Turk, who heads the Information Society Directorate, attributed the drop to the economic crisis. Another probable reason for the drop in investments are poor business decisions that initiated investments into overlapping optic fibre networks especially in urban centres.
Slovenia's existing broadband network was built in a rivalry between telco Telekom Slovenije and private company T2. Due to this battle, some 80,000 homes in Slovenia are connected to the fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network.
"This is unique of Slovenia. The rivalry between T2 and Telekom Slovenije has boosted development in this field, therefore we are among the leading countries in Europe," said Turk.
While T2 is undergoing court-mandated debt restructuring, Telekom was forced to open its network to other operators and has estimated to be losing some EUR 16m a year. This situation has put Slovenia into a kind of investment standstill, according to Turk.
The biggest number of clients is however still using the xDSL technology (56.4%), however its share is dropping. Over 25% of clients are connected via cable modems, while the share of FTTH users is over 16%.
The system fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) is also well developed in Slovenia, according to Turk. The Maribor-based T2 is providing with services some 350,000 households connected via this technology that brings the optic cable less than 200 metres away from one's home.
This technology improves internet access by reducing the length of copper connections. Mira Zupanic of Telekom Slovenije told the panel that the company found in an analysis that building new optical loop was five times more expensive than shortening copper connection.
Zupanic underlined that it was necessary to opt for the technology that is the best compromise between quality of service and price.
SOURCE: The Slovenia Times
