Cambridge Cable Ltd. was a

limited company In a limited company, the liability of members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by shares or by guarantee. In a company limited by shares, the lia ...

engaged in the provision of early

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of ...

. It provided cable infrastructure in the UK as part of the

Cambridge Digital Interactive Television Trial Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

(Cambridge iTV trial/Cambridge Cable Project).

History

It was founded in 1988 by three Cambridge businessmen as a cable television and communications company. In June 1989, the company was awarded the cable television franchise for the city of Cambridge and the surrounding area, and in July 1990 was granted licence by the DTI to operate a public telecommunications service and distribute television channels via its underground cable network. Cambridge Cable's inaugural service commenced in July 1991 with a cable television service; the company's public telephone service launched in September 1992. The company gained financial and operational backing from

Comcast Corporation Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...

, a major cable television network operator in the United States, and Singapore Telecom, the public telecommunications operator in Singapore. By 1996, it was fully owned by Comcast. With its backing from Comcast, purchased Stort Valley Cable Limited and was awarded the franchise for Harlow, Bishop's Stortford and Sawbridgeworth in November 1992, its services were provided under the name of Anglia Cable Communications. Late 1993 saw services started in the company's East Coast Cable franchise with subscribers in

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...

added first; network build throughout Colchester, then Ipswich and, later, Felixstowe followed. Cambridge cable ltd franchise map 1997

On 2 June 1999, the Cambridge Cable Group, as it by then had become known, became part of

NTL NTL may refer to: Companies * NTL Incorporated and NTL Internet, later Virgin Media, communications media company ** NTL Ireland, later Virgin Media Ireland * Arqiva, UK company formerly ''NTL Broadcast'' and ''National Transcommunications L ...

's growing portfolio, having operated franchises under the names Cambridge Cable, Anglia Cable, East Coast Cable and Southern East Anglia Cable. The company and its network is now part of

Virgin Media Virgin Media is a British telecommunications company which provides telephone, television and internet services in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are at Green Park in Reading, England. It is owned by Virgin Media O2, a 50:50 joint ventu ...

References

{{reflist Companies based in Cambridge Telecommunications companies of the United Kingdom

History

See also

References