Telecential

Telecential was a cable TV provider based in Hemel Hempstead,^[1] Hertfordshire. It was notable for running one of the first community-based TV stations, West Herts TV, and for developing cable television services in Reading, Berkshire. Later on, they expanded their network to Northamptonshire (through their accusition of County Cable) and Swindon (through their accuisition of Swindon Cable). Telecential was jointly-owned by Tele-Communications, Inc. (TCI) and Telus.

Timeline of consolidation

• Telecential were bought by Comtel with its HQ in Wokingham^[2]
• Comtel were bought by Cabletel with its HQ in Hook, Hampshire^[2]
• Cabletel rebranded as NTL
• NTL merged with Telewest branded as ntl: Telewest
• ntl: Telewest bought Virgin Mobile and, separately, re-branded as Virgin Media
• Virgin Media was later acquired by Liberty Global in 2013. Liberty Global was a successor to TCI, one of the founders of Telecential, bringing the consolidation full-circle.

References

1. The original idea for a Community Radio station for St Albans came from Clive Glover, derived from his experience in hospital radio at the City Hospital in the 1980s.
2. "Britain's NTL Agrees to Acquire Three Cable Firms for $1.55 Billion" By Gautam Naik, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal