Telewest chalks it up with high-speed cable Net access

NEWS Telewest Communications today unveiled the UK's first high-speed cable Internet service. The Blueyonder service offers unlimited usage and speeds of upto 15 times faster than traditional Internet access, enabling consumers to access films, games, music and news at an unmetered cost of £50 per month. But the service is currently restricted to residential customers only. A spokesman for Telewest said "We will be offering a similar service for business in the next few months but Blueyonder is just for residential customers." Telewest chief executive Tony Illsley described Blueyonder as a 'premium' service but said some customers will prefer to stick to Telewest's £10 per month SurfUnlimited tariff. Blueyonder is designed to compete with ASDL offerings from companies like BT. The UK cable company also launched Telewest Active Digital, a range of interactive services via a TV set. Telewest has signed content partnerships with over 60 companies including British Airways, Ladbrokes, Lastminute.com and WHSmith. Illsley said in a statement: "These services give us clear leadership over competitors. They represent the real dawning of the broadband interactive age, and they are being rolled out to our customers now."