NTL this morning confirmed that it would suspend the acquisition of new customers to its CPS (Carrier Pre-Select) residential telephone service.
CPS is a technology that allows operators to offer telecoms service over the existing Eircom network.
The company has provided this service since 2000. The move follows speculation in the media yesterday over whether it would be withdrawing altogether from the CPS residential market.
The company stated that existing customers will not be affected by this decision. “It’s regrettable that current market conditions have forced us to suspend acquisition of new customers to our residential telephony service. Should market conditions change we will definitely consider re-launching sales of the service,” said managing director Graham Sutherland.
NTL said that there were several reasons for the decision and seemed to be pointing the finger at former incumbent Eircom. These included what it alleged were aggressive win-back tactics employed by Eircom, high Eircom interconnect and high mobile termination telephony costs and lack of a single bill facility whereby alternative telephone operators can bill customers for line rental at a margin.
NTL also announced that it is to invest in the continued expansion of its business
telephony service. “We have been encouraged by the demand for our business telephony service and our success in winning new customers over the past year. We will aggressively continue to develop this market,” said Sutherland. The company claimed that revenues from business telephony have trebled in the last year.
By Dick O’Brien
