Cable and Wireless is a British telecommunications company. In the mid-1980s United Kingdom it was the first company to offer an alternative telephone service to British Telecom, later offering cable TV, although this was sold to NTL in 2000.

Historically, Cable and Wireless has had a strong market presence in many British colonies and former colonies, where it has provided the local telephone service, especially in the Caribbean. Although in recent years market share has somewhat diminished with the dismantling of the Cable and Wireles monopoly and the introduction of more competitors in the Panama, Monaco, the St Helena and Guernsey, where it operates under its own brand name, while in Bermuda it provides international communications only, with local services provided by Bermuda Telephone Company.

In 1998, when MCI and WorldCom merged to create MCI WorldCom the new subsidiary company Cable and Wireless America, Inc. purchased the MCI tier 1 backbone in the US. In November 2001 Cable and Wireless America purchased bankrupt web hosting/co-location provide Exodus Communications for $800 million dollars.

In November 2002, Cable and Wireless announced that they were withdrawing from the US market. In December 2003, Cable and Wireless America, Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

In March 2004, SAVVIS Communications Corporation (the owner of the naming rights for the SAVVIS Center) purchased Cable and Wireless America for a sum believed to be around $300 million US dollars.

External link

• Cable & Wireless (http://www.cw.com)
• SAVVIS Communications (http://www.savvis.com)