Monday, November 15, 2004

Q3 data points - Northern Europe

Pan-European ISP Tiscali reported results Friday, and now claims it has 140k unbundled DSL subscribers in its Dutch business, and has passed the 20k mark in its Denmark operation. Last quarter the two countries weren't broken out separately, but the stated total for the two was 127k - i.e., it looks like Tiscali averaged about 2,500 unbundled lines per week during the quarter in these small and already-tough markets. There has been a lot of speculation recently about the ultimate destiny of Tiscali, but now that it has exited most of its marginal markets, surely its appeal as a takeover target must be growing for PTTs enjoying stronger balance sheets and struggling to generate some growth and excitement outside the home market. Alternatively, maybe this is one for a player from outside the incumbent space, like a large US ISP with a solid existing franchise in Europe, and aspirations to push VoIP as part of a pan-European triple play strategy...

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