The privatised utilities in Yorkshire are racing each other into telecommunications, and closely following on Yorkshire Water Plc’s move into cable television and local telephone service (CI No 2,227), Yorkshire Electricity Plc, already an investor alonsgside Hull’s Kingston Communications Ltd, is reportedly teaming with Kingston again to invest UKP40m in a new company, Torch Communications Ltd: according to the Financial Times, the plan is for Torch to hang fibre optic cable along Yorkshire’s pylons (does the firm really have its own pylons rather than just unobtrusive larch electricty poles?) and cable Yorkshire and Humberside for full telephone service; the plans are contingent on board approval on each side and grant of a full telecommunications licence; the plan would be to start service next summer, going after major users with both leased lines and switched services.
