German telco NetCologne wants to introduce high speed internet access with a data rate of up to 1 Gbit/s in early 2010, managing director Werner Hanf announced at the annual meeting of the association of fibre optic network operators Bundesverband Glasfaseranschluss.

The demand for such a service exists, said Hanf, explaining that 10 percent of the company's approximately 70,000 customers already use the maximum speed of 100 Mbit/s. The additional capacity could be used for downloading large video files or for HDTV reception via internet, he said.

The high speed access will be made available to all of the approximately 26,000 buildings in the inner-city area of Cologne connected to the company's fibre-to-the-building (FTTB) network CityNetCologne. NetCologne plans to add a further 30,000 buildings by the end of 2012, for which around €120 million will be invested. The launch date and prices for the 1 Gbit/s offer will be announced at the beginning of next year.

The fastest internet access currently available in the Cologne area is offered by cable company Unitymedia with 120 Mbit/s. As part of the triple play offer of a telephone connection and digital TV, the high speed package costs €80 per month.

© Rapid TV News 2009