Afonso, team coordinator for Portugal Telecom's Digital Home Network, added that his company believes that getting the equipment into the customer's home is the most important step to introducing consumers to new technology.

"We're looking at new solutions to find new clients and keep existing ones," Afonso said in Berlin. "To do this, we've begun targeting building and real estate companies to get the wires and pipes for broadband into new homes that are being built."

Broadband content and applications have long been seen as the key to telecommunications' success. But finding the appropriate content and packaging those materials in a convenient and attractive way has not been easy, he says.

Through its Digital-home project, Portugal Telecom has been offering low-cost products that consumers value. Applications such as home-networking services, home office and entertainment and home security have been popular and many of the new homes have the broadband pipes to carry these services and more.

"Combining services under the single roof of one home contributes to building customer loyalty to Portugal Telecom," Afonso said.

"Nearly 20 percent of all new homes include Portugal Telecom solutions. This is already a EUR 20 million business annually and we've put them into more than 70,000 homes."

Still, Portugal Telecom has taken the approach that it must prove to its customers the need and value in its product content and the applications they are offering before they can lock in their customers.

"You can offer as many services as you like, but the fundamental questions remains: is the customer ready? We've taken the approach that they will be ready if we slowly introduce services to them and they will improve their infrastructure as they see fit, from copper lines to broadband," Afonso said.