PRESS RELEASE

High-speed internet for Schlierbach, Ziegelhausen and other areas

Tele Columbus wins tender for operating the communal fibre network in Heidelberg

• The city of Heidelberg grants network operations to pepcom, part of the Tele Columbus Group
• High-Speed Internet with up to 1 Gbit/s
• Construction to start still this autumn

Berlin/Heidelberg, 27 June 2019. Pepcom GmbH, a 100% subsidiary of Tele Columbus AG, will operate the communal fibre network built by the city of Heidelberg. The contract was signed today by Heidelberg's mayor, Hans-Jürgen Heiß, and Rüdiger Schmidt, Managing Director of pepcom and Chief Sales Officer Housing Industry & Infrastructure of Tele Columbus AG. In the districts of Schlierbach, Ziegelhausen and other formerly underserved areas within Heidelberg, gigabit connections will be available for the first time.

The fibre network will be constructed under the responsibility of the Heidelberg municipality, with subsidies granted by both the province of Baden-Württemberg as well as the federal government. To refinance the construction costs, the municipality leases the fibre network to an experienced telecommunications operator in the way of an "operater model". Pepcom, part of the Tele Columbus Group with its brand PŸUR, was chosen as the network's operator after a six month tender process.

Pepcom will deploy the active network equipment, operate the network and market high-speed broadband tariffs to the citizens of Heidelberg via its brand PŸUR. The minimum requirements of the subsidies granted, ie internet speeds of at least 50 Mbit/s, will be exceeded by far with tariff options offering up to 1000 Mbit/s.

Network construction by the city will start in Schlierbach and Ziegelhausen still this autumn and is expected to take one year. House owners will receive detailed information on connection opportunities and available tariffs from September 2019 on. Other areas of the city will be developed in the second construction phase, with the initial operations expected for year-end 2020.

Rüdiger Schmidt, Managing Director of pepcom and Chief Sales Officer Housing Industry & Infrastructure of the Tele Columbus Group, gave thanks to the city of Heidelberg for the good and future-proof preparation of the fibre network: "With a broadband speed of up to one Gigabit available for every building, the network will ensures that all retail and business customers can use all data related applications without limitations - an increasingly crucial factor when choosing locations".
 

About us

Tele Columbus AG is one of Germany's leading fibre network operators which reaches more than 3 million homes. Via its brand PŸUR, the Company, offers high-speed internet including telephony and more than 250 TV channels. All of this via a digital entertainment platform that combines linear TV with video on demand entertainment. To its housing association partners the Tele Columbus Group offers tailored models of cooperation and state-of-the-art services such as telemetric and tenant portals. As a full-service partner for municipalities and regional utilities, the Company is actively supporting the fibre-based infrastructure and broadband internet expansion in Germany. For its business customers the Group offers carrier services and corporate solutions on its proprietary fibre network. Besides its headquarter in Berlin, the Company has locations in Hamburg, Leipzig, Ratingen and Unterföhring/Munich. Since January 2015, Tele Columbus AG is listed on the regulated market (Prime Standard) of the Frankfurt Stock exchange.
 

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