UPDATE 1-KPN fibre joint venture gets cartel approval
* KPN fibre-to-the-home JV gets cartel approval
* Proceeds with pilot projects in five cities
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AMSTERDAM, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Dutch telecoms group KPN (KPN.AS) won cartel approval for its joint venture with Reggefiber which will wire up households with high-speed broadband Internet access via fibre-optic cables.
The joint venture, in which KPN will hold 41 percent, plans to construct a trial fibre-to-the-home (FttH) network which is capable of much higher data transmission speeds than current networks, which bridge the distance from local exchanges into homes with copper wires.
Apart from high-speed Internet access, such a network can deliver high-definition television, video on demand and other services requiring large bandwidth.
KPN said it will proceed with pilot programmes in five Dutch cities, which will be evaluated in the first half of 2009. The Dutch cartel authority NMa said KPN and Reggefiber had addressed competition concerns by guaranteeing that other telecoms firms will have non-discriminatory access to the network.
KPN's stance is different from other carriers such as France Telecom (FTE.PA) and Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE), which want to keep their upgraded networks to themselves. (Reporting by Niclas Mika; Editing by David Holmes)
