Liberty Global makes another big European R&D investment

The Telenet Innovation Center in Brussels joins and equivalent R&D hub in Amsterdam as Liberty Global tries to get ahead of emerging tech trends.

Belgian operator Telenet is owned by Liberty Global and has b identified by its parent company as a good place to mull over the challenges and opportunities presented by emerging tech megatrends such as 5G and IoT. It joins Liberty Global’s Tech Campus near Amsterdam and the two will also investigate other tech opportunities for the group.

“The opening of the Telenet Innovation Center is an important milestone for Liberty Global,” said Balan Nair, Liberty Global Chief Technology and Innovation Officer. “The cutting-edge infrastructure and Telenet’s fully owned mobile network provide the perfect conditions for us to test the products and services that can pave the way towards the GIGAWorld. I’m already excited about the opportunities and inspiration that await us.”

“With the Telenet Innovation Center, we want to be ambitious and bring our own innovations to a higher level, but also help shape external innovation projects,” said John Porter, CEO of Telenet. “I believe in the absolute strength of partnerships, so I am convinced that with our model of collaborative innovation and with the help of partners like ZTE, we can bring the best broadband and media technology to Belgium for thorough testing, experimentation and successful launch in our market.”

Paolo Pescatore of CCS Insight popped over for the grand opening. “For Liberty Global, this is a huge investment,” he said. “It shows a strong commitment to grow its presence in the rapidly changing and converging European landscape.

“Consumers’ insatiable appetite for connectivity and content is showing no signs of easing up. Cable and telecom providers’ are under huge pressure to stay at the forefront of innovation. They need to move at lightning speed as online giants are pushing boundaries even further. The increasing demand for IoT solutions and the arrival of 5G, opens up a wealth of opportunities and it is important that the networks are equipped to deal with the explosion of data traffic and to serve the emergence of new use cases.”

Among the stuff showcased on the day was a special demo room for ZTE, which as we heard is a close partner of Telenet. There was also the good old AI robot, which as you can see from Pescatore’s tweet below, managed to get a crucial question right.