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With a $40 million investment, Colt's adventure in Austria started in 1999, and a successful adventure it turned out to be. Only three years later Colt Telecom Austria has established itself as the third largest alternative telecom provider in Austria, connecting more than 150 buildings to the 150 kilometer-long Colt optic fiber network that covers the city of Vienna.
Colt Telecom Austria has had an auspicious start to its Austrian adventure. Alfred Pufitsch, the company's managing director, ascribes its success to to its efficient strategy "Colt has a unique business model. We have our own optic fiber network and we are not dependent on others - whether contractors or other network providers - to do our job. We have an end-to-end offer and we are able to manage our network as well as all the technology parameters in hand. This is what differentiates us from the competition." And COLT really has set itself apart from its competitors. While most of the large players in the telecommunication industry were struggling in 2001, Colt not only positioned itself well for 2002 and beyond - it also managed healthy growth. Today, UK-based Colt spans 32 cities in 13 European countries and connects more buildings end-to-end than any other pan-European communications solutions provider. It is linked by over 15,000 route kilometers of long distance network (LDN), and includes the largest network of operational hosting centers in Europe. Pufitsch says the growth in Austria has first and foremost been due to the quality of its services and strong branding. "When we first established ourselves here, we did a lot of marketing and face-to-face sales activities," he recalls. "Today, our logo is well known in the business community and we have very good relationships with the financial sector and the insurance industry." Colt Telecom Austria has established itself as a stable entity in Austria, strongly regarded in the business community as a local player. "We are bringing together the business community with our networks, so in order to be a successful player we have to be a local player," Pufitsch stresses. His priorities for the company are clear: "We have to focus on the quality of our products. We want to serve and deliver our customers with full service solutions, not only through delivering links but also getting into the heart of communications technology. Rather than being driven by Colt headquarters, we aim to become a driver for this region ourselves."
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Alfred Pufitsch, managing director of Colt Telecom Austria