasfer pioneer has been laying fiber optic connections in Ried am Innkreis, Schärding and the surrounding communities for over 20 years. Around 200 communities in Tyrol have created their own fiber optic infrastructure, which they make available to Internet Service Providers (ISP) for their services.
Three completes portfolio
Drei entered the Austrian market in 2003 as a pure mobile operator, making Austria the first country with two active UMTS providers. In 2017, Drei took over the Austrian subsidiary of Tele2, which in turn had bought the landline operator UTA Telecom and the business ISP Silver Server. Since then, Drei has also been able to offer its own landline services, although up to now it has primarily advertised to business customers. The core of the company is the nationwide 4G/5G mobile network, with which Drei enables Internet access at up to 500 Mbit/s.
Drei points to the environmental aspect of the shared use of infrastructure: “With 5G and the large-scale fiber optic expansion, a new Internet age is dawning in Austria,” says Drei CEO Rudolf Schrefl happily, “Our industry now has the unique opportunity to create new to go more sustainable ways and to use the network infrastructure together even more than in the past.”
