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| Type | Public (LSE: KCOM) |
|---|---|
| Founded | Originated 1882, floated as PLC 1999 |
| Headquarters | Kingston upon Hull, United Kingdom |
| Key people | Bill Halbert (Executive chairman)[1] |
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Products | Retail and Wholesale local and national telecommunications services, Broadband and internet services (Eclipse Internet and Karoo), IT and Network Solutions (Affiniti), Mobile service (KC Mobile) |
| Revenue | £517.3 million (2008) |
| Operating income | £17.7 million (2008) |
| Net income | £18.8 million (2008) |
| Employees | 2,617 (2008) |
| Website | www.kcom.com |
KCOM Group (LSE: KCOM) is a UK communications and IT services provider. It is headquartered in Kingston upon Hull, where subsidiary business unit Kingston Communications serves local residents and businesses with Internet and telephony services. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
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History
On 22 August 1902, Hull Corporation (which later became Hull City Council) was granted a licence to operate a municipal telephone system in the Kingston upon Hull area, opening its first telephone exchange in 1904 at the former Trippett Street Baths.[2]
At the time, there were a number of such municipal telephone companies around the UK, all of which - with the exception of the one in Hull - were gradually absorbed in to the Post Office Telephone department, which was subsequently to become British Telecom (BT).
Hull's bid to renew its licence in 1914 was made conditional on the £192,000 purchase of National Telephone networks infrastructure. The council gave its approval, securing the future of the country's one remaining municipally owned telephone corporation.[2]
Hull has therefore remained an exception within the UK telephone network, being the only place in the UK not served by BT and is noted for its distinctive cream coloured telephone boxes and innovative services, for example becoming the UK's first fully digital network in 1989[2] using Marconi System X telephone switches (Central Offices or Class 5 switches).
The Company was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1999.[3]
In the early part of new millennium Kingston started to pioneer services such as ADSL, Video on Demand and Digital TV. In February 2006, Kingston Communications announced that it would be ceasing its Video on Demand and Digital TV services (called Kingston Interactive TV - KIT) on 1 April 2006.[4]
Operations
The KCOM Group now consists of a number of group companies including Kingston Communications, Affiniti (merging Kingston InBusiness, Omnetica and technica) - its business integration and services arm and Eclipse - its Internet Service Provider.
KCOM's Hull operation covers a relatively small geographical area. Although it is under the same Ofcom and EU obligations with respect to local loop unbundling the addressable market is small that the economics do not - by and large - justify entry by other companies.[5]
A further complication for any would-be rival of Kingston Communications is the fact that in Hull the first 1 km of wire from the exchange has a cross-section of 0.3 mm sq, as opposed to the standard 0.5 mm sq, requiring a more expensive DSLAM in the telephone exchange for providing an ADSL service.
Monopoly concerns
As residents and most businesses in Hull are served only with telecoms services by Kingston Communications (KC),[6] some service users are unhappy with the monopoly position KC has in the Hull area.
The main concern is that of Internet service provision; Kingston Communications' Karoo service is the only residential broadband operator in the Hull area. According to a decision from the European Commission in 2004, Kingston Communications plc (“Kingston”) have a 100% market share in the wholesale market of broadband services in the Hull area.[7] Considerations include concerns over KC's acceptable use policy, the cost of the service and the inability to use other providers.
In December 2005, Giacom, the owner of Hull24 - a rival broadband provider in the Hull area - complained to Ofcom regarding the provision of network access to KC's rivals.[8] The complaint is that "Giacom alleges that Kingston is not providing [network] access on reasonable terms as Kingston's pricing is anti-competitive and prohibitive to service providers [other than KC]". In April 2006 Giacom and Kingston resumed negotiations on a deal to allow Hull24 to use KC's network; as a result Giacom withdrew its complaint and Ofcom has closed the case.[8]
In August 2007 the alleged monopoly of Kingston Communications was referred to the European Commission by Yorkshire and Humber MEP Diana Wallis.[9]
In May 2008, the "Review of the wholesale broadband access markets"[5] report published by Ofcom determined that KCOM was not acting in a way that would keep out rival companies, and that pricing for wholesale broadband and access to LLU was within the market range. The main reason cited by rivals for not providing services in the Hull area was rather one of overall cost effectiveness, given the relatively small number of potential customers (190,000 homes), and the fact that many of these would be likely to remain with the incumbent supplier.[10]
In July 2009, Nexus Telecom signed an agreement with KCOM enabling them to offer effective wholesale line rental and call tariffs to business consumers within the Hull area so giving them a choice of service provider.[11]
Sports sponsorship
The ground shared by Hull City football club and the Hull FC rugby league team is sponsored by and named after Kingston Communications - the Kingston Communications Stadium, more commonly known simply as the KC Stadium. Kingston Communications was the shirt sponsor for Hull City for the 2007–08 and 2008–09 seasons. "Karoo" appeared on the home (amber) shirts and "Kingston Communications" featured on the away (white) kit.
See also
References
- ^ "Chairman". KCOM Group plc. http://www.kcomplc.com. Retrieved 24 November 2009.
- ^ a b c KCOM: Our History
- ^ Three flotations that test gloval buoyancy
- ^ Kingston Interactive Television to cease operations
- ^ a b Review of the wholesale broadband access markets - Final explanatory statement and notification
- ^ http://www.kingstoncommunications.com
- ^ Letter from the European Commission
- ^ a b Giacom complaint against Kingston Communications about failure to provide Wholesale ADSL access | Ofcom
- ^ Euro commission informed of KC's monopoly
- ^ Kcom cleared of keeping out rivals
- ^ "Nexus can now offer an alternative to Kingston for calls and lines in Hull". Nexus Telecommunications Ltd. 30 July 2009. http://www.nexusuk.com/?page=newssingle&itemid=18. Retrieved 2009-10-03.
External links
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