Cable&Wireless Worldwide aims to become the first choice communications integrator specialising in the mission critical needs of large users of telecoms. Today we are one of the world's leading international communications companies specialising in providing critical communication network and services in the UK and globally. We work with large corporates, multinational companies, governments, carrier customers and resellers providing a range of high quality managed voice, data and IP based services and applications across the UK, Asia Pacific, India, Middle East & Africa, Continental Europe and North America.

We own the UK's biggest fibre network dedicated to business users of telecommunications and have an international cable network that provides connectivity to 153 countries, either directly or indirectly through partners, reaching across the Atlantic Ocean, through Europe and on to India and throughout Asia. Spanning approximately 500,000km in length, including interests in more than 69 major global cable systems, our next-generation network improves the quality and performance of telecommunications services through our use of advance optical and IP transmission.

We also have a Multi-Service Platform that runs across our next-generation network, offering customers a single environment for all their telecommunications requirements. This platform provides the capability to integrate closely customer voice and data applications with the Cable&Wireless Worldwide network, reducing costs for both customers and Cable&Wireless Worldwide.

At Cable&Wireless Worldwide, we've put customer service at the heart of our strategy and we work to establish close relationships with our customers and a detailed understanding of their business challenges. Many of the products and services we offer to customers are typically in constant use and tightly integrated into customers' operational activity. A deep understanding of the ways in which our services are used, how they contribute to the success of customers' businesses and how they might be further developed to generate additional value is one of the ways in which we differentiate ourselves and our customer service offering. We offer teams of sector, service and technical specialist for our customers to ensure we have the capability to deliver an enhanced level of service.

Cable & Wireless has provided telecommunications services, networks and equipment to business and residential customers around the world for more than 130 years. Cable & Wireless traces its history back to a number of British telegraph companies founded in the 1860s and cites Sir John Pender as its founder. In 1866 the first submarine cable was laid across the Atlantic Ocean (using Brunel's legendary ship "Great Eastern") by a consortium led by Pender. The cable was landed in 1870 at Porthcurno in Cornwall. Following this success, several further submarine cables from the UK were laid to other parts of the world, including the Caribbean, Asia, Australia and America. Following the advent of wireless radio early in the 20th Century, the company, then called the Eastern and Associated Telegraph Company, expanded its interests in 1928 through a merger with Guglielmo Marconi's Wireless Telegraph Company. This new company was called Imperial and International Communications and in 1934 the company was renamed Cable & Wireless.

The Group's network played a vital strategic role during World War II, and following the war the UK Government declared it to be strategically important and nationalised the business in 1947, Cable & Wireless becoming the international communications section of the British Post Office. In 1981, Cable & Wireless was the first privatisation of the Thatcher Government, with the sale of 49%, with the remaining 51% being sold in two further tranches in 1983 and 1985. In 1981, Mercury Communications was formed as a competitor to BT to provide telecommunications services in the UK. Later in 1993, One2One, a division of Mercury Communication, launched mobile communications to the UK consumer market. In 1997, Mercury merged with other UK cable operators and was renamed Cable and Wireless Communications (CWC), in which Cable & Wireless owned a 53% stake. Following this, the Group engaged on a significant disposal programme including One2One to T-Mobile in 1999 and its stake in CWC's consumer operations in 2000 to NTL, as well as its stakes in Hong Kong Telecom and Optus in Australia. At the same time it began developing its business based around a global IP network with a strategy to sell global IP services, as well as building up its expertise in hosting.

Following a turbulent start to the new century, Richard Lapthorne was appointed as Chairman in 2003 to lead a turnaround of the business. This included resolving a significant tax issue, the sale of the Japanese business and the exit from the loss-making US operations. In 2005, Cable & Wireless bought Energis, strengthening its position as the second largest telecoms operator in the UK. In 2006, Cable & Wireless internally re-structured the company as two standalone businesses - Cable & Wireless International and Cable & Wireless Europe, Asia & US (EAUS). In 2008, Cable & Wireless International launched its ‘One Caribbean' transformation programme, bringing together its 13 Caribbean subsidiaries under a new common brand, LIME (Landline, Internet, Mobile, and Entertainment). Later in 2008, EAUS completed the purchase of Thus plc and in early 2009, the EAUS and International businesses were renamed Worldwide and CWI respectively.

Today, CWI manages regional telecoms businesses in small to medium sized markets around the world including the Caribbean, Panama, Macau, Monaco, the Channel Islands, the Maldives and the Seychelles. It is a full-service telecommunications provider offering mobile, broadband, and domestic and international fixed line services, as well as enterprise and managed service solutions.

The Cable&Wireless Worldwide business specialises in offering high quality communications services such as IP, data, voice and hosting to large enterprise, reseller and carrier customers. It operates globally, with core markets in UK, Asia and EMEA, and provides connectivity in 150 countries.

Cable&Wireless Worldwide aims to be the first choice communications integrator specialising in the mission critical needs of large users of telecommunications. Our customers rely on the telecommunications infrastructure and services that we provide in order to operate their businesses.

We'll achieve this goal by implementing the following strategy:

• Working closely with our customers and differentiating through a tiered customer service model that is ‘right first time', stable, proactive, responsive, and positions Cable&Wireless Worldwide as ‘easy to do business with';
• Continuing to evolve a market-leading product suite of advanced network-based services and solutions, which is attractive to the large users of telecommunications, focused on our next-generation network and Multi-Service Platform technology;
• Increasing the share of revenue generated by our strategic product set of Data, IP and application services, which attract higher margins and are in greater demand than products such as traditional voice and legacy services;
• Continuing to expand our network and technologies to improve both margin and capability to meet customer demand, both in the United Kingdom and in our global footprint;
• Maintaining our focus on efficiency in our network and service operations;
• Increasing focus on emerging markets in Asia Pacific, India and the Middle East & Africa to capitalise on increasing global demand; and
• Leveraging our scale and product capability in the small and medium sized enterprise sector through the Thus brand.

The market for our core Data, IP and Hosting products and services in the United Kingdom and overseas is expected to continue to grow, alongside increased demand for telecommunications services from enterprises in the emerging markets which we target.

Our extensive UK and global network, together with our product suite and service focus, positions us to successfully exploit these growing markets and to build on our track record of increasing market share in the UK and overseas.

Cable&Wireless Worldwide has a number of significant competitive strengths:

Focus on large users of telecommunications

Our strategy is to focus on large users of telecommunications in all our markets and we have particular strength in the retail, financial services, utilities, government and media sectors, where companies are highly dependent on communications infrastructure. Our strategy enables us to focus on delivering specific products and services for customers that address their need to simplify communications, reduce costs and enable new business models. See Sectors.

Next-generation network and delivery platform

Cable&Wireless Worldwide owns the UK's largest fibre network dedicated to business users of telecommunications and we have an international cable network that provides connectivity to 153 countries, either directly or through partners, reaching across the Atlantic Ocean, through Europe and on to India and throughout Asia. These networks have inbuilt resilience with capability to re-route traffic across diverse paths in the event of failure of one or more paths and, especially at the international level, this is a significant advantage over many competitors.

Our Multi-Service Platform is an IP-based next-generation platform that operates across the our next-generation network and offers customers a single environment for their telecommunications requirements. It provides the ability to integrate customer voice and data applications closely with our network to address the growing demand for capability from customers. See Our Network.

Customer service

We've put customer service at the very heart of our strategy and work to establish close relationships with our customers, and a detailed understanding of their business challenges. Many of the products and services we offer are typically in constant use by customers and tightly integrated into their operational activity. A deep understanding of the ways in which they are used, how they contribute to the success of customers' business, how they might be further developed to generate additional value, alongside our customer service offering is a key differentiator. We operate teams of sector, service and technical specialists to ensure we have the capability to meet not only our contractual service commitments, but also to deliver an enhanced level of customer service to our customers.

Product suite

We offer a wide range of products and services focusing on advanced IP-based solutions that help customers achieve their business objectives. This suite of products enables customers to build a package of telecommunications solutions that address their business requirements. Our next-generation network and Multi-Service Platform have enabled us to bring new high-quality next-generation products to market, such as Managed Video Conferencing, digital signage and voice recognition products. In the six months ended 30 September 2009, more than half of our revenue was generated from the Data, IP and Hosting product suite illustrating an increased demand for these services rather than traditional voice and data products.

Management team

The Cable&Wireless Worldwide management team is led by John Pluthero and Jim Marsh [link to board pages]. Since their arrival in November 2005 they have led the turnaround of the Company. Our business has been restructured to focus on higher margin products and services whilst costs have been significantly reduced. For both the financial year ended 31 March 2009 and the six months ended 30 September 2009, Cable&Wireless Worldwide was profitable and generated positive operating cash flow.

John Pluthero and Jim Marsh are supported by strong management and employees throughout the business who are focused on providing exceptional customer service.

Brand strength

Cable&Wireless has a strong, recognised brand which has been used for more than 70 years. Cable&Wireless Worldwide will continue to use the brand in the areas where we currently operate.

Who is Cable&Wireless Worldwide

Cable&Wireless Worldwide has a history stretching back more than 140 years. Naturally, during this time we've had to evolve as a company, adapting to the needs of a fast paced and ever-changing communications marketplace.

Today, we're one of the best performing telecoms companies in the world and a market leader in mission critical communications.

Working with many of the largest users of telecoms services in the world, our promise is to create ‘a new way' for them to connect, communicate, collaborate and compete. We're focused on engaging with our customers, providing brilliant service and value to help them achieve their business aims.

And how do we achieve this? Put simply, by employing talented people. They are our most important investment, they are what set us apart, and they are why we continue to be so successful.

Three of a kind

Cable&Wireless Worldwide also operates through two other standalone businesses - CWI (Cable&Wireless International) and THUS.

CWI owns and operates leading regional telecoms businesses across the world. With its headquarters in London, it provides world class services through four key regions - the Caribbean, Panama, Monaco, and Macau & Island. CWI is a full-service telecoms provider offering mobile, broadband and domestic and international fixed line services, as well as enterprise and managed service solutions. If you're interested in a career with CWI, please visit http://www.cwig.com/careers-jobs.

THUS aims to become a new force in business telecoms focused on the mid-market. As part of the Cable&Wireless family it has the strength, stability and ambition to shake-up the sector and to encourage customers to demand more, and with new and dynamic leadership, it's signalling its intention to be different, and better. If you're interested in a career with THUS, visit http://www.thus.net/careers.