Euskaltel sets out expansion targets

Spanish regional cable operator Euskaltel has said it expects to add 30,000 subscribers this year through its expansion into neighbouring regions of the country using Orange’s network, and to add €10 million to income.

Francisco Arteche

Euskaltel is expanding its service offering into five markets in regions outside its core markets of the Basque Country, Asturias and Galicia. It is using Orange’s network to expand into Navarre, León, Cantabria, La Rioja and Catalonia, where its products are being marketed under the RACCtel brand under an agreement with automotive club RACC.

Euskaltel said it had also signed up new customers through a new agreement with electronics retailer MediaMarkt, with whom it is selling products under the R brand on the German multinational’s website and in their shops.

In the first quarter, Euskaltel recorded a total of 576,800 customers in Q1 with contracts for fixed-line products, which reflects a three-fold increase in new customer sign-ups in Q1 compared to the fixed-line customer gain recorded in 2018.

The group ended the first quarter with 2.4 million revenue-generating units, an increase of 60,000 new product contracts compared to one year ago, which is growth of 2.5%.

The number of customers with triple- and quad-play contracts reached 70.3% of the total base, up 162 basis points compared to the Q1 2018 figure, representing an average of 3.7 product contracts per user, compared to 3.6 in the previous year.

Some 86.8% of the company’s base now have broadband while 82.2% have a contract for mobile phone services and 73.5% have pay TV.

The TV service gained over 7,000 customers, reaching a total of 424,000 users, which the company said was boosted by its value proposition and its 4K Android TV decoder, as well as the integration of platforms such as Netflix and Amazon.

CEO Francisco Arteche welcomed José Miguel García to Euskaltel’s board.  García will serve as leading shareholder Zegona Communications, replacing Robert Samuelson.

Arteche said: “We are certain that his in-depth knowledge of the Spanish market will be extremely relevant in helping the company overcome the current complicated market conditions and in offering an attractive, creative and valuable strategy to our shareholders.”