PCCW, Hong Kong’s dominant telecoms player, is facing a second humiliation in Britain after picking up only 14,000 customers in two years for its revolutionary broadband technology, The Times has learnt.

The group had hoped to go head-to-head with players such as BT when it launched its wireless broadband service, NOW. It claimed that the service, which did not need a phone line, would “open up the web” to consumers in part by offering super-fast speeds. However, it has won just 14,000 customers, against BT’s 3 million, and still offers speeds of just 1 Megabit per second.

Despite talk of covering up to 75 per cent of UK homes, NOW is available only in the Thames Valley and parts of London. In a further worrying sign, PCCW said that Ian Stone, the NOW chief executive, who left recently, will not be replaced. Instead, Keith Hawkins, NOW’s chief operating officer, has taken charge.

PCCW has tried and failed in Britain before with its NOW brand. In 1999 it launched a broadband content provider called NOW — then standing for Network of the World. It had state-of-the-art London studios and was to be the lynchpin of a drive by Richard Li, the tycoon who chairs the group, to provide a global broadband television service. It closed in 2002.

PCCW, in which Mr Li is selling most of his stake, began the latest NOW service, wireless broadband, in 2004 after spending millions buying licences for the service, initially called Netvigator. Yet although people’s use of broadband has since surged — 40 per cent of homes now have a service — general advances in speed and increased competition have hit niche players.

Mr Hawkins said of NOW: “PCCW is very pleased with the results in the UK and sees it as a very valuable asset.”

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