Businessweek

Cable and Wireless plc engages in the ownership and operation of telecommunications businesses. The company provides mobile, broadband and domestic, and international fixed line services to homes, small and medium-sized enterprises, corporate customers, and governments. Business The company operates through two standalone businesses, CWI and Worldwide. CWI operates integrated telecommunications companies offering mobile, broadband and domestic and international fixed line services to residential and business customers. It has four major operations being the Caribbean, Panama, Macau and Monaco & Islands. Worldwide provides enterprise and carrier solutions to the users of telecoms services around the globe. During the year, Worldwide acquired 100% of the share capital of Thus Group plc (Thus). Products and Services The company provides connectivity to 153 countries. Its main markets are the U.K., Asia, Middle East, and Africa. The company’s business is managed as four regional operations: Caribbean, Panama, Macau, and Monaco & Islands. Caribbean: The company’s Caribbean operation covers: Jamaica, Barbados, the Leeward Islands (Anguilla, Antigua, Montserrat, and St Kitts & Nevis), Windward Islands (Dominica, Grenada, St Lucia, St Vincent, and the Grenadines) and the Offshore Financial Centres (British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, and Turks & Caicos Islands). The company provides fixed line and broadband services in all 13 markets. In 2008, it launched ‘One Caribbean’ transformation programme, bringing together 13 Caribbean subsidiaries under one management structure with a new common brand, LIME (Landline, Internet, Mobile, and Entertainment). LIME is a full service telecommunications provider across the Caribbean, providing customers with mobile, broadband, and domestic and international fixed line services, as well as supplying several of the region’s enterprises with all their telecom needs. Panama: The company is a telecom services provider in Panama. It also provides carrier services, helping to make Panama a hub of telecommunications in the Latin America region. Macau: CTM, the company’s operation in Macau, delivers a suite of telecommunications services, including the provision of broadband and domestic fixed line services. It serves approximately 400,000 customers. Monaco & Islands: The company’s Monaco & Islands operation has four distinct areas – Monaco Telecom (MT); Channel Islands, Isle of Man & Bermuda (CIIMB); Indian Ocean, including the Seychelles and Maldives; and South Atlantic & Diego Garcia. The operation has businesses in 22 markets at varying stages of development. MT has also expanded its operations internationally into developing markets, such as Afghanistan, Algeria, and West Africa and is a partner in On Air, an in-flight mobile phone service launched by Ryanair in 2009. Customers The company’s major customers include HSBC and Scottish Power. Competition The company competes with domestic telecoms in each country, as well as other competitors, like AT&T, BT, Orange, and Verizon. History Cable and Wireless plc was founded in 1929.