Peter - found this on Bloomberg VOD News for SEAC!!!
Telewest to Offer Fast Internet Service Next Year, Person Says
London, Aug. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Telewest Communications Plc, the U.K.'s No. 2
cable-TV company by subscribers, will start offering a new high-speed Internet
service to some of its customers early next year as it seeks to keep up with
rivals, a person familiar with the plans said.
The service, offered in partnership with Microsoft Corp. and Hewlett-Packard
Co., will enable computer users to receive data at several times the speed of
regular modems, which carry up to 56 kilobits per second. Further details will
be unveiled when Telewest reports its first-half results tomorrow, the person
said. A Telewest spokesman declined to comment.
Telewest, in which Microsoft owns 30 percent, has lagged rivals in offering
advanced services like high-speed Internet access and digital TV -- which
analysts consider key to increasing revenue. NTL Inc., the biggest cable
company, already offers Internet service up to 512 kilobits per second and
British Telecommunications Plc said last week it will offer speeds up to 2
megabits per second -- or 2,000 kilobits.
''High-speed Internet access is very important for cable companies,'' said
Christian Maher, an analyst at Investec Henderson Crosthwaite who rates Telewest
shares ''hold.''
The new service will connect users to Microsoft's MSN web site, the person
familiar said. The service, which includes phone charges, will cost a flat
monthly fee of 25 pounds to 30 pounds, compared with 40 pounds a month for NTL's
service.
News of the service was reported earlier in the Financial Times.
Video-on-Demand
Telewest will also unveil plans to begin testing a video-on- demand service in
some parts of its network using technology developed by San Francisco-based
nCUBE and Maynard, Massachussetts-based SeaChange International Inc., the person
said.
Video on demand charges TV viewers a fee to get movies, TV shows and music to
watch or listen to whenever they want and allows them to pause, rewind, fast
forward or stop the program.
Competitors are also ahead of Telewest on video on demand, however.
NTL started testing a video on demand service developed by closely held Elmsdale
Media in January. Last week Video Networks Ltd., a closely held company based in
Hertfordshire, said it will start offering video on demand services to customers
in London on Oct. 1, using British Telecom's high-speed networks.
Aug/04/1999 5:40 |
