WightFibre
 | |
| Type | Telecommunications |
|---|---|
| Country | |
| Availability | Hybrid Fiber Coaxial |
| Founded | 2001 |
Broadcast area | United Kingdom |
Former names | WightCable |
Official website | www.wightfibre.com |
WightFibre is the only provider of commercial and residential cable television services on the Isle of Wight. They also provide telephone and broadband internet services. It's the last remaining cable company in the UK not owned by Virgin Media who, from March 2006, operate more than 95% of cable services in the UK. The Isle of Wight Cable and Telephone Company (IOWCTC) and Omne Communications were taken over by CLS Holdings in the early years of the 21st century. It ran two mostly separate operations, WightCable on the Isle of Wight (former IOWCTC), and WightCable (North) in south west Scotland and North West England. CLS Holdings have now sold both of the original two companies to separate private investors who intend to operate them separately taking full advantage of the advances in technology that have occurred in the intervening years.
WightCable Ltd was sold in the last part of 2005, now going under the name Wight Cable 2005 Ltd. Many changes have been introduced for the end user not only new graphics on the website and letterheads but also more usefully increased broadband speeds and low cost inclusive call package unlimited broadband connection and digital television. Making it a one stop shop for all media needs. It is speculated that these change were brought about to build on the existing customer base by improving the quality of service that the old company had provided and pave the way for the new island wide WightWireless wireless telephone and broadband service and the new connect service via BT lines. However attempts to expand the network have been beset by difficulties. "WightWireless" has proved to be unreliable with poor quality of voice services. WightCable have also, so far, been unable to penetrate into other areas of the Island, it is hoped that the Connect range of packages will give them an additional customer base and transform the business into profitability.
In 2012, WightCable changed its name to WightFibre, promising increased internet speeds up to 100Mbit/s, and introducing IPTV with high-definition channels and on-demand services. A £0.5M investment saw the launch of 50Mb broadband in July 2012 and 100Mb broadband in September 2013. The company advertised heavily and returned to growth in October 2012. A small scale trial of the company's new IP based TV service was held in Nov & Dec 2012 but technical difficulties have delayed full launch of the service.
In February 2013 WightFibre was acquired by Keith Young, a serial entrepreneur. Amongst his many claims to fame, Keith Young was an original investor in Easynet which grew into one of the UK's largest ISPs before it was acquired by BSkyB. The management team remained in place and the companies strategy remained unchanged.
WightFibre has partnered with two Isle of Wight based wireless operators - Click4Internet and Wight Wireless - to extend island coverage with plans to improve that coverage to provide speeds of 50Mb to 80Mb throughout the island.
WightFibre's IPTV service is currently, as of summer 2013, in development.
Logos
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Old logo -
Former logo until 2012
