How did Cable TV Start in the UK?
 

I'm in Coventry and we've had cable TV here since the mid 80's. It used to be provided by Coventry Cable.

Were they just a local face to a larger cable network or would they have done everything themselves? Was Coventry an isolated network along with many others across the country?

Re: How did Cable TV Start in the UK?
 

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/cable/history/

There is loads of info there!

And also here too...

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/26...ble-tv-uk.html

Re: How did Cable TV Start in the UK?
 

I believe Rediffusion was the first cable system in UK..theres a post about it somwhere here at CF was reading it smorm...

Re: How did Cable TV Start in the UK?
 

Hi all,new to this forum.
I remember in the early 80's that cable was called Starview in the pontypridd area.

Re: How did Cable TV Start in the UK?
 

And Comtel started in Swindon

Re: How did Cable TV Start in the UK?
 

All the road access points are marked Cabletel around here...

Re: How did Cable TV Start in the UK?
 

There used to be a cable TV system in Peterborough in the 60's called British Relay. You werent able tp be permission to put an external aerial up so plugged your TV into the British Relay socket that was put into new houses in the 60's and 70's

British Relay became Rediffusion

http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/te...chnology9.html

Re: How did Cable TV Start in the UK?
 

Not sure when cable first came to my part of Yorkshire, but we opted to have it installed as soon as it came into our street. I was on Yorkshire cable and got my internet from cableinet. I think that was about 7 years ago.

Re: How did Cable TV Start in the UK?
 

Here in the East Midlands, I remember when Diamond cable were digging up all the roads in the late 90's. They spent ages laying down the cables.

Re: How did Cable TV Start in the UK?
 

Was originally Cabletel here in Glasgow too ( my area anyway ). I remember the excitement in the mid 90's when i seen the people digging up the streets and laying the cables. Dont people think back then that the general programs on cable, sky, were much better. When i think back to some of the shows i used to watch, Ray Cokes on MTV was a fav of mines :D . Most things seem very "americanised" now.

Re: How did Cable TV Start in the UK?
 

I believe Swindon Cable was it's own little franchise, and then it was bought by ComTel (who were previously Telecential) and they were based in Winnersh, Berks.

Re: How did Cable TV Start in the UK?
 

my OH tells me that when he was a kid there was only cable TV in Welwyn Garden as you weren't allowed an aerial

Re: How did Cable TV Start in the UK?
 

Yep Grimsby then nottingham was one of the first. Diamond if I can remember was a small cable company from Texas. I believe microsoft was one of the companies who part owned diamond.

I can remember when it first aired they showed how like texas grimsby was going to have a revolutionary system where schools would have home cable linkup. Then if your children was ill they could still do there schooling from home. You would be able to do your shopping from the confort of your home as all the local shops would be part of some cable technology.

Somehow we never goto to that level. But hey they sold cable to me. You was just given the impression you were being part of a revelotion in how this country would change in communications.

Re: How did Cable TV Start in the UK?
 

Yeah. I remember it being the early 90's when we had our estate cabled (Cable North West, Ashton-in-Makerfield). We used to call cable an acronym - 'Cars And Bloomin Lorries Everywhere'. Once it was all finished every house was carded asking could they pay us a no-pressure visit. We said yes and a *very* smart bloke in a suit (much more like the man from the Pru than the cable salespeople of today!) came and talked to us for half an hour about what was being offered. There was no pressure to sign up - indeed you couldn't on the spot. They left a glossy brochure which I remembered reading at the age of 13 - 'in the future, we will be offering very high speed access to the internet' - those words stayed with me for a while. Sadly, my parents at the time decided it wasn't worth the cash and stuck with BT. But there was a feeling that it was genuinely something special, something better than BT.

Re: How did Cable TV Start in the UK?
 

Ive been with cable since 1991.

It was with Nynex, this was in Poole Dorset.