T-Com Lowers IPTV Pricing; Adds Features

Deutsche Telekom means to be a market leader in services and products for completely networked living and working. T-Home and T-Mobile have an outstanding starting point for making this vision a reality because they possess the ideal broadband infrastructure for networked living.

"Our Entertain package combines the advantages of generous IPTV offerings, fast Internet use and flat-rate telephony. We have taken our first step toward 'networked living' ", says Timotheus Höttges, Board Member of Deutsche Telekom AG for T-Home and Sales & Service. "Naturally we will continue to develop our products systematically. In April our customers will be able to program the media receiver via Internet from any PC or Internet-capable cell phone. A 17 percent price cut for our Entertain packages make the transition to 'networked living' even more attractive," adds Höttges.

An entry-level price of only EUR 49.95 lets customers see the new world for themselves – surfing, phoning and naturally TV, all via broadband – and at only ten euros more than the Call & Surf Comfort packages. The prices for the three Entertain versions thus range from EUR 49.95 a month for the Entertain Comfort package to EUR 59.95 for Entertain Comfort Plus, all the way to EUR 69.95 for Entertain Premium. That makes starting out up to 17 percent cheaper. All new Entertain packages can be booked starting in mid-April – the Entertain Comfort starter package is available right now.

It includes not only TV via DSL but also a flat rate for phoning and web surfing. This gives Entertain customers roughly 150 free and pay-TV channels, an online video store with currently around 2,600 titles to choose from and a TV archive with exciting series, documentaries and other TV formats.

Entertain's consistent advances impressive
Convenient remote programming with the new Program Manager: Entertain customers will soon be able to program the integrated hard-disk recorder no matter where they are or when they do it – from any Internet connection. Entertain customers simply need to access an easy-to-use electronic program guide via the web, select the required program, set the recorder and create or manage a list with other scheduled recordings. Additional information is available from the Program Manager, just as it would be from a channel guide.

Transferring photos and music from PC to TV: Another innovation in the Entertain complete packages is coming soon: the option of conveniently presenting music and photos off the PC on the television set. For example, a "slide show" and music files saved to the PC can be accessed and played back on the media receiver.

The second box: Starting in mid-April Deutsche Telekom will grant the request of many customers and offer not only the media receiver but a second set-top box as well. It allows an additional television set – for example, the one in the bedroom or kids' room – to be connected.

The new Internet-based Program Manager is a good example of "networked living". It does not matter if its at the PC at home or at the office, Entertain customers can, no matter where they are, compile, manage and administrate their own TV offering. Even the option of presenting photos and music on any television in the home using the media receiver shows the direction in which this innovation is headed: easy access to music, movies and photos from anywhere, with any terminal.

Broadband for everyone
Deutsche Telekom's high-speed Internet connections – using VDSL and ADSL2+ technology – form the technical basis for using the Entertain complete packages. Currently the Deutsche Telekom Group provides VDSL in 27 German cities and ADSL2+ in 750. That means that more than 17 million households already have the option of using one of the Entertain packages. This year, Deutsche Telekom will extend VDSL to another 13 cities: Aachen, Böblingen, Braunschweig, Erfurt, Kassel, Magdeburg, Mönchengladbach, Neuss, Oldenburg, Regensburg, Saarbrücken, Ulm and Würzburg.

The company's goal for ADSL2+ is to implement the technology in a total of roughly 1,000 cities. This will put the number of households able to use one of the ultra-fast Internet connections, and therefore IPTV, at as many as 20 million.

In addition to expanding VDSL and ADSL2+, Deutsche Telekom is pushing the expansion of its broadband network throughout the Federal Republic as a whole. Even last year, the Group invested EUR 300 million to make DSL technology available in more areas. Comparable investments are planned for this year. EUR 100 million of this is set aside specially for closing the gaps in DSL supply – by the end of the year, Deutsche Telekom hopes to increase network coverage for broadband products from what is currently 94 percent to roughly 96 percent. Because it is the sole provider, the Deutsche Telekom Group invests systematically in expanding broadband coverage in rural areas.


back