Chello rolls out broadband
By : Anna Kocinska
Polish Internet users annoyed by slow, crackling analog lines now have a new way to access the Net.
Last week, United Pan-Europe Communications' (UPC) subsidiary, chello broadband, began offering unlimited Internet access at 512 kilobytes per second, a speed 8-10 times faster than dial-up data transmission.
Chello will initially offer the service in Warsaw and Krakow, where its broadband services will be available to all UPC Telewizja Kablowa (UPC TK) subscribers until 2002, said Bruce Massey, director general of UPC's operations in Poland.
With a cable network reaching 1.8 million homes, UPC TK has more than 1 million subscribers throughout the country.
But cable subscribers won't be the only ones to benefit from the new technology. Chello is also offering Internet access via satellite through UPC's direct-to-home (dth) digital platform, Wizja TV. Only a telephone is required to provide the two-way transmission.
"This is the first time we've launched two platforms: cable and satellite (for Internet access)," said Mitch Clarke, managing director for sales operations at chello. "I'm convinced that chello will prove to be a breakthrough service in the Polish Internet market." Chello is already present in 11 countries, and had 264,000 subscribers in September.
According to Forrester Research's December 1999 analysis, 20 million Europeans will use a broadband connection to access the Internet by 2003. At the same time, eMarketer estimates the percentage of Polish Internet users will more than double within the next three years.
"Once you surf (broadband), you feel the difference and you will never go to dial-up again," said Ulrich Neuert, chello's director general for Central Europe.
But a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) consumer technology survey indicates that few Internauts, with the exception of the Germans, use broadband as their primary source of Internet access. The main reason is cost, the survey revealed. "The industry needs to show consumers that broadband's benefits outweigh its costs," said Robert Boyle, head of PwC's European entertainment and media practice.
Chello is currently charging zl. 199 a month for unlimited Internet access and zl. 299 for installation.
Aleksander Frydrych, deputy chairman of the Polish Chamber of Information Technology, said any move that improves the quality of Internet service is good for the market and will push prices down. "I have dial-up access to the Internet at home and my recent bill was more than zl. 500," he said.
