Netia Has Over 100,000 ETTH Customers

This year has seen the Netia Group's further consolidation of  the market of local access network operators providing Ethernet To The Home (ETTH) services. Internetia, one of the Netia Group companies, has gained nearly 17,000 active customers, following several acquisitions made in 2009.

In 2009, Netia continued to pursue its operating strategy for consolidating the market of local access network operators providing ETTH services.

This year, Internetia, Netia's subsidiary, has made acquisitions worth PLN 16.7 million, taking over five networks (whole companies or divisions of larger enterprises) with 16,925 active customers and the potential for connecting 88,000 households.

The average cost of acquiring a new customer was just under PLN 1,000 this year — a figure comparable to those of previous years.

Most of Internetia's acquisitions were made in the south of Poland (Lower and Upper Silesia), which is now the company's primary service area. The acquired companies include E-Tychy, Gaja (based in Krapkowice), Bater (Zabrze) and D2D (Ruda Śląska).

In addition to extending its presence in these attractive regions, Netia's subsidiary has also entered a new market in the northwest of Poland, in the city of Szczecin, by taking over Global Connect.

Effective Strategy

Within two and a half years, the Netia Group has acquired a total of 27 networks (including the five transactions this year). All of the acquired companies now operate jointly as Internetia. The networks are located mainly in Lower and Upper Silesia, as well as in and around the cities of Cracow and Białystok.

Until now, Netia has spent PLN 101 million on Ethernet network acquisitions. Another several million PLN was allocated to upgrading and expanding the acquired networks.

The Netia Group now provides ETTH services to over 105,000 customers and offers network coverage to a total of approximately 400,000 households.

“In 2009, we were able to fully implement our plan for consolidating all of the 22 companies we had acquired — both in terms of their legal status and their operational capabilities. This will help us seamlessly expand and upgrade our network and deploy new services in 2010,” said Tom Ruhan, a member of Netia's Management Board responsible for acquisitions and legal matters. “We started the project two and a half years ago and we are now optimistic about meeting our strategic objective of gaining 200,000 customers in this segment by 2010,” added Tom Ruhan.

According to Netia's estimates, there are about 800,000 active ETTH customers in Poland.

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Netia SA is a leading alternative telecom operator, providing in.al. voice services and broadband Internet access to individual and business clients. It operates on the basis of its own infrastructure as well as the TP network.