Research released in advance of the European cable industry’s annual Congress points to increased digital leadership by cable. Cable Europe, the sector’s trade body, suggests that the European Union’s goal of a digital future for all is well on its way to becoming realised, with Europe’s cable industry already today having made fast Internet available to nearly half of the Europe Union’s 203 million households, according to the findings of a forthcoming report from management consultancy Solon.

Solon suggests that cable companies across Europe could be delivering ultra-high speed fibre-powered cable offerings of 100Mbps or higher to 51 million households by 2020, underscoring the sector’s contender position in the challenge to help reach Digital Agenda goals laid out by EU decision makers.

“At 23 per cent of total revenue, cable companies are investing nearly twice as much in broadband than their telecom counterparts, which have been investing an average of 12 per cent of revenue,” says the report. “At the same time, cable has been able to deliver more competitive pricing for Internet access than telcos while still delivering returns for our investors. We are good for governments because we aren’t asking for state aid. We’re getting down to business and we’re seeing our investments spur our competitors. This has obvious benefits for consumers in Europe, those who are already benefiting from our contributions to Europe’s Digital Agenda.”

Further figures from IHS Screen Digest will be released at the forthcoming Cable Congress 2011, which is being held in Lucerne, Switzerland, February 15th to 17th. Previews of a forthcoming Solon report set for launch in March and new IHS Screen Digest figures will show an increase in availability and adoption of high-speed cable and underline cable’s progress in making ultra-fast services up to 1Gbps available to European consumers.

Caroline Van Weede, Managing Director of Cable Europe, said that the industry was now seeing infrastructure-based competition work with the challenge to the cable industry now being to build on this lead it has established and keep on finding new and innovative ways to serve the European consumer. “The figures that we’re releasing this year will tell that story. Already today fifty per cent of EU households are within the reach of cable broadband networks delivering speed levels between ten and well over 100 Mbps. Imagine tomorrow.”

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