Broadnet Holdings BV

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Broadnet Holdings BV was a private telecommunications holding company based in Brussels, Belgium. Founded in 1998, it is no longer operating. The Broadnet group built wireless broadband networks in parts of Europe for small and medium-sized enterprises, using 3.5 GHz and 28 GHz spectrum with equipment from Lucent and Alcatel.

The company began when founders Robert Condon and Declan Ganley started buying wireless licences in 1996 through European Telecoms Holdings. In 1998 Comcast invested, and Broadnet Holdings BV was formed, with Comcast owning 62.5% and European Telcoms Holdings (controlled by Condon and Ganley) owning 37.5%.

By 2000, Broadnet held licences in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Spain, Portugal and Norway. It also tried to win a licence in Ireland but was beaten by Eircom, and Broadnet sued the regulator before settling.

Broadnet launched operations in Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Norway and the Czech Republic; some markets only had regulatory infrastructure and were not launched commercially. At its peak Broadnet was valued at about $1 billion. The company considered raising around $1 billion to roll out broadband across Europe, but the plan did not go ahead.

Comcast eventually bought out European Telcoms Holdings’ stake to become the sole owner, and Condon and Ganley later sold their shares to Comcast. The area served included Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Norway and the Czech Republic. The Broadnet site is defunct.