Former German telecoms regulator Matthias Kurth has been appointed as the executive chairman of trade body Cable Europe.
Most recently Kurth was President of the German Federal Network Agency, Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA), the authority for telecommunications, postal, energy and railway markets in Germany, including frequency management and digital signature.
“Matthias brings extraordinary oversight of our sector given his experience in helping to drive Germany’s broadband take-up, running Europe’s first spectrum auctions for mobile broadband and serving as the Chair of the European Regulators Group at a time of crucial regulatory reform in European telecoms,” said Cable Europe President, Manuel Kohnstamm.
Kurth worked as a judge and lawyer for 16 years prior to his roles of President of BNetzA and chairman of the ERG. He served as State Secretary in the Hesse Ministry of Economics, Transport, Technology and European Affairs between 1994 and 1999. He was member of the Hesse Land Parliament from 1978 to 1994 and also worked as a lawyer in Hesse.
“The substantial contribution of the cable industry for high speed broadband connections in Europe is an enormous success. I’m glad to join a sector, which has practically proven, that efficient private investment, better quality of service and fair prices for consumers can be achieved simultaneously,” said Kurth.
Manuel Kohnstamm, who was recently appointed chief policy officer for Liberty Global Inc. will continue his current supervisory mandate as President of Cable Europe together with Vice-President Manuel Cubero, chief operating officer of Kabel Deutschland.
