[Satellite John]

http://news.independent.co.uk/busine...cle2841400.ece

http://news.independent.co.uk/busine...cle2838682.ece

[itsalltelly]

I suspect the parent company is using the mobile business as a cash cow to prop up its other money losing activities, in much the same way that France Telecom treated Orange

[Everything Goes]

Virgin mobile would continue to do well. But its merger into the murky cable TV domian will do it more harm than good.

[intheknow]

Do you need to ask? 3 letters

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"Is the Virgin brand in danger?

Sir Richard Branson has utilised the Virgin brand he launched in the 1970s to great effect, launching everything from cola drinks, music labels and transport services under the label. When he sold Virgin Mobile to NTL:Telewest last year, not only did he generate his largest return on investment, he also agreed a deal to rebrand the cable TV business under the Virgin banner. However, the unseemly spat with Rupert Murdoch's Sky has damaged the Virgin brand according to analysts. Yet it is not only in communications that Virgin has taken a backward step. Virgin Trains lost its Cross Country rail franchise last month while the company's Virgin Atlantic airline has become embroiled in the fuel surcharge price fixing scandal."

I've got a feeling this will be the worst deal Branson has even done, within another couple of years the Virgin name could be in ruins, especially if Virgin Media is bought by PE and then goes belly up because of 12 billion debts. Angry customers, liquidation, sell off, break up, it could all be ahead over the next few rocky years.

[pauljaymes]

I think it's a bit premature to suggest the death of the Virgin brand at this stage, but I think it's fair to say that the management of Virgin Media have made some major mistakes over the past few months.

It seems like they've approached everything back to front. As a reasonably satisfied Virgin Mobile customer I might have been tempted by a decent broadband offer, but VM haven't even attempted to cross-market anything to me.

What I'd like is an integrated VOIP handset that works with my broadband - here VM have an incredible opportunity to cut their bills from T-Mobile by selling customers call/text/etc time over their own network - and it's a ready made distribution tool for video content to handsets - but no, that would be too sensible, instead we get a mediocre TV phone that's best used as a DAB radio!