Germany

[DE] Premiere and Arcor Launch Video-on-Demand Pilot Project

IRIS 2002-4:1/18

Jan Peter Müßig

Solicitor, Düsseldorf

On 6 March 2002, German pay-TV provider Premiere and Arcor Online, which operates an extensive national telephone and data exchange network, signed an agreement concerning a video-on-demand pilot project. Arcor Online has been offering a video-on-demand service from its online platform www.arcor.de since December 2001. Premiere is now planning to use this platform to offer an extensive package of feature films, which it will market jointly with Arcor. The package will be available under the "Premiere" brand name from summer 2002 at the latest.

Users will need a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) and free registration with Arcor. DSL technology uses the spectrum in telephone copper wire that is not needed for normal telephone calls. DSLs currently available have a maximum transmission rate of 768 Kb/s. The Very High Rate Digital Subscriber Line (VDSL) exhibited at the CeBIT trade fair in Hanover in March 2002 can transmit data at up to 10 Mb/s.

A film ordered from Arcor can be viewed on a computer screen as many times as the customer likes within a 24-hour period. If appropriate additional equipment is available, it may also be shown on a television set. The data is encoded and films can be paid for individually. The pilot project will initially run for a six-month period.

Since 13 March, German Internet access provider TOnline has been operating a broadband portal known as T-Vision, which can be used to its full extent by T-Online customers only. Users with a DSL who subscribe to T-Vision can download concerts, music videos and feature films, for example. Content providers include public service broadcaster ZDF's news programme "heute" and RTL. Paid content, such as television programme previews, is charged to the user's telephone bill.