Baltcom marks progress on TV and broadband

Baltcom

Latvian cable operator Baltcom said it TV base increased by 50% last year, and by a further 10% in the first quarter of 2017, while internet data carried over its broadband network increased by 20%.

In an update on its 2016 performance, Baltcom said that it had invested around €7 million in modernizing its network and infrastructure since 2015.

Baltcom chairman Nicolas Boissin said that the investment had enabled the operator to improve the company’s customer satisfaction rating and the quality of service provided, as well as successfully attracting new customers. The said that Baltcom was now on a stable growth path.

Boissin said that Baltcom would also focus on improving and developing its TV service.

Private equity group Providence Equity made an investment in the operator last year and now owns 28.5% of the company. The investment group has made significant investments in the Baltic region over the past year, most notably acquiring free and pay TV outfit Viasat Baltics from Modern Times Group.

It also owns mobile player Bite and narrowly missed gaining control of Estonia-based Starman Group from East Capital Explorer after a legal challenge from a minority investor.

Providence Equity managing director Karim Tabet earlier this year told local journalists that the investment group did not intend to create a single group out of its telecoms and media investments in the Baltics. He said the different companies would follow their own strategies, though they could cooperate to realise synergies in certain areas.