Easynet to provide Murdoch with triple play

AS THE INQ confidently predicted months ago, Rupert Murdoch's Sky TV (BSkyB) has almost certainly found the broadband supplier it has been seeking in the shape of Easynet. Easynet has admitted that it is on the wrong end of an acquisition bid.

Sky TV will have a problem hitting its target of 10 million customers by 2010 now that the UK's biggest cable operators - NTL and Telewest - have combined. In order to compete, Sky's got to have a 'triple play' offering which adds telephony and broadband Internet access to pay-TV.

If Sky's not to be caught out again, it will certainly have to be able to offer Internet telephony (VoIP) too. Since Easynet has installed its own equipment in 250 of BT's telephone exchanges already - with another 100 to come - that goal should be easily achievable.

The move poses the biggest threat to BT, since Sky does at least own loads of content. Many observers forget that BT's original interest in developing ADSL was the ability to deliver movies via ordinary telephone wires.

Those with long memories will recall that Easynet's origin was as the ISP behind London's first Internet café - Ciberia. Easynet soon spotted BT was creaming off most of the profits associated with providing modem access to the Internet. So it bought its own telephone exchange. The rest is history.µ

See also
Sky TV said mulling broadband acquisitions
Sky contemplating triple play