UPC customers grow by 11%

Cable operator UPC grew its business in the second quarter as an increasing number of people signed up for its TV, phone and broadband services.

The company said its core products grew by 11 per cent in the year to the end of the three month period, with a total of 826,800 service subscriptions.

Digital TV customers rose by 5 per cent year on year, while the broadband business grew by 32 per cent to 224,800 customers and the voice business increased by 56 per cent to 121,200. The company now has a total of 384,600 digital TV customers.

Chief executive Dana Strong said the company would continue to invest in its business.

"We continue to make significant progress in deploying the latest digital technology to enhance our product offering, strengthen our competitive position and build long term value for our professional and family customer base," she said.

UPC last week announced plans to invest a further €80 million in its fibre network, creating 50 jobs in Dublin and Limerick. It has spent more than €400 million on its network.

The company is facing new competition from Eircom, which recently said it planned to offer entertainment services to its customers, including TV over the broadband network.

In recent years, UPC has taken market share from Eircom in recent years with its competitive pricing for its bundled highspeed broadband, fixed line voice and TV services.