NTL/Travers Smith Braithwaite: TIMELINE

1996 Partnerships with Virgin Communications and the Consumers' Association to deliver Virgin Net and Which? Online.

1996 International CableTel acquires National Transcommunications Limited (NTL).

1997 International CableTel adopts NTL name for whole company.

1998 NTL acquires Comcast UK, adding 1.1 million equity homes, 210,000 residential cable telephony customers, 160,000 residential cable television customers and 6,600 business telecoms customers.

1998 NTL acquires ComTel and Diamond Cable Communications.

1999 NTL and Microsoft announce a joint agreement to develop new broadband services for UK and Ireland customers (Jan).

1999 NTL acquires National Transmission Network of Australia with £250m bid, a network consisting of 561 transmission sites (Mar).

1999 NTL acquires the 1G Networks for FF350m (£32.7m) (May).

1999 NTL wins bid to acquire CableLink for £445m, Ireland's largest cable television provider (May).

1999 NTL rebrands, with £40m advertising campaign and new logo (Jul).

1999 NTL announces its intention to acquire Cable & Wireless Communications' residential company (Jul).

1999 NTL acquires British Telecommunications franchises in Westminster and Milton Keynes, covering approximately 210,000 homes, approximately 189,000 of which are passed by broadband networks (Jul).

1999 NTL unveils Digital Media Centre (DMC), Langley (Sept). The DMC will allow NTL to better serve and monitor cable networks in the UK, Ireland and Continental Europe, and provide the technology to deliver new product offerings to customers.

1999 NTL completed the sale of its 50 per cent interest in Cable London to Telewest Communications for £428m in cash. The total Cable London franchise consists of approximately 440,000 homes (Nov).

1999 NTL announces the acquisition of CableCom, Switzerland's largest cable operator for $3.7bn (£2.55bn) (Dec).

2000 NTL and Aston Villa FC announce a media partnership (Jan).

2000 ITN and NTL to launch a news channel (Feb).

2000 NTL to launch free UK-wide internet service (Mar).

2000 NTL to put £25m into "next generation" digital content (Mar).

2000 NTL to take 25 per cent stake in B2 (Mar).

2000 NTL announces media partnership with Middlesbrough FC (Mar).

2000 NTL opens radio communications centre for London (May).

2000 NTL sets out vision for Asia's digital future (June).

2000 NTL announces media partnership and loan agreement with Leicester City FC, worth £12.5m (June).

2000 NTL and Rangers FC announce a media partnership worth £31m (June).

2000 NTL wins internet rights for Football League (June).

2000 NTL delivers ITN's 24-hour digital news channel (July).

2000 NTL seals £150m contract to provide next-generation network for Orange (July).

2000 Virgin Net partners to focus on core strengths (July).

2000 NTL advances European broadband strategy with partnership to buy 49.9 per cent of Noos, France's leading broadband company (Aug).

2000 NTL to build Australian carrier-grade telecoms network (Aug).

2000 BSKYB and NTL agree programme supply deal (Sept).

2000 NTL and Universal to launch new movie channel in the UK (Sept).

2000 NTL sets standard for digital integration by fusing television networks (Oct).

2000 NTL lists shares on the New York Stock Exchange (Oct).