ER-Telcom reaches four million, plans hybrid set-top box

Russian telco and pay TV operator ER-Telecom has passed the four million-customer mark.

The company signed up 1.2 million new customers last year, leading to a 44% increase in total subscriber numbers. Of the total base, 1.94 million took broadband internet services, 1.78 subscribed to cable and digital TV services, and 0.28 million took fixed-line telephony services.

The company, which is present in 42 Russian cities, launched broadband and cable TV services in 2004, reaching the one million-subscriber mark in 2008.

“ER-Telecom is one of the few telecom companies that grow organically by rolling out its own networks, and not by acquisitions. That is why we can say that each of the four millions of our subscribers has chosen the quality of services and support provided by our company. We value each of our customers”, said Mikhail Vorobyev, deputy general director of commerce at ER-Telecom Holding.

Separately, Vorobyev told the CSTB conference in Moscow that the company planned to start testing hybrid IP/DVB-C set-top boxes to enable the delivery of advanced interactive services to its cable TV base. The company is currently testing about 20 devices from a variety of manufacturers. The company currently deliver digital cable services in Perm, Samara, Tyumen and Chelyabinsk.