The EU Commission recently granted competition clearance for Alpen Glasfaser, the fibre-optic joint venture (JV) between Austrian full-service provider Magenta Telekom and French infrastructure partner Meridiam. Magenta and Meridiam announced a joint venture for Austria's largest private partnership and fiber rollout initiative in August 2022.
Also Read: Proximus Launches 10 Gbps Ultra Fiber Services
Fiber Rollout to start in Spring
As the approvals were received, Alpen Glasfaser can now commence operations and start rolling out fiber in many regions of Austria immediately this Spring. The companies will jointly invest 1 billion euros in the expansion of FTTH to more than 650,000 new connections for households and businesses in Austria. While Alpen Glasfaser will build the networks, Magenta Telekom will market the products and services to customers.
Also Read: VOO Announces Expansion of Gigabit Connectivity to Namur
Magenta in Austria
Magenta is Austria's largest and fastest-growing Gigabit provider, with 1.55 million homes and businesses served on a hybrid fiber and coaxial cable network, of which fiber accounts for over 90 per cent.
2 Billion Euros Investment
In February 2022, Magenta announced a 1 billion euros investment for its fixed mobile and network rollout. Now, adding both projects, 2 billion euros will be invested into expanding gigabit internet lines for up to 1 million new connections and Austria-wide 5G coverage.
Also Read: Deutsche Telekom Updates From MWC23
Meridiam
Meridiam has been active in Austria since 2005 and specializes in developing, financing and long-term management of public infrastructure in sustainable mobility, critical public services and low-carbon solutions. Under a 50-year agreement with the local municipality, Meridiam has committed to investing over 150 million euros in providing high-speed fiber-optic internet to as many as 60,000 households in the Liezen district of Styria. In addition, Meridiam has committed more than 1.7 billion euros in investments in Germany, Romania and North America to connect over 1.5 million households to high-speed internet.
According to the statement, with the joint venture with Meridiam, the Magenta Gigabit internet will reach a total of 2.5 million, which is around 60 per cent of all households and businesses by 2030.
