NEW YORK-Comcast Corp., Philadelphia, announced Oct. 20 it will become the majority shareholder and operating partner of TeleSource Corp., a start-up wireless telecommunications carrier headquartered in Brussels, Belgium.
TeleSource already has received a temporary license for a pilot broadband wireless network in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and expects to launch service there early next year. It also has applied to operate a similar network in Germany and expects a license award later this year.
In partnership with Comcast International Holdings, a division of Comcast Corp., TeleSource plans to provide wireless voice, data and video communications services to small- and medium-sized businesses. It will focus on high-speed Internet access and broadband business data communications, said the company.
“With the worldwide deregulation of telecommunications markets, the growing demand for bandwidth, driven by the Internet and the technological advances of digital cellular wireless networks, we believe we can successfully deploy our networks throughout Europe,” said Robert Condon, president and chief executive officer of TeleSource.
Condon said TeleSource hopes to be able to serve approximately 50 million pops in Europe within three to four years.
Comcast, one of the largest cable television operators in the United States, also is a domestic cellular and personal communications services carrier. Its wireless telecommunications licenses cover a population of 8.4 million, including its investment in Sprint Spectrum L.P., doing business as Sprint PCS.
Comcast also has provided wireless technology to certain markets in Brazil.
