Cable guys celebrate 1m broadband milestone

The news comes just six months after it was revealed that overall broadband subscriptions surpassed the 1m mark. It is now estimated that there are about 1.5m residential broadband subscribers in the UK.

The cable operators, which are expected to merge in some shape or form, have been working together to co-promote broadband services to residential customers.

The two companies attracted about 250,000 new broadband users since the beginning of the year. NTL had about 500,000 subscribers in December, double that of Telewest, the smaller of the two operators.

Some 12m households are capable of receiving cable broadband. The cable operators claim that three out of four consumers that have the choice between cable broadband and ADSL choose the former.

However, NTL is something of a serial offender as far as the Advertising Standards Authority is concerned, having recently been rapped on the knuckles for the umpteenth time regarding misleading advertising campaigns.

The ASA found NTL in breach of its code of conduct after it marketed a "High Speed" 128Kbps service as 'broadband', despite it being only twice as fast as most dial-up services.

NTL stood up to the ASA by presenting documents that originated at OFTEL and the DTI, which defined broadband as "a service of 128Kbps or above". ASA upheld its ruling by suggesting that most consumers would consider 'broadband' to be a service that offers speeds in excess of 500Kbps.

Nevertheless, the 1m cable modems that NTL and Telewest have distributed around the UK back up NTL CEO Barclay Knapp's claim that the cable industry is playing a key part in making Broadband Britain a reality.

He said: "The history of Broadband Britain will show that the cable industry drove its

development." His counterpart at Telewest, MD Charles Burdick, described the news as a "significant milestone".

E-commerce Minister Stephen Timms said: "The challenge now is to extend this choice to users across the UK, and particularly in rural areas. So that no matter where we base our businesses and make our homes, we can all benefit from the significant benefits that

broadband offers."

9 April 2003:

October 2002:

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"www.telewest.co.uk ":http://www.telewest.co.uk

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