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Originally Posted by ntl.wotcha
I really don't see how they can say that this move will give NTL a good chance to take on Sky. Sky do not offer Mobile services and I doubt that many customers give two hoots if NTL want to give them a mobile deal, I certainly don't.
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And a month ago, Sky didn't offer broadband internet. PLCs can't stand still. They have to grow, or the share price shrivels. And there is a finite amount of growth in subscription TV. That means you have to find new areas of business. So, Sky may not offer mobile now, but give it time and I wouldn't be surprised. Indeed, this tie-up between NTL and Virgin may just make them sit up and think about it, assuming they are not doing so already.
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What will give them a good run against sky, is a decent PVR deal, and a good VoD/HD service. These are the two services which will make people spend money, not mobile phones. IMO.
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You, as an NTL watcher, are assuming that the majority of people make purchase and subscription decisions on the same basis that you do. In fact, most people do not undertake a detailed comparative benefit of the services on offer before they sign up. They buy on the strength of the brand. Sky's brand eclipses NTL's at the moment, in large part because it was there as a national entity long before NTL (and, unlike NTL,
is a national brand).
Virgin is a tremendously powerful brand. Whether we think it deserves its reputation is besides the point; the fact is, it's big, and it's well thought of. Frankly I think this is a stroke of genius by NTL. They have basically saved themselves the millions they would have to have spent on a brand-building exercise had they re-launched, post merge with Telewest, with a completely new and unheard of name like UK Cable.
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The problem with the mobile phone market in this country is cross network charging and with most people on O2 or Orange or Vodaphone, who wants to be on T-mobile ?
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Again, you miss the point. Joe Public does not understand these details, nor does he want to. By your logic, no-one would be on T Mobile, and no-one would be on Virgin mobile. But plenty of people are, despite them being the younger of the brands in the UK. Why is that?