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Telewest loss widens
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March 23, 2000: 8:29 a.m. ET
Launches broadband internet service, registers 110,000 digital customers
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LONDON (CNNfn) - British cable operator Telewest Communications (TWT) on Thursday launched the U.K.'s first high-speed internet service as it reported that its 1999 loss widened 54 percent on increased costs of investing in digital set-top box technology and digital television services. The company's shares surged 7.2 percent to 457 pence.
Telewest, which expects to complete its acquisition of TV programming company Flextech in April, said its loss increased to £481 million ($759 million), or 21.9 pence a share, from £312.5 million, or 17.8 pence a share, the previous year.
The company's new high-speed internet service, named "blueyonder", will cost customers £50 a month and will offer access at speeds of 512 kilobits per second, compared to typical home-computer modems that operate at speeds of up to 56.6 bits per second. Telewest, the U.K.'s second-largest cable operator after Nasdaq-listed NTL (NTLI: Research, Estimates), also launched interactive TV services.
Telewest's digital service has 141,000 customers, with plans to increase its user base to about 500,000 by the end of the year. Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB (BSY) is aiming for about 5 million customer.
The European Union on Wednesday said it would extend its probe into Microsoft's (MSFT: Research, Estimates) planned acquisition of a 29.7 percent stake in Telewest from MediaOne Group following the latter's acquisition by AT&T (T: Research, Estimates), for about $3 billion.
Telewest also said it has a stake in a new joint venture with Andersen Consulting to give it direct access to broadband technology, as the company plans to offer multi-media content without the frustration of slow dial-up services. 
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