UPC Central Europe unveils plan to roll out Connect routers

Liberty Global-owned cable operator UPC Central Europe, which operates in Switzerland and Austria, is to provide 300,000 new Connect routers free of charge to customers across both countries.

UPC is to deliver the new Connect boxes to existing customers as part of an ongoing upgrade programme. The 300,000 devices are expected to be installed by the end of next year, replacing older routers.

Some 160,000 boxes will be rolled out in Switzerland this year, with Austrian customers to receive their boxes next year.

UPC in Switzerland – formerly known as Cablecom – and Austria

The initiative follows a pilot project in Switzerland where over 75% of customers involved said they were happy with the new device. The operator extended the changeover period before deactivation of older devices to seven days in response to customer feedback.

Chief marketing and products officer Ivo Hoevel said the free modem swap was intended to reward customers for their loyalty. He said that the Connect box would give existing customers an “even better WiFi experience” than that previously available.

Liberty Global president and CEO Mike Fries has previously said that the new Connect box “sets us even further apart from the competition” by providing up to 1Gbps across in-home networks.