NTL considers cable for ex-CWC users

NTL is considering skipping dial-up internet services and moving straight to cable modem in its effort to get former Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) customers online.

The telco, which acquired CWC in May last year, has been unable to offer its unmetered ntlworld service to ex-CWC customers because their local networks could not handle the anticipated jump in call traffic.

NTL said upgrading these exchanges is just one of a number of options being considered. It is also considering offering ntlworld via cable modem using either standalone modems or using the modem contained within digital set-top boxes.

ntlworld, which launched in April, offers unmetered internet access included in the price of the line rental for NTL customers. Former CWC customers have also been frustrated that the service has been available to BT customers but inaccessible to CWC customers.

An NTL spokesman said the company would announce its decision within a few weeks. "We said last year that we would address the situation by the Spring, and that is still our intention. We are still considering a number of options and customers can expect an announcement in a few weeks or so."

Tim Johnson, analyst at Ovum, said NTL could be wise in seeking to invest in upgrading networks for cable modems rather than for dial-up services.

"There is clearly a limit to what cable companies can afford to do with their networks, and it's a big investment to upgrade networks," said Johnson.

"Making an investment in services such as dial-up access is risky when, with the advent of DSL and broadband, it may turn out to be redundant."

In September NTL told vnunet.com that local CWC networks would need to be upgraded in order to support the ntlworld service.

The telco said in October that it would include cable modems that can be connected to PCs in all digital boxes it installed, and was starting to upgrade all ex-CWC networks for cable modems.

Earlier this month NTL said it had tripled the number of subscribers to the £19.99 a month ntlworld cable modem service during the fourth quarter of last year. NTL now has 12,800 cable modem customers.