Looking to expand its fixed-line broadband fortunes, Vodafone Portugal has launched a new IPTV service, Vodafone Casa TV, for its existing DSL customer base. Building a profitable wireline business has been a struggle for Vodafone Portugal. While it has seen continued growth of its mobile services with more than 5.6 million subscribers, a Light Reading report revealed that its fixed-line subscriber base is paltry, with numbers in the low tens of thousands. This is not Vodafone's only fixed-line play. Its Vodafone Germany operation currently offers IPTV as part of a triple play package and it is conducting VDSL trials in Germany.
To entice subscribers to sign up for its IPTV service, Vodafone Portugal will offer Casa TV for free to current broadband customers until the end of 2009. New customers will be able to purchase a triple play bundle with 24 Mbps Internet service for $28.11 beginning in September, a rate that will rise to $56.37 per-month at the end of the year. However, promotional packages will only get the operator so far. Vodafone Portugal faces an uphill competitive battle to build a profitable IPTV business. The operator will have to overcome competition on multiple fronts: incumbent Portugal Telecom, competitive provider Sonaecom, and the region's two dominant cable operators (Cabovisao S.A. and Zon TVCabo) all already have been offering expanded high-speed bundled broadband and video packages.
For more:
- Light Reading has this report
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