Virgin Media 2007 Annual Report Download - page 16

while offering performance that supports voice, video and converged services. A complete range
of products from local area network extensions to managed wide area Ethernet networks are
available, providing customers with high bandwidth and flexible solutions.
•Applications and Services: As an overlay to network products, we also offer applications and
services that add value to customers’ communications infrastructure. For example, the IP CCTV
services we deployed to a Scottish council delivered clear socioeconomic benefits and earned
recognition by winning the 2007 IFSEC (a leading event for the security industry) Best Security
Project award, as well as the Frost & Sullivan (a leading industry consultancy) accolade for
Product Innovation.
Customer Service
The goal of ntl:Telewest Business is to become the natural choice for providing the
communications requirements of our target customers, something we aim to achieve by delivering the
best customer experience. This is reflected in the strategic emphasis of the division, focusing over 75%
of ntl:Telewest Business employees on the sales, provisioning and in-life support of customers and their
services. We believe this differentiated and complete service proposition provides us with a competitive
advantage in our target market.
To maintain our capability and continually add value to our customers’ experiences, we also focus
investment in our people, developing teams in best-practice methodologies and supporting professional
qualifications. The Cisco Gold Partnership requires sales and technical teams to be appropriately
trained in new technologies, while Lean Sigma within business improvement teams, PRINCE2 (Projects
in Controlled Environments 2) and APM (The Association for Project Management) in project
management, and ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library) Best Practice accreditation within service
management, all seek to ensure that employees are capable of responding professionally and effectively
to customers.
Mobile Segment
On July 4, 2006, we acquired Virgin Mobile, the U.K.’s leading mobile virtual network operator,
with approximately 4.5 million customers as of December 31, 2007. As a mobile virtual network
operator, Virgin Mobile provides mobile telephone services to its customers over cellular networks
owned by third parties. Virgin Mobile’s main network partner currently is T-Mobile, and Virgin Mobile
has entered into a minimum 10 year, non-exclusive network supply agreement with T-Mobile that was
signed in January 2004. The majority of Virgin Mobile’s customers are prepay customers, who top up
their accounts prior to using the services and are not contracted to remain with Virgin Mobile for any
period of time. Contract customers enter into contracts with Virgin Mobile for a minimum 30-day
period. Virgin Mobile’s customer base reflects a broad age demographic.
Virgin Mobile’s successful business philosophy is centered around five key strengths: a strong
brand; a capital-light business model; a differentiated approach to the market; award-winning customer
service; and a focused management team. Increasingly, the opportunity to sell mobile services into the
Virgin Media cable customer base will be a competitive differentiator for Virgin Mobile and for Virgin
Media generally.
Virgin Mobile offers a broad range of mobile communications products and services, such as
mobile voice and non-voice services (including SMS, picture messaging and entertainment services, such
as games, news and music services) delivered over 2G, 2.5G and 3G platforms. Virgin Mobile offers
handsets and/or SIM cards by way of cross-sell opportunities into the Virgin Media cable customer
base, and through approximately 5,000 sales outlets in the U.K., including approximately 1,300 specialist
shops, concessions located in Zavvi (previously Virgin Megastores) and Virgin Media-branded stores, as
well as through a wide range of general retailers, its website and its customer care centers. We plan to
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