UPC plays down Polish cable consolidation

Simon Boyd, the president of UPC Polska, has spoken out for the need for consolidation amongst the leading cable operators in Poland. However, in a wide-ranging interview in Wirtualne Media, he conceded that such a scenario is unlikely to happen soon.

He also revealed that UPC Polska has previously held take-over talks with smaller operators but that these failed to result in a transaction.

Speaking more generally about UPC Polska’s activities, Boyd said that the company has invested more in rolling out its VOD service than in ultra-fast broadband internet access. He also revealed that it plans to launch a channel on its VOD service offering specific content from TV channels.

Furthermore, while confirming the operator plans to offer its subscribers more HD channels, this would not be at any cost, as it regards the prices charged by some owners of such channels to be on the high side.

Boyd also said that its Fiber Power service would be available to all UPC subscribers in Warsaw shortly. Rollout of the service is currently being focused on four cities – Warsaw, Kraków, Katowice and Gdansk – and all its internet customers should have access to it by the end of the year.

Boyd also revealed that UPC Polska might follow in then footsteps of its competitors by becoming an MVNO, though he was non-committal on such a development.