Telenet - SME offer reshuffled Dolly Parton-style

A week after the launch of subscriber video-on-demand services Rex and Rio for theresidential customers, Telenet (36,02 EUR, 0,00%) launched the brand new FLUO bundles which target the self-employed and SME market.
 
Introducing FLUO:
Loosely inspired by Dolly Parton’s evergreen “Nine to Five”, the nine Business Shakes which make up the existing business offering will be replaced by four FLUO shakes (yes, four not five, but still a catchy title). The existing Business Shake customers will be migrated automatically between 23 September and 30 November.

FLUO product characteristics:
The basic FLUO bundle features 120Mbps down, 6Mbps up, 0.5 TB in-bundle volume and a variable IP address. Fixed telephony is included in the offer and is free between fixed lines. At € 56.00 a month, FLUO also promises a premium helpdesk service which features a personal advisor and an app. FLUO plus, priced at € 82.00 is basically the same product but with an enhanced upstream speed (2Mbps), higher included volume (2 TB) and a fixed IP address. Digital TV is not included in these standard packages, but can be added to both FLUO and FLUO plus (75 channels + YeloTV). This boils down to prices of € 70.58 for the former and € 89.80 for the latter.

Business Internet 80 / 120 Plus:
Besides the FLUO bundles, Telenet also revamped the bare-bones broadband products. Business Internet 80 offers 80Mbps down, 6Mbps up, 0.5 TB volume and a variable IP for € 46.00. Business Internet 120 Plus features 120Mbps down, 8Mbps up, 2 TB volume and a fixed IP for € 72.00. Note that all the above prices do not include VAT nor do they include the € 6.78 monthly rent for a PVR (“HD Digicorder”).

Our view & Conclusion:
We do not exactly expect a stampede for the new products, but recognize the fact that streamlined offers and general simplification provide cost reduction opportunities. As a reminder, Telenet’s B2B activities (including small businesses which are allocated to residential revenue in Telenet’s external reporting) generated € 158.1m in revenues in 1H13. This compares to the € 1,108m in EBU revenues Belgacom (18,79 EUR, 0,00%) posted for 1H13. No impact on our investment case. We reiterate our Hold rating and € 38.00 TP.