Telewest
Encyclopedia
Telewest, formerly Telewest Broadband and Telewest Communications was a cable Internet
, broadband internet, telephone supplier
and cable television
provider in the United Kingdom
. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange
and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index
but on 3 March 2006 it merged with NTL to become NTL:Telewest; then on 8 February 2007 the combined company was rebranded as Virgin Media
.
in 1984 under the name "Croydon Cable". In 1988 United Cable of Denver, US, acquired Croydon Cable. Franchises extended the company scope in Edinburgh
and the south-west and south-east of England. In 1989 United Cable merged with United Artists Cable International. In 1991 United Artists merged with their largest shareholder TCI
( Liberty Media
), to form the largest cable operator in the US. TCI and US West
announced a joint venture, and in 1992 the joint venture company became Telewest Communications. In 1995 Telewest merged with SBC Communications, adding franchises in the Midlands and North West serving 1.3 million homes.
During this time Telewest founded a consortium called Cable Internet. This consisted of the major cable companies in the UK working together a provide national Internet access service.
In 1998 Telewest announced a merger with General Cable, and acquired an outstanding interest in Birmingham Cable, adding a further 1.7 million franchise homes in Yorkshire, west London and Birmingham. Telewest purchased the remaining 50% stake in Cable London from NTL in 1999, adding 0.4 million franchise homes in north London. In April 2000 Telewest merged with Flextech
, and in November extended its cable network with the acquisition of Eurobell, taking the total number of homes passed to 4.9 million. The company later became known as "Telewest Broadband" in a re-brand during 2001.
In subsequent years Telewest experienced many financial problems due to huge debts incurred as a result of constructing its cable network and of acquiring other cable companies and assets. In 2004 Telewest re-structured itself by swapping its unsecured debt
for 98.5% of its shares. The London FTSE
then de-listed the consolidated shares. Major Telewest shareholders included Huff
and Liberty Media
(run by cable tycoon John Malone). Afterwards the company emerged from financial restructuring and completed a merger with NTL in 2006.
The digital television service offered a number of different products including true video on demand
, a PVR, and HDTV.
service called Blueyonder, formerly branded as Cable Internet, ran on the cable internet
architecture and offered speeds of 2 Mbit/s, 4 Mbit/s and 10 Mbit/s downstream. The broadband service was 'uncapped', meaning that its use was unlimited and no extra charges were payable related to the amount of data downloaded. On 21 November 2006, after the merger with NTL, The Register
reported that Subscriber Traffic Management
was being trialled in areas in the north of England and was rolling out nationwide.
Blueyonder also provided dial-up internet services on a pay as you go or fixed monthly fee of £14.99 for unlimited use.
Provided UK landline calls for up to an hour for a fixed fee monthly inclusive of line rental. Telewest were the first UK landline company to offer 'unlimited' calls to landlines for a fixed monthly fee.
UK mobile calls with 25% reduction from standard rates.
Similar principle to Talk Mobile, with different reductions to different countries.
200 Minutes
400 Minutes
800 Minutes
Telewest were the first landline company to offer a package of this kind as it included bundled minutes every month that could be carried over to the next. Including UK Mobiles, Landlines, Businesses with 0845 and 0870 International Mobiles & Landlines.
It was available nationally, varying in price depending on the number of minutes.
Cable internet
In telecommunications, cable Internet access, often shortened to cable Internet or simply cable, is a form of broadband Internet access that uses the cable television infrastructure. Like digital subscriber line and fiber to the premises services, cable Internet access provides network edge...
, broadband internet, telephone supplier
Telephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
and cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
provider in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index
FTSE 100 Index
The FTSE 100 Index, also called FTSE 100, FTSE, or, informally, the footsie , is a share index of the 100 most highly capitalised UK companies listed on the London Stock Exchange....
but on 3 March 2006 it merged with NTL to become NTL:Telewest; then on 8 February 2007 the combined company was rebranded as Virgin Media
Virgin Media
Virgin Media Inc. is a company which provides fixed and mobile telephone, television and broadband internet services to businesses and consumers in the United Kingdom...
.
History
Telewest originated in CroydonCroydon
Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
in 1984 under the name "Croydon Cable". In 1988 United Cable of Denver, US, acquired Croydon Cable. Franchises extended the company scope in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
and the south-west and south-east of England. In 1989 United Cable merged with United Artists Cable International. In 1991 United Artists merged with their largest shareholder TCI
Tele-Communications Inc.
Tele-Communications, Inc. or TCI was a cable television provider in the United States, for much of its history controlled by Bob Magness and John Malone....
( Liberty Media
Liberty Media
Liberty Media Corporation is an American media conglomerate and the control is exercised by company Chairman John C. Malone, who owns a majority of the voting shares....
), to form the largest cable operator in the US. TCI and US West
US West
U S WEST, Inc. was one of seven Regional Bell Operating Companies , created in 1983 under the Modification of Final Judgement , a case related to the antitrust breakup of AT&T...
announced a joint venture, and in 1992 the joint venture company became Telewest Communications. In 1995 Telewest merged with SBC Communications, adding franchises in the Midlands and North West serving 1.3 million homes.
During this time Telewest founded a consortium called Cable Internet. This consisted of the major cable companies in the UK working together a provide national Internet access service.
In 1998 Telewest announced a merger with General Cable, and acquired an outstanding interest in Birmingham Cable, adding a further 1.7 million franchise homes in Yorkshire, west London and Birmingham. Telewest purchased the remaining 50% stake in Cable London from NTL in 1999, adding 0.4 million franchise homes in north London. In April 2000 Telewest merged with Flextech
Flextech
Living TV Group was a British television content subsidiary of British Sky Broadcasting. It is now defunct as a company but Sky Living, Sky Livingit, Sky Living Loves and Challenge are still in operation by BSkyB.-Overview:...
, and in November extended its cable network with the acquisition of Eurobell, taking the total number of homes passed to 4.9 million. The company later became known as "Telewest Broadband" in a re-brand during 2001.
In subsequent years Telewest experienced many financial problems due to huge debts incurred as a result of constructing its cable network and of acquiring other cable companies and assets. In 2004 Telewest re-structured itself by swapping its unsecured debt
Unsecured debt
In finance, unsecured debt refers to any type of debt or general obligation that is not collateralised by a lien on specific assets of the borrower in the case of a bankruptcy or liquidation or failure to meet the terms for repayment....
for 98.5% of its shares. The London FTSE
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
then de-listed the consolidated shares. Major Telewest shareholders included Huff
Huff
Huff or huffing may refer to:* Huff , a Showtime television program* Huff * Huff and puff apparatus* Huff-Duff High Frequency Direction Finder* Huff-Daland Aero Corp...
and Liberty Media
Liberty Media
Liberty Media Corporation is an American media conglomerate and the control is exercised by company Chairman John C. Malone, who owns a majority of the voting shares....
(run by cable tycoon John Malone). Afterwards the company emerged from financial restructuring and completed a merger with NTL in 2006.
Operations
On its cable network, Telewest provided several residential services including:Television
The majority of Telewest's television was digital. There were, however, areas that received an analogue service (Slough, Windsor and some other areas in West London). Telewest was in the process of converting the remaining analogue areas to digital and it was expected that the analogue service would cease in 2007.The digital television service offered a number of different products including true video on demand
Video on demand
Video on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
, a PVR, and HDTV.
- On Demand: On Demand (Formerly known as Teleport) was the brand name for Telewest's video on demandVideo on demandVideo on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
(VOD) service. The On Demand service launched in 2005. In contrast to Sky Digital which, due to technical limitations, is only able to provide near-VOD services, Teleport is a true VoD system. Users could search through a large library of programmes and watch them when they want to as part of their subscription. This library included a free 7-day watch again feature for TV programmes produced by the BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, Channel 4Channel 4Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
and Virgin Media Television (formerly known as Flextech). On Demand also offered movies that could be purchased and watched as many times as desired within a twenty four hour period. On Demand also offered HD content that worked in conjunction with the Telewest PVR (now renamed the V+).
- HDTV Telewest was the first UK broadcaster to offer HDTV. Telewest's HDTV service launched several months earlier than that of their chief competitor, Sky Digital. Telewest's HD service initially comprised around 10–30 hours per week of video-on-demand content, with no linear high definition television channels available, although the early trial services of BBC HD and ITV HD were carried for a brief time. In January 2006 Telewest started to broadcast HD documentaries such as The Blue Planet, Planet Earth and Pride, through their Teleport service, and later broadcast some movies in HD. Telewest had an agreement with both ITVITVITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
and the BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and claimed to be the only provider in the UK to offer all the 2006 World Cup matches in HD. In reality however half of the final group stage matches were not available in HD. Telewest's HD service was provided exclusively through their TV Drive box. Sky launched their HD service in May 2006, initially charging a £300 setup fee and an additional £10/month for several subscription HD channels, including HD versions of Sky One, Sky Movies and Sky Sports. Telewest charged a £75 setup fee and £10/month, although no subscription HD channels were offered. Telewest's fees however included the TV Drive recording service, equivalent to the recording features of the Sky+ service.
- TV Drive was the name of Telewest's Digital Video Recorder (PVR)Digital video recorderA digital video recorder , sometimes referred to by the merchandising term personal video recorder , is a consumer electronics device or application software that records video in a digital format to a disk drive, USB flash drive, SD memory card or other local or networked mass storage device...
service. The product incorporated a 160 gigabyteGigabyteThe gigabyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information storage. The prefix giga means 109 in the International System of Units , therefore 1 gigabyte is...
hard drive as standard, meaning it was able to store around 80 hours of recorded programmes. This was in contrast to BSkyB's Sky+Sky+Sky+, or Sky Plus, is a personal video recorder service for Sky in the UK. Launched in September 2001, it allows the user to record, pause and instantly rewind live TV. The system performs these functions using an internal hard drive inside the Sky+ set top box...
service which offered only 80 gigabytes (40 hours). Similarly, Telewest's product incorporated three tuners while Sky's incorporated only two, meaning that Telewest's service could record two channels at the same time while watching a third. A few days ahead of the rebranding to Virgin MediaVirgin MediaVirgin Media Inc. is a company which provides fixed and mobile telephone, television and broadband internet services to businesses and consumers in the United Kingdom...
, TV Drive was renamed V+.
Internet
Telewest's internetCable internet
In telecommunications, cable Internet access, often shortened to cable Internet or simply cable, is a form of broadband Internet access that uses the cable television infrastructure. Like digital subscriber line and fiber to the premises services, cable Internet access provides network edge...
service called Blueyonder, formerly branded as Cable Internet, ran on the cable internet
Cable internet
In telecommunications, cable Internet access, often shortened to cable Internet or simply cable, is a form of broadband Internet access that uses the cable television infrastructure. Like digital subscriber line and fiber to the premises services, cable Internet access provides network edge...
architecture and offered speeds of 2 Mbit/s, 4 Mbit/s and 10 Mbit/s downstream. The broadband service was 'uncapped', meaning that its use was unlimited and no extra charges were payable related to the amount of data downloaded. On 21 November 2006, after the merger with NTL, The Register
The Register
The Register is a British technology news and opinion website. It was founded by John Lettice, Mike Magee and Ross Alderson in 1994 as a newsletter called "Chip Connection", initially as an email service...
reported that Subscriber Traffic Management
Bandwidth throttling
Bandwidth throttling is a reactive measure employed in communication networks to regulate network traffic and minimize bandwidth congestion. Bandwidth throttling can occur at different locations on the network. On a local area network , a sysadmin may employ bandwidth throttling to help limit...
was being trialled in areas in the north of England and was rolling out nationwide.
Blueyonder also provided dial-up internet services on a pay as you go or fixed monthly fee of £14.99 for unlimited use.
Telephone
- Talk Unlimited
- Talk Evenings and Weekends
- Talk Weekends
Provided UK landline calls for up to an hour for a fixed fee monthly inclusive of line rental. Telewest were the first UK landline company to offer 'unlimited' calls to landlines for a fixed monthly fee.
- Talk Mobile
UK mobile calls with 25% reduction from standard rates.
- Talk International
Similar principle to Talk Mobile, with different reductions to different countries.
- Talk Anywhere
200 Minutes
400 Minutes
800 Minutes
Telewest were the first landline company to offer a package of this kind as it included bundled minutes every month that could be carried over to the next. Including UK Mobiles, Landlines, Businesses with 0845 and 0870 International Mobiles & Landlines.
It was available nationally, varying in price depending on the number of minutes.