T-Hrvatski Telekom started the program of accelerated expansion of broadband Internet access by investing into further development of optical infrastructure in order to bring optical fibres to customers’ homes and buildings, thus ensuring even higher access speeds, higher data transmission capacity and better service stability. Planned implementation of infrastructure based on FTTH/FTTB solutions – optical fibre to the home/optical fibre to the building – T-HT plans to ensure an even better quality of the existing services and open possibilities for development of new, even more sophisticated and technically demanding services.
Optical network services are used at present by a limited number of some two hundred test customers in four major Croatian cities. They are testing VoIP, ADSL and IPTV service. According to the plans, approximately 50,000 customers should be connected to optical network, whether through FTTH or FTTB solution, by the end of 2009.
T-HT plans to invest more than a billion kunas into development of fixed infrastructure in 2009, primarily in expansion of optical access network. Annual investments of T-HT into modernization of fixed and mobile network represent 95% of all investments on the Croatian telecom market. T-HT plans further investments into access network with the aim to migrate to a unique IP platform.
“Construction of 21st century telecommunications infrastructure will bring the Croatian society a step closer to global digital trends. T-HT has a particular responsibility in providing as many customers as possible with broadband access, but we also feel the same responsibility towards our shareholders. Given the significance and volume of investments, we expect that the regulatory framework will encourage further investments into new generation networks“, said Mr. Ivica Mudrinić, president of the Management Board of T-HT.
New, more modern infrastructure will provide customers in the first place with higher Internet access speeds, facilitate use of contents which require higher network capacity, such as IPTV and HDTV, and stabilization of service quality.
T-Com's MAXadsl has so far attracted more than 470 000 customers: the goal of T-HT is to provide technical conditions for broadband access for one million customers by the end of 2009.