Cablelink customers will soon be making unmetered telephone calls for 3 1/2p - in contrast to Telecom Eireann's tariff of 11p per unit - and have rapid access to the Internet, according to the cable firm's new owner. NTL, which bought Cablelink last night for £535 million, also promised to hire hundreds of new employees.
NTL Ireland's managing director, Mr Owen Lamont, said he was delighted to have concluded the deal, which was delayed by a High Court action by a rival bidder, Esat Telecom. The court rejected Esat's assertion that its bid of £410 million should have been accepted, and the Supreme Court refused a stay on the sale pending an appeal.
Cablelink's former owners, Telecom Eireann and RTE, said they were happy with the outcome. Esat said it was disappointed, but that from now on it was "business as usual".
The final price paid - around £1,500 per subscriber - came to far more than initially predicted. As recently as January, estimates ranged at between £200 million and £250 million.
The Exchequer will not benefit from the sale, but it does represent a significant windfall for the two State-owned companies. It is understood that RTE will use its share - almost £134 million - to fund its digital television project, while Telecom Eireann is likely to add the cash to the reserves it is building to allow acquisitions.
NTL is currently building a cable network in Northern Ireland, has 63,000 customers and is expanding at a rate of 2,000 a month. Users can choose from around 50 television channels, surf the Internet at speed and make calls on NTL's own telephone system.
Mr Lamont said he hoped to offer Cablelink subscribers a similar service, including telephone calls at off-peak times and at the weekend at a flat rate of 3 1/2p.
NTL plans an investment of at least £200 million, upgrading or replacing Cablelink's network. This could take up to five years, Mr Lamont said, but the first customers would be connected to the new system within six months.
The company also plans to recruit quickly hundreds of workers with experience in designing and constructing networks, more general telecommunications workers, and call-centre and customer care staff, he said.