NetCologne Services and Challenges in the Region

NetCologne is a leading telecommunications company in Germany, and they offer a wide range of services to their customers. Their fiber-optic network provides fast and reliable internet access to over 1 million households in the region.

NetCologne's services are not limited to internet access; they also offer TV and phone services to their customers. Their TV service includes a variety of channels, including sports and movie channels, and is available in HD quality.

The company faces challenges in the region, including the need to upgrade their infrastructure to keep up with the increasing demand for high-speed internet. This is particularly challenging in rural areas where the infrastructure is older and more difficult to upgrade.

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Customer reviews of NetCologne are mixed. Some reviewers have reported a long and messy connection process.

The ISP has been pretty good in everything else, aside from the connection process. In the last year and a half, reviewers have not had any complaints about service quality.

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However, getting in touch with NetCologne's customer support can be difficult. Reviewers have reported that no one picks up the hotline, and the waiting loop can be frustrating.

Even trying to cancel a service can be a challenge. Reviewers have had to jump through hoops to reach customer support, only to be asked for a PIN, which can be a problem for elderly customers.

On the other hand, some reviewers have had positive experiences with NetCologne's support engineers. One reviewer was helped to find a suitable appointment for a connection transfer.

Overall, NetCologne's customer service seems to be a hit-or-miss experience.

NetCologne Services offer a wide range of options for both personal and business use. Their services include DSL-Anschlüsse, Glasfaser-DSL for private customers, and Multikabel-Anschlüsse for those who need VoIP ports.

For private customers, NetCologne provides Glasfaser-DSL, which is a high-speed internet connection. They also offer Mobilfunk, which uses the Vodafone network.

On a similar theme: Voip and Internet Services

NetCologne's Kabelanschluss Premium is a premium cable connection that includes a range of channels and programs. You can also get Kabelanschluss Premium + HDTV, which adds high-definition TV to the package.

For business customers, NetCologne offers a range of services including Telefondienste, Internetdienste, and Festverbindungen. They also provide Corporate Networks and Komplettlösungen, which include server housing.

NetCologne's IT-Services include Managed Services, Cloud-Lösungen, and IT-Security Konzepte. They also offer IT-Outsourcing with a User Help Desk, which is provided through their subsidiary NetCologne IT-Services.

Here's a list of some of the services offered by NetCologne:

Technicians may not always show up on time, with one customer reporting that a technician failed to arrive on the connection day despite being available at home.

Poor customer service is a recurring issue, with customers experiencing total outages for hours without any proactive communication from NetCologne. This lack of communication is especially frustrating when customers are trying to get back to normal.

Customers have reported being ghosted by NetCologne after trying to resolve issues, such as a customer who contacted the company about bad internet speeds and was ignored despite providing evidence of a previously agreed-upon price.

A technician didn't show up for a scheduled appointment, leaving the customer waiting at home.

The customer service hotline is often unresponsive, with calls being held on a waiting loop without anyone answering.

It can take ages for NetCologne to respond to email requests, with some customers waiting weeks for a simple question to be answered.

The online portal is poorly designed, making it difficult for customers to find information about their orders or account status.

A customer was left without internet for 18 hours before a repair specialist was sent to resolve the issue.

The customer service team initially told the customer to check the electric box in the basement, despite it being locked and inaccessible.

In cases of total outage, customers are often left without proactive communication or updates, leaving them in the dark.

When signing, all is easy. But some companies may not keep their promises after you've signed on the dotted line.

A client with NetCologne had a contract renewal in 2016, and was promised a certain price with a discount to upgrade to 500mbps.

They were promised a discount, but it never came, and the internet speed is now unprecedently bad.

NetCologne has a vast network of its own, covering around 23,500 kilometers of glass fiber cables, 857 kilometers of coaxial cables, and 176 kilometers of copper cables as of 2016 and 2013 respectively.

The company has made significant investments in its own network, allowing it to provide direct and independent internet access to its customers. This is a major advantage, as it enables NetCologne to offer high-speed connections to a large number of customers, with 40% of its connections currently being facilitated through its own FTTH, FTTB, FTTC, and HFC networks.

NetCologne's network is connected to several major exchange points, including DE-CIX, LINX, AMS-IX, and ECIX, which further enhances its connectivity and ability to provide reliable services to its customers.

NetCologne Gesellschaft für Telekommunikation mbH chose Oracle for its planning and budgeting needs.

Oracle Planning and Budgeting Cloud Service was the preferred solution due to its efficiency and reliability at a fair price.

The company found it extremely easy to operate, with excellent support from Oracle Sales.

IBM Cognos was unable to compete with Oracle's package, according to Stefan Lööck, NetCologne's Controller.

NetCologne doesn't publish a map of their own network infrastructure online.

They do offer access to their own network, known as the "NetCologne Breitbandnetz", which covers all areas where they offer connections and might also utilize infrastructure from competitors.

NetCologne makes their own network available to other competitors as Open Access.

Since 2006, they've been building a new fiber-optic network in Cologne step by step.

This involves laying fiber-optic cables all the way into people's homes (FTTB) and using existing wiring inside the homes.

With this technology, customers can currently get data transfer rates of up to 1000 Mbit/s downstream and 200 Mbit/s upstream for private customers, and up to 10 Gbit/s symmetrical for business customers.

They're already planning to extend the fiber-optic network into individual apartments (FTTH), and some areas are already being served by FTTH.

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NetCologne's own telecommunications network is quite impressive, covering around 23,500 kilometers of glass fiber cables, 857 kilometers of coaxial cables, and 176 kilometers of copper cables.

The company has a significant portion of its network, about 40 percent, dedicated to providing direct and independent internet access to its customers, thanks to its own fiber-optic network.

NetCologne's fiber-optic network is connected to major internet exchange points like DE-CIX, LINX, AMS-IX, and ECIX.

To ensure high-speed internet access for as many people as possible, NetCologne uses a mix of technologies for its network expansion.

In densely populated areas, the company relies on FTTB, FTTH, or HFC strategies, while in other areas, it invests in FTTC networks.

In cases where a direct connection to buildings is not economically viable, NetCologne extends its fiber-optic network to the nearest cable distributor, enabling speeds of up to 100 Mbit/s using Vectoring technology.

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NetCologne replaced its existing Excel-based financial planning with Oracle Planning and Budgeting Cloud Service, significantly reducing the workload for users and administrators.

This change allowed for centralized data storage and analysis, increasing transparency in the budgeting and planning process. Recorded data can be verified at any time and matched to individual corporate departments or users.

NetCologne was founded on October 31, 1994, by GEW Köln, Stadtsparkasse Köln, and the Kölner Verkehrs-Betrieben in Köln. Since 2004, GEW Köln has been the sole shareholder of the company.

The company's expansion has led to a significant presence in the region, with a market share of 1.2% of the total 34.6 million fixed-line connections in Germany. NetCologne's own network covers a vast area, with 441,000 fixed-line connections and 200,000 broadband connections as of December 31, 2020.

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NetCologne was able to significantly reduce the workload for users and administrators by replacing their existing Excel-based financial planning with Oracle Planning and Budgeting Cloud Service.

This new system allowed them to record all relevant data on telecommunications customers and services centrally, making it easier to manage and analyze.

The Oracle Planning and Budgeting Cloud Service also provided management with comparative analyses of planning alternatives based upon the simulations of various scenarios, enabling more informed decision making.

Incorrect data entries, such as those related to new and departing customers or changes to communications services, were prevented by standardizing data entry within the Oracle Planning and Budgeting Cloud Service.

This reduced the associated planning risks and made the budgeting and planning process more transparent.

Data was centrally stored and analyzed, allowing for easy verification and matching to individual corporate departments or users.

The Oracle Planning and Budgeting Cloud Service also ensured the highest level of security for all data, protecting it from unauthorized access.

This was a significant improvement over their previous in-house planning infrastructure, which would have required considerable additional monetary outlay for security arrangements.

The cloud service maintained by Oracle guaranteed robust and smooth operation, minimizing downtime risks and key users' dependence on Excel applications.

NetCologne was founded on October 31, 1994, by GEW Köln, Stadtsparkasse Köln, and the Kölner Verkehrs-Betrieben in Cologne.

The company was initially owned by these three founding members, but in 2004, GEW Köln became the sole shareholder, making it the city's municipal utilities and the city of Cologne themselves.

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NetCologne moved into its new headquarters at the Medienstandort Köln-Ossendorf in early 2006, a building designed by Bolwin Wulf Architekten.

The company expanded its reach in 2009 with the founding of its sister company NetAachen as a joint venture with the city's utilities and NetCologne.

Today, NetCologne offers IT services through its 100% subsidiary NetCologne IT Services GmbH, which was established on March 1, 2018.

NetCologne has been steadily expanding its fiber-optic network and has made significant progress in this area.