Posted: 02nd Jun, 2005 By: MarkJ
UK cable operators NTL and
Telewest are reported to have begun official merger talks (negotiations), albeit only in the early stages. Similarly there's word on NTL's £9.99 (per month - for a year) 1Mbps broadband promotion:
A marriage of the two cablecos has been on the cards for years although speculation about a tie-up has intensified recently following a restructuring of both companies.
Should the £5.5bn merger get the green light it would create a comms company that would be able to take on satellite TV giant Sky and dominant UK phone outfit BT, creating a company with annual revenues of around £3.3bn and some 5 million punters.
Elsewhere, NTL is trying to drum up even more business by offering 1 meg broadband for £9.99 a month fixed for the first year.Much as we've mentioned before, many
Telewest customers are rather uneasy over the impact that any merger with NTL could have over the longer term.
Much of this relates to NTLs ISP wing being seen as a considerably less reliable/flexible one than
Telewests. More @
The Register.