Belgian cable operator Telenet is looking for partnerships with Walloon operator VOO, owned by Tecteo. “In the future, one of the important areas on which we want to work would be to find areas of agreement and partnership with VOO,” Telenet CEO Duco Sickinghe, told Le Soir.
Both Telenet and VOO are in competition with Belgacom’s IPTV service, which has become a serious challenger in the digital TV market. Belgian incumbent telecom operator Belgacom said it had a total customer base of 975,000 at the end of 2010, a 32% share of the country’s digital TV market.
Since both operators are not competing on each other’s footprint. cooperation would make sense, but it is doubtful if regulators would give a green light to such a nationwide cable giant.
Telenet is part of Liberty Global; VOO and the majority of Walloon operators are owned by the Tecteo Group, jointly owned by the various municipalities in the French-speaking part of Belgium.
Both Telenet and VOO have expressed interest in acquiring the Belgian assets of the French cable group Numericable.
