NTL and Virgin switch on 'free' digital TV

NTL Telewest and Virgin Mobile are touting the UK's first 'quad-play' package

NTL Telewest and Virgin Mobile have unveiled the UK's first 'quad-play' combined digital TV, broadband, landline and mobile package.

The move follows NTL Telewest's merger with Virgin Mobile earlier this month.

The package, dubbed "four-play" by Virgin boss and major NTL Telewest shareholder Richard Branson, will offer free TV to any new fixed-line phone customer.

The free TV service is available from 1 September, with the quad-play packages available later in the same month.

Quad-play subscribers can mix and match elements of the package, paying £20 for two, £30 for three and £40 for all four.

The launch is seen as a direct challenge to similar packages from BT and BSkyB. In an apparent swipe at Sky, NTL Telewest chief executive Steve Burch said that there will be "no hidden charges" in the package, which has a £40 connection fee.

The digital cable company claims that the TV service will be "superior to Freeview, enabling all subscribers access to advanced next-generation services including some that even Sky cannot match, like video-on-demand". 

"The quad-play product will be the first time we've combined a Virgin-branded service with NTL Telewest products," said Burch in a statement. "No other company has the capability to provide such total flexibility for the consumer."

The company is preparing a "substantial" advertising campaign to promote the offers, which will also be marketed "aggressively" through Virgin Mobile retail stores.

As vnunet.com reported last week, Sky is launching is own 'free' broadband service. Consumers have to sign up for a Sky TV package, costing from £15 a month.

Carphone Warehouse and Orange also offer broadband packages to customers with telephone contracts.