UPC Broadband (UPC) is a leading provider of television, broadband Internet and telephone services. It is active in 11 countries in Europe and a division of Liberty Global, Inc. As of June 30, 2006, Liberty Global operated state-of-the-art broadband communications networks that served approximately 13 million customers in 17 countries, principally located in Europe, Japan, Chile, and Australia. Liberty Global's operations also include significant media and programming businesses such as Jupiter TV in Japan and Chellomedia in Europe.

Unlike many newcomers to the broadband market in Ireland, UPC has an existing customer base for their cable and digital television services. The company has over 590,000 customers with over 260,000 broadband enabled homes . . . which means, essentially, that there are more than a quarter of a million households, which could potentially take advantage of the sort of bundled packages offered by UPC Ireland.

To date, more than 40,300 customers have taken advantage of the companies' broadband offerings, while there are 300 telephone subscribers.

The strength of the offering from UPC is the flexibility of its options, combining entertainment, broadband and voice communications. The cable roll-out, which will be a significant part of the broadband revolution in Ireland, is well on track, and the company is accelerating its rollout of cable across the country. Indeed, UPC is accelerating its network investment programme to deploy triple play products (TV, phone and internet) across its national cable footprint.

UPC's bundled package is, in fact, a strong element of the digital revolution that is still sweeping the country. It is helping to create the muchvaunted "multimedia home" which consumers are more and more coming to expect, with easy-to-use, always-on media and communication services throughout the house.

Of course, presence in a market counts for nothing without the twin pillars of functionality and affordability, and earlier this year, UPC announced the launch of an affordable 6Mb Broadband package. While a high-speed package was always going to be appreciated by certain customers, the fact that it is available from just 39.99 per month (including VAT) is even more welcome . . . particularly when it is considered that it is not long since people were paying similar prices for the bare minimum that could be described as broadband.

In fact, there are now four tiers to the broadband package offered by UPC. The 1 Mb Value Pack is available from 19.99 per month, the 2 Mb Starter Pack costs 24.99, 3 Mb NTL Broadband is available for 29.99 and the aforementioned highspeed pack is coming in at just under 40.

It is important to note that this level of high-speed broadband is not only affordable, but its availability will actually change the way in which people use their internetbased services. Higher speeds not only reduce waiting time, but allow for certain elements, such as video streaming, to be as easy as opening the front page on a search engine.

"In response to the growing demand for high speed internet services, we have been consistently improving our broadband service in terms of choice and affordability", said Orla Flynn, Broadband Product Manager of UPC Ireland. Orla added, "We will continue to drive and increase competition in the marketplace, and cable will continue to play its part in improving Ireland's position on the OECD ladder."

In terms of its geographical footprint, these services are now available to over 260,000 homes across Dublin, Galway, Waterford, Cork, Limerick, Clonmel, Thurles and Kilkenny. Similarly, UPC recently announced that it is accelerating its network expansion programme to broadband enable over 300,000 homes by the end of 2006 and is targeting to reach over 475,000 by the end of 2007 "We will continue to expand the availability of Broadband across our national networks to enable internet users the opportunity to experience the power of cable Broadband and to offer real consumer choice, " explained Orla Flynn.

For the future, UPC's triple play service was first launched to residents in Adamstown, Lucan, County Dublin earlier this year. The new triple play bundle with digital telephony uses groundbreaking VoIP technology, which enables future services like video telephony and integration of mobile and fixed lines. UPC will continue to rollout its Digital Cable Telephony as part of its triple play services across its NTL and Chorus national networks. The deployment of digital telephony is an integral part of UPC's strategy to provide enhanced triple play services to its customers in Ireland. Orla concluded by saying "In summary, from now on we will not only offer customers an extensive television offering and faster Internet speeds, but also a better value telephone service marking the beginning of a new era for the consumer in Ireland."