Denmark: TDC to Launch HD Broadband Network

Danish telecom operator TDC plans to launch a broadband service where consumers can access HD and video rentals (VOD). It will be the same network infrastructure as its telephony and broadband Internet services. Although HD in Europe has lagged behind North America and Asia up until recently, with many countries opting, instead, for basic DTV (and SD DTV receivers), HD is about to be launched on several DBS, fiber, and cable fronts in Western Europe here in 2006.

TDC, headquartered in Copenhagen, said in a statement it would combine existing technologies such as copper, fiber and mobile networks to create a national multimedia network with broadband speeds up to 50 Mbps. TDC will be able to cover more than 80 percent of all Danish households with the multi-use network within about two years, according to Reuters.

TDC is currently subject to a takeover bid by a telco, Nordic Telephone (NTC).