Netvigator
Encyclopedia
Netvigator is the first and largest residential Internet service provider
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...

 in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

, operated as a brand of PCCW
PCCW
PCCW Limited is the holding company of HKT Group Holdings Limited, Hong Kong's premier telecommunications provider in the Information and Communications Technologies industry. PCCW also holds a majority interest in Pacific Century Premium Developments Limited...

. The company did offer iTV, an interactive movie television network that allowed users to watch movies on their TV screen by demand. The service ended in 2002. The company launched a competitor to Cable TV
Cable TV Hong Kong
Cable TV Hong Kong , previously known as Wharf Cable before October 1998, is owned and operated by i-CABLE Communications Limited...

, Now TV
Now TV
Now TV is a 24-hour pay-TV service provider in Hong Kong.It is transmitted through the company's Netvigator broadband network via an IPTV service...

.

History

Netvigator dial-up Internet Access Service was first launched under Hongkong Telecom IMS Limited under the directorship of Dr. William Lo on 18 April 1996. It acquired another ISP, hkstar, with all the infrastructure and clients. Their broadband
Broadband
The term broadband refers to a telecommunications signal or device of greater bandwidth, in some sense, than another standard or usual signal or device . Different criteria for "broad" have been applied in different contexts and at different times...

 service, under the brand name "Super Netvigator" was launched as a value-added service of the InteractiveTV (iTV) in May 1998. Subsequently it launched their standalone broadband service (directly connected to PC without iTV), under the service name "Netvigator 1.5M Ultraline", in July 1999.

NETVIGATOR Wireless Modem

In 2008, Netvigator launched NETVIGATOR Wireless Modem, a wireless modem with router and modem capabilities, in Hong Kong.

United Kingdom operation

Trading initially under the Netvigator brand, with the company name UK Broadband, PCCW entered the UK broadband market with wireless broadband in mid 2004, starting with the Thames Valley
Thames Valley
The Thames Valley Region is a loose term for the English counties and towns roughly following the course of the River Thames as it flows from Oxfordshire in the west to London in the east. It includes parts of Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, North Hampshire, Surrey and west London...

. The brand migrated to Now Broadband during 2005, and the London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 market was opened for business. At the same time the support call centre for the UK was moved from Hong Kong to an outsourcer in the north of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.
In September 2007, Now Broadband sent out letters under the lasered signature of Keith Hawkins, Chief Operating Officer, to selected areas in the UK cancelling the service, citing "limitations not apparent when we launched the service in your area" as the reason for closing certain radio sites.

Competitors

  • Hong Kong Broadband Network
    Hong Kong Broadband Network
    Hong Kong Broadband Network Established in 1999, Hong Kong Broadband Network Limited, the wholly owned subsidiary of City Telecom Limited, has been aggressive in developing its own network infrastructure with advanced technology to deliver various fixed telecom network services...

  • Hutchison Global Communications
    Hutchison Global Communications
    Hutchison Global Communications is a major Internet service provider for Hong Kong....

  • I-CABLE Communications
    I-CABLE Communications
    i-CABLE Communications Limited , i-Cable in short, is an internet Service Provider in Hong Kong, and is now one of Hong Kong's leading integrated communications companies...


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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