The Future of the Telecom

Fiber-optic Industry
The rise of Telewest-NTl to prominence
October 2007

Hector Chapa Sikazwe

Keywords
Competition, Fiber-optic, Broadband, ADSL, merger, Phone industry marketing strategy
competitive advantage creative marketing.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.0 Introduction ................................................................................... 4
1.1 Legislation restrictions ................................................................................................................ 5

1.2 Telewest products ....................................................................................................................... 7

Three tier services (Telewest.co.uk) ..................................................... 7

1.3 Competitors ................................................................................................................................. 8

1.4 Lay out of Report ........................................................................................................................ 8

2.0 The organisation............................................................................ 9

2.1 The Strategic business strategy ................................................................................................... 9

2.2 Telewest Core Competence Factors .......................................................................................... 10

2.2.1 Fiber Optic Network.......................................................................................................... 10

2.2.2 Self sufficient Network facilities ....................................................................................... 11

2.2.3 Service via Cables ............................................................................................................. 11

3.0 Company analysis ....................................................................... 12

3.1 Porters forces ............................................................................................................................ 12

3.1.1 Competitive Rivalry .......................................................................................................... 12

3.1.2 Power of supplier .............................................................................................................. 13

3.1.3 Power of buyer .................................................................................................................. 14

3.1.4 Threats of substitute .......................................................................................................... 14

3.1.5 Threat of new entrants. ...................................................................................................... 15

3.2 Swot analysis of the Company ................................................... 16

3.2.1 Strengths ............................................................................................................................... 16

3.2.2 Weaknesses ........................................................................................................................... 16

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 3.2.3 Opportunities......................................................................................................................... 17

3.2.4 Threats .................................................................................................................................. 17

3.2.4.1 Market risk ........................................................................................................................ 17

4.0 Where the Business is now ......................................................... 19

4.1 Market Penetration .................................................................................................................... 20

4.2 Market Development ................................................................................................................. 20

4.3 Product Development ................................................................................................................ 21

4.4 Diversification........................................................................................................................... 22

6.0 Recommendations ....................................................................... 23

6.1 E-commerce .............................................................................................................................. 23

6.2 Knowledge management ........................................................................................................... 24

6.3 Product and service Innovation ................................................................................................. 25

6.4 The value of next generation networks...................................................................................... 25

6.5 Training..................................................................................................................................... 26

7.0 References .................................................................................... 27

All copyrights reserved ............................. Error! Bookmark not defined.

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1.0 Introduction

Ntl:Telewest was created in March 2006 after a merger of Telewest Global Inc and Ntl

incorporated creating ntl:Telewest Business. This report is an in-depth analysis of Telewest

communication business strategy before the merger that formed the new corporation. Telewest,

(formerly Telewest Broadband and Telewest Communications) is a trading name of NTL

Incorporated, the dominant cable operator in the United Kingdom with more than 90% of the

market. The merger of Telewest and NTL's UK businesses was completed on March 3, 2006.

NTL trading as Telewest passes approximately 4.2 million homes. Corporately, now Ntl:

Telewest boasts of a success that is based on a £13 billion investment in a state-of-the-art, fibre-

rich network provision of services.

As documented in Broadcasting Committee (Nov 1998), the first official announcement about

the creation of a new cable industry in the UK was made in a House of Commons debate on 2

December 1982, when the Government brought forward legislation to create a new statutory

authority to award franchises to cable operators. The following year, 1983, the Government

published a White Paper, “The Development of Cable Systems and Services” (the "White

Paper"), which set out its policy proposals in more detail.

In 1984, the Telewest story began in Croydon operating under the name of Croydon Cable.

Murray (2000) observed that Telewest as a company has grown through marathon mergers and

acquisitions, Telewest Broadband replaced regional company names such as Yorkshire Cable,

Cable London and Birmingham Cable, which remained from a history of consolidation. See

appendix A.

4
1.1 Legislation restrictions

There were strict restrictions that accompanied the statutory instrument. The Telewest media

centre1 reports that uunder the terms of the White Paper, cable operators were prohibited from

providing voice telephony services in their own right over their networks, as the provision of

these services remained the exclusive privilege of British Telecom and Mercury

Communications. More significant restrictions were also imposed on the provision of data

services. The White Paper also specified that cable operators were prohibited in their own right

from linking individual franchise areas, and also ruled out the possibility of any company outside

the EU owning a UK cable franchise.

In 1990, the broadcasting ACT introduced the advent of competitive provision of services. The

Broadcasting Act 1990 established a new regulatory authority, the Independent Television

Commission (ITC) for the television sector and also created a new framework for the licensing

of cable services.

In 1991, the period of protected duopoly which had been granted to BT and Mercury

Communications expired. This stimulated a period of several years of inward investment into the

UK cable industry from US telephony companies. Telewest communication took advantage of

the relaxing of the law and reinvented itself in the UK as a leading cable company

Commenting on the growth of Telewest at the 2005 annual reporting party, Philip Jansen,

managing director, consumer division stated that "As we move into the new era of broadband

and put the legacy of consolidation behind us we decided to bring all our operations under one

1
http://mediacentre.telewest.co.uk/phoenix.zhtml?c=76808&p=IROL-MediaHome

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unifying name. This undertaking reinforces our commitment to building lasting and meaningful

customer relationships."

Below is the TIMELINE of the organization reflecting performance since its inception in

Croydon. The graph needs to be interpreted in conjunction with appendix A.

Time line of growth

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1.2 Telewest products

The organization provides the following products and services:

(a) Broadband Internet services: This is a national product portfolio of voice, data, internet

and IP solutions for all UK businesses from developing businesses right up to large

corporates, public sector organizations and service providers

(b) A network built to the office, enabling the delivery of high bandwidth IP and voice

services to UK businesses

(c) Residential Cable TV: The majority of Telewest's television is digital. However, there are

still areas that receive an analogue

(d) Residential and business telephone services: Telewest was the first UK landline company

to offer 'unlimited' calls to landlines for a fixed monthly fee.

Telewest is the only unique organization in the UK that provides a three tier residential services

of Telephone, internet and television to residential consumers. (see picture below) This

automatically gives the organization undue competitive advantage.

Three tier services (Telewest.co.uk)

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1.3 Competitors

The main competitors in the Industry are British telecommunication (BT) and Sky British

broadcasting company. These two main competitors are closely followed by several small

organisations who supply similar services to households on the back of networks already setup

by the main competitors.

1.4 Lay out of Report

As mentioned, this report dwells on the ex Telewest communication component of the new

organization because the “Ntl:Telewest” emerging strategic structure of the new organization is

still fluidic and unstructured to be used for purposes and objectives of this report.

The report is divided into 4 parts.

(a) The organization and its products

(b) The organization’s operational competitive advantages and value creating activities,

strategic position and its business model

(c) The factors behind the organization’s success in the industry

(d) The organization’s current strategy to remain a player in the telecommunication market

Each part listed above will be treated as a separate section in the report and will embody

complete information that can be utilized to support the section in question. The concluding

section will consist of a summary of the report and recommendations.

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2.0 The organisation

According to Murray (2000), supported by information on the official Telewest website, 2

Telewest Communications is one of Britain’s most diversified communications companies, with

activities spanning two of the fastest growing sectors in the UK economy: telecommunications

and media. The organization provides multiple broadband services including cable television,

telephone and Internet access services to more than 1.7 million homes and delivers business

communications solutions to over 70,000 public and private sector accounts.

2.1 The Strategic business strategy

According to the Telewest (2002) annual report, different strategic decisions by Telewest were

made to remain competitive in the business environment this was not far from the ability to cope

with the changes in the market place. Over the years, the business competitive strength of

Telewest was based on but not limited to.

(a) Investment in technology that built service strength

(b) Optimisation of logistics and supply chain system:

(c) Development of strategic relationships with major players in the market

(d) Mergers and acquisition: (see appendix A)

(e) Human capital development: the improvement of employee and continuous upgrade of

there capacity.

2
www.telewest.co.uk

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As already observed, Telewest business model centres on the provision of “three tier services” of

business and residential telecom (telephone and internet services) and interactive TV services to

the UK business and residential consumers. As reported in Great Britain (1998) and Media &

Sport Committee Culture (1999) the organization was formed with the initial objective of

providing basic “cable services consisting of analogue and digital facilities” to businesses and

residential consumers. Detailed in Bradley and Austin (2005), Telewest communications pl

which is now the chosen provider of multiple broadband services to homes and businesses in the

UK, was the first to launch unmetered internet access in the UK.

2.2 Telewest Core Competence Factors

The major impact that Telewest has had on the business stems from the company offering a one

stop shop for broadband services with unbeatable value. Telewest has further strengthened

broadband leadership by positioning brand values across the business, from providing excellent

customer service to delivering exciting content via blueyonder high-speed internet."

2.2.1 Fiber Optic Network

Uniquely, according to Telewest (2000) Customers receive services over a highly advanced

broadband communication network built entirely from scratch over the past decade. It combines

high-bandwidth fibre optic technology with modern digital transmission and switching

techniques. Agrawal (2002) explained that Fiber-optic communication is a method of

transmitting information from one place to another by sending light through an optical fiber. The

light forms an electromagnetic carrier wave that is modulated to carry information. Because of

its advantages over electrical transmission, the use of optical fiber has largely overtaken copper

wire communications.

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Telewest’s Competitors still use old network infrastructure using Asymmetric Digital Subscriber

Line (ADSL), a data communications technology that enables faster data transmission over

copper telephone lines than a conventional modem can provide. ADSL can only be used over

short distances; typically less than 5km. Fiber optic cables that Telewest uses has no distance

restrictions. This has created competitive advantage over BT and SKY.

2.2.2 Self sufficient Network facilities

Telewest is self sufficient in network facilities and does not rely on external organization for its

supply of services. Bradley and Austin (2005) described Telewest broadband expansion and

success as being based on Telewest’s regional networks that is connected by a state-of-the-art

digital backbone network that was completed in 1998. This national network enabled Telewest

to expand its range of voice and data communications services for the business market. At the

same time, Bradley and Austin (2005) observes, Telewest reduced its dependence on other

operators for carrying calls between its regions and paved the way for Telewest to develop its

own ‘wholesale’ business, providing capacity for other smaller telecommunications operators.

2.2.3 Service via Cables

Telewest provides services using cables buried in the ground, reducing vandalism and increment

weather has little of no effects on the performance of service provision. This has given Telewest

reduced outage and disruption of services. This is key to this industry that relies on the

satisfaction of the end user for its existence and continued sustenance of business partnering with

the buyer.

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3.0 Company analysis

3.1 Porters forces

Porters fives forces model is an excellent model to use to analyze a particular environment of an

industry. The is essential to help understand the industry in depth before an organization decides

to enter. Its dictates allows Telewest to be evaluated in the light of the following factors that can

be represented graphically:

Porters five forces

3.1.1 Competitive Rivalry

The telecom industry provides opportunity for customers to move from one supplier to another.

If it is easy for customers to move to substitute products for example from BT to Tiscali etc.

Generally competitive rivalry is high in the industry due to:

(i) little differentiation between the products sold between customers.

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 (ii) Competitors are approximately the same size of each other.

(iii)Competitors all have similar strategies.

(iv) It is costly to leave the industry

Telewest has direct competition from many organizations. Specifically, BT and Sky broadcasting

are the major competitors that Telewest has to compete with. BT directly swoops on all

telephone customers that defect from Telewest. There are several smaller competitors like

Tiscali, Talk Talk, Onetel etc who operate in the periphery and receive many customers who are

let down by either Telewest or BT. Sky is directly the main rival for the television service and

recently has become a broadband provider as well.

3.1.2 Power of supplier

Suppliers are essential for the success of an organization. Raw materials are needed to complete

the finish product of the organization. Suppliers do have power and it is significant:

(i) If they are the only supplier or one of few suppliers who supply that particular raw

material.

(ii) If it costly for the organization to move from one supplier to another (known also as

switching cost

(iii)If there is no other substitute for their product.

Telewest has direct control of most of its raw materials like the TV content through Flextech.

The organization controls what is on offer on the TV content provided by Telewest. Telewest

similarly has control on what it offers using the fibre optic services as it has absolute ownership

of the service

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3.1.3 Power of buyer

Buyers or customers can exert influence and control over an industry in certain circumstances.

This happens when:

i. There is little differentiation over the product and substitutes can be found easily.

ii. Customers are sensitive to price.

iii. Switching to another product is not costly.

Buyers have power to determine what quality/type/price of services supplied. Service industry

organizations that are embodied in competitive market scenarios are subject to fluctuating

numbers of subscribers. Buyers tend to move with product pricing and only organizations that

respond swiftly maintain a sizeable subscribership. Telewest regularly responds to the demands

of the consumer by innovating and providing value for money services. Strategic regular

repricing to respond to the market forces has been Telewest’s strategy that has seen it’s

subscribership being maintained.

3.1.4 Threats of substitute

Telewest is under constant threat from cheaper substitutes coming from smaller organizations.

The reason is that there are alternative products that customers can purchase other than the

Telewest product at cheaper prices. The threat of substitute is higher due to the:

(i) Price of that substitute product falling.

(ii) easy of consumers to switch from one substitute product to another.

(iii)Buyers willing to substitute.

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Due to this threat of substitutes, Telewest has kept innovating and rebranding its products so that

the customer base is not adversely affected by the switching of subscribers due to cheaper

substitutes.

3.1.5 Threat of new entrants.

The telecom industry has one of the lowest entry barriers. This creates a problem for the larger

organizations that invest massively in the industry. The threat of a new organization entering the

industry is high when it is easy for an organization to enter the industry. Smaller organization

(i) will look at how loyal customers are to existing products,

(ii) how quickly they can achieve economy of scales,

(iii)access to suppliers,

(iv) Government legislation prevents them or encourages them to enter the industry.

The above five main factors are key factors that influence industry performance; hence it is

common sense and practical to find out about these factors before entry into the industry. This is

one area that Telewest has very little control over as the industry is a developing one and

innovation and customer loyalty that Telewest has created over the years assists in maintaining a

loyal customer following.

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3.2 Swot analysis of the Company

3.2.1 Strengths

The uniqueness of Telewest strength lies in the

(a) Combination of its manageable size,

(b) Ownership of content assets in TV programming using Flextech

(c) Ownership of its own network structure

(d) Ownership of fibre optic technology, thus providing faster internet speeds compared to

BT and other competitors.

(e) The trend of digitalization of TV content further strengthens its position in the Cable

segment

(f) Customer care unit that subsist on customer care satisfaction and employs and trains

carefully selected individuals to become members of staff

3.2.2 Weaknesses

However, the company faces twin challenges of

(a) Servicing its debt burden and

(b) plugging the leakage in its telephone subscriber base, which declined in absolute terms,

in the past two years

(c) Getting external funding to maintain its infrastructure remains the most serious weakness

the organization faces

(d) Fear of the television products going full product life cycle and subscribers wanting

better content of what is on the television service or defect to competitors.

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3.2.3 Opportunities

Telewest believe that the commercial benefits of the merger with NTL will include the

following:

(a) accelerated development of new tailored service offerings to residential and business

customers in form of digitalized content

(b) increased momentum for online and interactive development initiatives

(c) cross-promotion opportunities across services and platforms

(d) increased bundling opportunities to maximize broadband network distribution

(e) opportunity to leverage broadcasting skills and a wider range of content relationships

(f) enhanced growth prospects for advertising and e-commerce revenues

(g) investment into the organization from organizations that see the future of ntl:Telewest to

be of strategic importance to the

(h) Due to current size and organization strategic makeup, Telewest can now effectively

compete with established competitors like BT and Sky

3.2.4 Threats

3.2.4.1 Market risk

Telewest as an organization that identifiably has two areas that are regarded as potential threats

to its strategic operations. The principal market risks stem from problems with servicing debts

that accumulated in the earlier days of being launched.

(a) Interest rate changes on variable-rate long-term bank debt;

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 (b) Foreign exchange rate changes, generating translation and transaction gains and losses on

non-sterling denominated debt instruments.

Telewest uses derivative financial instruments solely to reduce exposure to these market risks

and does not enter into these instruments for trading or speculative purposes.

3.2.4.2 Interest rate risk

Telewest’s outstanding long-term debt is denominated in pounds sterling and bears interest at

variable rates. The organization seeks to reduce exposure to adverse interest rate fluctuations on

borrowings under current senior bank facilities principally through interest rate swaps. These

interest rate swaps provide for payments by Telewest at a fixed rate of interest (ranging from

7.175% to 7.910%) and the receipt of payments based on a variable rate of interest.. The

aggregate notional principal amount of these hedging arrangements is in the excesses of £1.2

billion..

3.2.5 Foreign currency exchange risk

As at 31 December 2000, Telewest fixed-rate debt instruments were denominated in US dollars.

The organization entered into certain derivative instruments to reduce exposure to adverse

changes in exchange rates. These derivative instruments comprised of

(a) foreign currency options,

(b) foreign currency swaps and a

(c) Series of foreign exchange forward contracts.

The results were materially influenced by future exchange rate movements, due to the

requirement that certain hedging instruments be marked to their market value at the end of the

18
financial period whereas the underlying liabilities may be re-translated at the spot rate of

exchange. Telewest had foreign currency swaps and contracts hedging the principal and interest

exposures of the Group totaling in aggregate £2,732 million.

4.0 Where the Business is now

Ansoff (1979) stated that organizations needed to apply strategic measurements to their

organizations to monitor growth and create a vision for the future. He proposed a matrix, (see

below) which encapsulates the future vision of a company. It maps the status of each niche

against status both of Product and of Market.

Source: Ansoff (1979)

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The official Telewest website 3 reports that Telewest organization prides to exercise profitable

competitive advantage over it’s competitors, using a strategic operational motto that subsist on

(a) designing and launching its products and services at cost effective levels and on a

(b) Researched and clearly determined market demand.

Bradley and Austin (2005) expanded in their book that Telewest believes in market research and

delights in getting this information out to the right people at the right time.

4.1 Market Penetration

Using its research competitive advantage factor of researching before launching new products,

Telewest has markets her existing products to her existing customers with vigor. Telewest (2002)

reported that over the years, Telewest has increased exponentially the revenue generated from

existing products.

The Massive marketing ploys that were employed in repositioning cable television services to

exiting customers resulted in the growth of the number of subscribers. According to Telewest

(2004) this resulted in an increase in the number of channels subscribed to and the variety of

phone features sought increased inexplicably. McKenna and Moore (1998) had predicted that

such an act of marketing would result in revenue growth for any organization

4.2 Market Development

According to Murray (2000), Telewest realized the rise in popularity of the “cable based”

services to be of significant market implications. From the various mergers around the Country

3
www.telewest.co.uk

20
(Appendix A), Telewest has been positioned strategically to market its products in new areas

resulting in the introduction of the “cable products” in new areas of the country.

For instance in 2000, after receiving professional advice from Schroder Salomon, Smith Barney

and Deutsche Telekom working for Lehman Brothers, Telewest acquired Eurobell, a cable

telecommunications service provider that supplied telephone, internet, data and cable television

services to residential and business customers in the south of England. Eurobell held franchises

in Crawley, west Kent and south Devon together with local access and a backbone network

across the south east linking international landing points in Cornwall to London.

4.3 Product Development

Product innovation is a key Telewest marketing strategy. According to Telewest (2005),

Telewest has strategically launched several strategic new products for its digital customers. The

following are the products that are being used by the organization to compete:

(a) Teleport is a new service, coupled with “video on demand” available to all Telewest Digital

TV customers. This service does not require any extra equipment and allows customers to

have access to the service and it is included with all Telewest digital packages.

(b) TVDrive, the equivalent of “Sky Plus” service that is offered by Sky digital. TVDrive is a

smart personal video recorder, designed to make TV fit around Telewest customer’s lives.

(c) Telewest has also introduced “talk anywhere”, a revolutionary way of using the telephone

service in the UK. Talk Anywhere phone services are the easiest and most revolutionary way

to use and pay for the home phone. This service allows customers to call anyone, anywhere,

any time, any phone for a fixed monthly fee just like mobile companies.

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4.4 Diversification

Telewest keeps rebranding its products and more services are being introduced as the

organization has expanded. Telewest has applied “related diversification” by incorporation virgin

mobile into its acquisition operations. The acquisition of virgin mobile by ntl: Telewest indicates

the organization’s desire to expand. Virgin Mobile offers a broad range of mobile

communications products and services, including mobile voice and non-voice services, including

SMS, MMS and 3G, and entertainment services over the Virgin Mobile Bites portal including

games, information and music services, and international roaming.

5.0 Conclusions

Telewest is a trading name of NTL Incorporated, the dominant cable operator in the United

Kingdom with more than 90% of the market. This report has shown that Telewest is one of the

largest broadband communications and media groups in the United Kingdom, providing

multichannel television, telephone, and Internet services to 1.8 million residential customers in

England and Scotland.

While Telewest Business supplies broadband services to consumer, business, and public-sector

markets, its content division, Flextech, is the BBC’s partner in UKTV. Together they are the

largest supplier of basic channels to the UK pay-TV market with a portfolio that combines

wholly owned and managed channels, including ten joint venture channels with the BBC.

One of Telewest’s growth strategic goals was to launch Teleport, a TV-on-demand (TVoD)

service for customers by 2006, and the TVDrive which would also include on-demand

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programming from the BBC and other television content providers. Telewest undertook a

reevaluation of its network in light of delivering future capabilities by building it’s own network

facilities. The uniqueness of Telewest lies in the combination of its size and the ownership of

content assets in TV programming. The trend of digitalization of TV content will further

strengthen its position in the Cable segment.

6.0 Recommendations

6.1 E-commerce

Today’s communications networks have moved business further into the electronic world where

speedy reactions and access to accurate and timely information are essential.

Ecommerce should be the future for Telewest. The following are the reasons why Telewest can

gain competitive advantage over other competitors. E-commerce

(a) liberates companies;

(b) makes their size irrelevant;

(c) Opened up new markets and new ways of working.

(d) It has also made it easier, more efficient and less costly to do business and compete.

However, customers will have higher expectations and be less tolerant of delays and more

willing to switch suppliers. Success depends on Telewest being able to meet those expectations

efficiently, a need, which service Telewest understand and support.

Telewest already has the state of the art information’s systems installed in the organization. The

current new converged networks and technologies that already exist in Telewest will be behind

the ability to

23
 (a) move between and combine applications,

(b) make information accessible to anyone in the organization regardless of location and

(c) Integrate data from different systems.

Convergence has increased flexibility and contributed to overall efficiency but it has also made it

faster and easier to create the innovative products and services which differentiate Telewest from

other companies like BT and Sky.

6.2 Knowledge management

To maintain this competitive advantage Telewest is obligated to invest heavily in the state of the

art virtual computer information systems. Telewest current use of knowledge management

creates competitive advantage. When applied efficiently, knowledge management incorporates:

(a) The use of up to date software programs that allows both the employees and the client to

quickly access information on products and services creates customer satisfaction.

This is a vital competitive strategy contributing to business efficiency and high levels

of customer service that lacks in this industry

(b) Information about customers and products are stored in one place so all applications

access the same database. Telewest easily segment customers and offer different

service levels according to their value.

(c) Advantageously, Telewest easily conducts market research, design and launches

products and targeted campaigns to produce maximum effect since calculations are

based on accurate information stored on the data base

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6.3 Product and service Innovation

As stated in Telewest (2002) annual report, the chairman predicted that by the turn of the decade

strong strategic Companies will separate themselves from other competitors largely by

(a) creating innovative products and services,

(b) being price competitive and reacting fast to market demand.

(c) Equally important to give customers the products and information they need when and

how they need them.

Telewest should continue on the path they already are treading on ie product and service

innovation. Competitors are struggling along with outdated, expensive to run and want to

maintain legacy systems which make it difficult to compete effectively. Some have neither the

time nor expertise to thoroughly research or cost, upgrade or install the modern and efficient

communications solutions which are important tools in differentiating one company from

another. This remains Telewest strong marketing competitive advantage.

6.4 The value of next generation networks

Within Telewest, unlike legacy systems, the new installed networks are flexible. Telewest need

to build on its High speed fixed and wireless networks; converged services; secure, flexible and

cost effective systems that support the advantages of the new ways of working because they

create

(a) seamless connections between applications so people can collaborate efficiently

regardless of their location all of which contribute to more efficient working practices

and therefore competitive edge

25
 (b) Supporting business agility, the networks make it easier for Telewest to adapt quickly to

changing markets and customer demands.

(c) Less expensive to manage and maintain as they are designed to grow with the business,

can be future-proofed and, because they support the business needs better, make the

return on investment faster.

6.5 Training

Telewest already invests extensively in the training of its members of staff. By relying on the

expertise of professionals, even the smallest companies can reap the benefits of the latest

technologies, together with all their updates, without having to employ teams of expert IT staff.

Telewest should continue using the existing system of in-house training.

26
7.0 References

Annabelle Dodd (Jul 2005)The Essential Guide to Telecommunications (Paperback) ISBN:

0131487256Prentice Hall PTR

Broadcasting Committee (Nov 1998) The Development of Parliamentary Broadcasting: Minutes

of Evidence, Wednesday 15 July 1998 - Telewest, General Cable and Wireless; National
Telecommunications Ltd; Flextech; BBC (House of Commons Papers) ISBN: 010555068X The
Stationery Office Books, UK

Carl Stern and George Stalk (1998) Perspectives on Strategy: From the Boston Consulting
Group (Hardcover) "what is strategy? ..." (more) John Wiley & Sons Inc

Clayton M. Christensen (1 Jul 1997)The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause
Great Firms to Fail (Hardcover) ISBN: 0875845851 Harvard Business School Press

Great Britain (1998) The Public Telecommunication System Designation (Telewest

Communications Fylde and Wyre Limited) Order 1997: Telecommunications (Statutory
Instruments: 1997: 315) (Paperback) ISBN: 0110639162 Stationery Office Books, UK

Great Britain (April 1997) The Public Telecommunication System Designation (Telewest
Telecommunications PLC) (No. 2 ) Order 1997: Telecommunications (Statutory Instruments:
1997: 923) (Paperback) Stationery Office Books, UK

Icon Group Ltd. (April 2000) Telewest communications plc: International Competitive
Benchmarks and Financial Gap Analysis (Financial Performance Series) (Unbound) ISBN:
059718769X Icon Group International Inc, UK

Lillian Goleniewski (8 Jan 2002) Telecommunications Essentials: The Complete Global Source
for Communications Fundamentals, Data Networking and the Internet, and Next-generation
(Paperback) Addison Wesley

Media & Sport Committee Culture (Dec 1999) Funding of the BBC: Minutes of Evidence,
Tuesday 2 December 1999 - BECTU; Ntl; Telewest; National Consumer Council (House of
Commons) ISBN: 0102027005 The Stationery Office Books, UK

Michael A. Cusumano (May 2004) The Business of Software: What Every Manager,
programmer and Entrepreneur Must Know to Succeed in Good Times and Bad (Hardcover)
ISBN: 074321580X Simon & Schuster Ltd

Murray john (2000) “Telewest extends cable network with Eurobell acquisition”

27
http://www.telewest.co.UK/ourcompany/pressreleases/pr281.html accessed 23/11/2006

Regis McKenna and Geoffrey A. Moore (1 Aug 1998) Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and
Selling Technology Products to Mainstream Customers (Paperback) Capstone Publishing Ltd,
UK

Stephen P. Bradley and Robert D. Austin (Eds) (1 Sep 2005) Broadband Explosion: Leading
Thinkers on the Promise of a Truly Interactive World (Hardcover) ISBN: 1591396700 Harvard
Business School Press, NY, London.

Telewest annual repots( 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005)

http://mediacentre.telewest.co.uk/phoenix.zhtml?c=76808&p=IROL-reportsAnnualArch

William H. Davidow (Jun 1986) Marketing High Technology (Hardcover) ISBN: 002907990X
Macmillan USA

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Appendix A- TIME LINE

Year Event
1984 The Telewest story begins in Croydon operating under the name of Croydon Cable.

1988 Croydon Cable is acquired by United Cable of Denver, US. Franchises in Edinburgh,
Avon and south east are added.
1989 United Cable of Denver merges with United Artists Cable International.

1991 United Artists merges with their largest shareholder TCI (now Liberty Media), to create
the largest cable operator in the US. A joint venture between TCI and US West is
announced.

1992 The joint venture company is renamed Telewest Communications.

1994 Telewest successfully completes a stock market flotation.

1995 Telewest merges with SBC Communications, adding franchises in the midlands and north
west totaling 1.3 million homes.

1998 Telewest announces a merger with General Cable, and acquires an outstanding interest in
Birmingham Cable, adding a further 1.7 million franchise homes in Yorkshire, west
London and Birmingham.

1999 Telewest purchases the remaining 50% stake in Cable London from ntl, adding 0.4
million franchise homes in north London.

2000 In April, Telewest merges with Flextech. In November, Telewest extends its cable
network with the acquisition of Eurobell taking the total number of homes passed to 4.9
million.

2002 Telewest Communications plc enters discussions on financial restructuring with its
stakeholders.

2004 In July, Telewest emerges from its financial restructuring as Telewest Global Inc. Shares
begin trading on NASDAQ National Market.
2005 In October, Telewest announces a merger with ntl, which will create the UK's second
largest communications company and leading triple-play service provider. Telewest
Business delivers a comprehensive range of solutions, across the UK, including
broadband and internet services, networking solutions, voice and IP and multimedia
services

2006 The ntl and Telewest merger was completed in March, creating ntl:Telewest Business

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Appendix B: BROADBAND AWARDS

Awards won by blueyonder broadband

Award Award Title Award Service Date

Best Sumo Consumer Internet broadband 2006
broadband finalist Service
Providers'
Finalist Association
Awards 2006
Best portal finalist Internet broadband 2006
Service
Providers'
Finalist Association
Awards 2006
Best ISP .net Awards broadband 2005

Best ISP/Broadband Computer broadband Dec

company Active 2005
Readers
Choice
awards
Awarded "Highest in Customer J.D. Power broadband Dec
Satisfaction Among and 2005
Broadband Internet Associates
Service Providers."

Best Sumo Consumer Internet broadband 2005

Broadband Service elite 2 Mb
Provider
Awards
Best Heavy Consumer Internet broadband 2005
Broadband Service complete
Provider
Awards
Best Portal Internet broadband 2005
Service
Provider
Awards

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Best unmetered Internet Surf 2004
dial-up ISP Service Unlimited
Provider
Awards
Best Consumer Internet broadband 2004
Broadband ISP Service
Provider
Awards
Best ADSL Practical broadband 2003
Alternative Internet
Reader
Awards
Best broadband ISP PC Pro broadband 2003
& Awards
Best dial-up ISP

Communications Computing broadband 2003

Product of Year Excellence elite 2Mb
(2mb) Awards
ISP of the year Award ISP Review broadband 2002

Telecommunications Computing broadband 2002

Product of the year Industry complete
(1Mb) Awards

Most satisfying ISP in Web-User broadband 2002

Britain magazine

Best broadband ISP PC Pro broadband 2002

Awards

Best unmetered ISP Internet broadband 2002

Service
Provider
Association

Copyrighted

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