40,000 miss out on Telenet digital TV

2 August 2005

BRUSSELS — Between 25,000 and 40,000 subscribers to Telenet cable television will not be able to upgrade to digital television next month.

The subscribers are residents of flats built in the 1960s and 70s in which the internal cabling capacity is considered inadequate for digital television.

These people can receive Telenet services, but cannot use the same line to access broadband internet or digital television, which the company will launch in September.

The telecoms firm has refused for years to revamp cable networks in flat complexes, claiming it is too expensive, newspaper ‘De Morgen’ reported on Tuesday.

It is now investigating whether there are cheaper methods to send digital television through existing networks.

The consumers that Telenet are failing provide services too are often those who are on the wrong side of the ‘digital divide’, such as older, lower-educated and less wealthy consumers.

Subject: Belgian news