The Monetising VDSL vectoring: an assessment of retail vectoring offers
A number of Western European operators have launched VDSL vectoring retail offers. This Viewpoint examines the speeds and coverage operators have been able to achieve through vectoring as well as how operators have chosen to price broadband access using VDSL vectoring.
- Executive summary
- Recommendations
- Vectoring has allowed operators to make significant increases to downstream and upstream maximum speeds
- Cable operators still hold a significant maximum download speed advantage over incumbent operators using vectoring
- Telekom Deutschland is the only incumbent to have a higher maximum vectored VDSL upload speed than its main cable competitor
- Telekom Deutschland and KPN have the potential to offer extensive 100Mbps coverage but the speed of VDSL vectoring roll-out will differ
- In Belgium, coverage of the new maximum vectoring speeds is around 50% of premises with improvements on longer loops also planned
- Coverage of new maximum vectoring speeds as a proportion of the VDSL footprint are somewhat lower in Ireland and Switzerland
- A1 in Austria initially only used vectoring purely for coverage benefits of a given bitrate
- Some incumbents have chosen not to charge a premium for vectoring speeds
- Other incumbents are charging more for the additional speeds that vectored VDSL can provide
- Eircom’s VDSL prices with vectoring are generally higher than those from its initial VDSL launch
- Telekom Deutschland aims to use vectoring as a means to increase ARPU
- Cable players maintain a pricing advantage for double-play offers of broadband and fixed voice after the launch of vectoring
- Traditional triple-play vectoring offers are more likely to reduce churn than attract customers from cable competitors
- Incumbents with significant quadruple-play propositions have a strong competitive advantage against cable’s higher maximum speeds
- Wholesale VDSL operators in Germany are also likely to benefit from the introduction of vectoring
- Operators are not promoting vectoring as a technology in marketing; the emphasis is squarely on the higher speeds that it can provide
- About the author
- About Analysys Mason
- List of figures
- Figure 1: Summary of report coverage
- Figure 2: Maximum FTTC-VDSL download speeds before and after introduction of vectoring, selected operators
- Figure 3: Maximum FTTC-VDSL upload speeds before and after introduction of vectoring, selected operators
- Figure 4: Maximum vectoring download speeds versus maximum download speeds from main cable competitor, December 2014
- Figure 5: Maximum vectoring upload speeds versus maximum upload speeds from main cable competitor, December 2014
- Figure 6: Estimated sub-loop length distribution, Belgium
- Figure 7: Austria retail broadband connections by speed, 3Q 2013
- Figure 8: Swisscom’s standalone fixed broadband offers, January 2015
- Figure 9: Eircom FTTC-VDSL double-play launch prices (May 2013) and prices with VDSL vectoring (January 2015)
- Figure 10: Telekom Deutschland standard double-play VDSL vectoring, VDSL and ADSL prices, January 2015
- Figure 11: Standard monthly prices for selected incumbent double-play offers with vectoring versus comparable cable offers, January 2015
- Figure 12: Standard monthly prices for selected incumbent triple-play offers with vectoring versus comparable cable offers, January 2015
- Figure 13: Residential quadruple-play subscriptions as a proportion of consumer retail fixed broadband subscriber base, selected operators, 1Q 2013–2Q 2014
- Figure 14: Telekom Deutschland’s retail and wholesale FTTC-VDSL and FTTH subscriber net additions. 2Q 2013–2Q 2014
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