Thanks to one of our readers for pointing out that NTL has acquired the remaining 51% of rival ISP Virgin.net from owner Virgin Media Group. NTL is now the sole owner of the provider, previously this had been shared with VMG:

Simon Duffy, chief executive officer of ntl, said: "This is a very good acquisition for ntl. Virgin.net has a strong presence in the internet arena, underpinned by a powerful brand name and an outstanding team. I welcome them to ntl and look forward to their participation in the business. I am confident virgin.net will accelerate our growth by giving us access to new market segments, thereby complementing our strategy of extending our network through local loop unbundling."

Will Whitehorn, Virgin Media spokesman said: "virgin.net has established an incredibly strong position in the UK market despite the intense competition from multi-national media groups. By bringing it together with ntl under one ownership, but retaining the brand, we believe it can become a British market leader in internet service provision."

Quite how customers will be affected in the future is uncertain, although it appears as if NTL will continue Virgin.net under the current name and service.

The move is well timed to coincide with NTL's steady move into the xDSL market and LLU. It’s consolidation pie all round today.