Orange Poland CEO: Fixed wireless tech is “poisonous”, convergence, TV will drive RoI of FTTH

Fixed wireless is a “poisonous” albeit “very good” technology that fuels booming data usage, according to the CEO of Orange Poland.

[..] Jean-Francois Fallacher says the emerging tech is “selling well” in areas where copper-based broadband does not deliver speeds that consumers expect.

The operator had 377,000 fixed wireless users at the end of September, out of a total broadband customer base that has grown over 10 percent year-on-year to 2.4 million. 176,000 are on FTTH.

[..]Fixed wireless is a very good technology but it is poisonous for our network because customers consume a lot [of bandwidth]

With an FTTH/B penetration rate of just 2.5 percent, Poland remains well below the European average of 9.4 percent, according to FTTH Council data from September 2016.

[..]

Orange Poland’s TV subscriber base has grown from 761,000 to 814,000 in the 12 months to the end of September. [..]

The company had 945,000 converged customers at the end of September – a rise of 57 percent year-on-year.

[..]

Fallacher says TV and convergence are the two use cases that will deliver Orange a return on its fibre investment.

In terms of content, the CEO says recent launches of a new 4K set top box and a dedicated app enabling consumers to watch up to 240 channels on the go means Orange has “nothing to envy cablecos”.

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