Beware of Virgins

The combination of Virgin Mobile, NTL and Telewest could send a cold chill through their competitors in the UK. Whether they're incumbents like BT or young upstarts like Bulldog, they will all have been pushing their strategy teams to thell them the answers.

It's not going to be al plain sailing for the new Virgin team. They are in the proecss of finally integrating Telewest - something that the companies and industry has been talking about for at least five or six years - and those that have been in the 'merger but really a takeover' situation know that this is by no means a smooth road and can take some time.

Neither Telewest nor NTL has a great history of customer services with NTL consistently being in the news for their cock-ups. This will have to be sorted.

The young, enthusiastic and ambitious team at Vrigin Mobile will have to contend with competent peers that don't have real innovation and customer orientation in their blood. Virgin have no network to worry about. They are retailers. NTL and Telewest, like other network operators, have always been obsessed with their networks but maybe they've overcome that..

Finally, the synergies of the quadruple play proposition, which is such an attractive part of the deal could work against them if they are not careful. Convergence, that horrible term, could either inspire or disable them. Packaging what they sell today and tomorrow at a pricing, packaging and ultimately a technological level could give them a huge advantage over their competitors if they get it right. The biggest concergence issues are found in how converged propositions are presented to the customer as cohesive, simple and understandable offers that provide value for money and a sensible upgrade path for customers.

Whatever, the brand guys will have great fun. Apparently, sources outside BT suggest BT is reviewing it's brand image, partially due to the prospect of having one of Britain's most cherished brands up against them with brands such as Bulldog and CPW developing by the day.