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Thus (company)

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Thus Ltd.
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryTelecommunications
Founded1994 (as Scottish Power Telecommunications Holdings Ltd)
HeadquartersGlasgow, Scotland, UK
Number of employees
1,700 (2009)
ParentVodafone
Websitewww.thus.net

Thus was a telecommunications provider operating in the United Kingdom based in Glasgow, Scotland. The company was once listed on the London Stock Exchange and became a subsidiary of Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CWW). Following the acquisition of Cable & Wireless Worldwide by Vodafone in July 2012, the company was gradually integrated into Vodafone. This was completed on 1 April 2013.[1]

History

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The company was founded in 1994 as Scottish Power Telecommunications Holdings Ltd (trading as Scottish Telecom), an offshoot of the energy company ScottishPower. In 1998 the company acquired Demon Internet.[2] Rod Matthews, who had founded the business, remained as Chief Executive until 1999.[3]

On 4 October 1999 Scottish Telecom announced their new name "thus".[4]

A short while later in 1999, the newly named Thus PLC listed on the London Stock Exchange.[5]

Front and back of a London-branch employee’s business card showing the original Thus logo and internet domain name "let-it-be-thus.com" - circa 2000.

In 2002 it was demerged from Scottish Power in a deal which effectively wiped out the majority of the company's debts, placing the company on a sound financial footing.[6]

In August 2004 it sold its call centre operation to Response Handling Ltd and in 2006 it acquired Your Communications and Legend Communications.[7][8]

On 28 May 2008 Cable & Wireless plc announced their intention to purchase the company with an offer of 165p per share: this first offer was rejected on 6 June 2008.[9] On 30 June 2008, Cable & Wireless announced that it had acquired a 29.9% stake in Thus and tabled an improved offer of £329 million, or 180p per share.[10] On 1 October 2008, Cable & Wireless completed the takeover of Thus: the company became known as "Thus, a Cable & Wireless business".[11]

Operations

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The company supplied some services (most notably Internet services) to small businesses. Many of its major customers had their business transferred to Cable & Wireless Worldwide.[11]

Network

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  • National Network built on Nortel Optera LH DWDM Infrastructure.
  • 160 Wavelength Capable
  • 10 Gbit/s/wavelength
  • Multiple 10Gbs SDH layers based on Nortel Connect DX platform.
  • Lower order SDH Layers for VC-12 granularity.
  • Cisco based MPLS Network 10 Gbit/s capable.

References

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  1. ^ "Changes to your invoices" (PDF). Vodafone. April 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  2. ^ Scottish Telecom buys Demon Internet Internet News, 5 May 1998
  3. ^ Matthews in new venture[dead link] Independent on Sunday, 31 March 2001
  4. ^ John, Lewell (7 October 1999). "ScottishTelecom Changes Name - InternetNews". www.internetnews.com. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
  5. ^ Journal, Silvia Ascarelli Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal (26 October 1999). "Scottish Firm Thus PLC Leads Telecom IPO List". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  6. ^ And thus the demerger finally came to pass Independent, 20 December 2001
  7. ^ RHL secures buy-out of contact group Thus Precision Marketing, 16 July 2004
  8. ^ Thus agrees to buy Your Communications and Legend Financial News, 1 February 2006
  9. ^ Thus Group rejects Cable & Wireless approach Archived 4 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine Announcement, 6 June 2008
  10. ^ C&W makes offer for Thus Reuters, 30 June 2008
  11. ^ a b "Cable & Wireless buys Thus". ZD Net. 2 October 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
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