Tele2 Netherlands

When I was in Amsterdam last week, I met with Tele2, which was formerly known as Versatel in The Netherlands. It now has 200 thousand Tele2 Vision IPTV capable subscribers out of its 281 thousand broadband subscribers. It offers three packages:

• The Visionbox plan has no recurring monthly fees and provides access to Tele2's on demand services. This plan is targeted at cable subscribers that want access to Tele2's on demand sports and entertainment services.
• The Vision Silver plan is offered at 7.95 euros per month and includes 20 broadcast channels as well as its on demand sports and entertainment services. It also expects that this service will supplement cable services in the subscriber's home.
• The Vision Gold plan is offered at 14.95 euros per month and includes 41 broadcast channels as well as its on demand sports and entertainment services. It also includes the first six months of its football services for free. It expects that this service will be a replacement for cable services.

Tele2 now offers interactive services that are being used to market and sell mobile telephone and banking services. Its has found that 18 percent of its viewers clicked into the mobile interactive service and that 10 percent convert to mobile subscription. It will be introducing branded channels with the Grolsch brewery.

Tele2 has experienced strong growth with its broadband service recently. It had 6 percent broadband subscriber growth in 3Q07.

Tele2 has had good growth with its IPTV service that has been driven by a strong football offering. It is facing strong cable competition and will have to continue to develop creative approaches to the market to fuel further growth.