Kingston Communications is an established UK communications company. The Group's national business-to-business capabilities encompass the provision of fully integrated and managed network solutions, complemented by the delivery of voice, data and call handling services in the towns and cities served by the Kingston Communications network. This infrastructure comprises twenty-five metropolitan fibre networks and a long distance broadband network, which was initiated for service in May 2001. Kingston's new media activities include the DSL-based interactive television service, KIT, and satellite broadband content, storage and distribution arm, Kingston inmedia. The Group's East Yorkshire network operation has served business and residential customers since 1904.

Interesting info taken from the Hull Daily Mail 21st/22nd Dec:

KC commended by Oftel for the way it handles customers.
The latest industry report has again identified KC as the top performing telephone company for order completion, fault repairs, complaint handling and billing. Registering near perfect results in the areas used to measure the companies overall performance. (99.9% were the figures quoted)
Seems like they are on the ball!

Kcom announced a substantial contract win this morning for the Food Standards Agency.

Please see www.kcom.com/news/2004 for the latest news from Kingston
Communications: Kingston Wins Food Standards Agency Business in Contract with Atkins Management Consultants.

This share has been trading with large spreads. When the spread narrows, there just is no volume, especially if you are trying to sell. So it is very difficult to actually get the quoted price, which in turn dscourages dealing in this share.

Hi LW
Nice to see you out of the 'Traders Office' hope we keep getting some good news from Kcom, its been a bit quiet recently, we must be due for a uplift soon.
Optomistic

And another win...

http://www.kcom.com/news/2004/news255.shtml

Good day today - orders are for buys, not much for sells!

Good to see some activity in KCOM again, coupled with the recent gains in THUS, and COLT over the last few months. Could this possibly be the start of the long awaited return to popularity of the small telecoms?

3rd quarter results came out last year around now.

Results due out and recent new contract wins could well explain the recent firmness in the price. Looking at the recent trades I notice that the MM's have widened the spread.

I think the spreads have widened, because they just don't have enough stock!

That sounds promising!!

KCOM to upgrade Yorkshire Building Society's network

Unbelievable...

LONDON (AFX) - Kingston Communications PLC has agreed to pay its former
chief executive Steve Maine almost 400,000 stg in compensation for loss of
office, following months of negotiations at the Hull-based telephone operator,
the Daily Telegraph said without citing sources.
The news could spark a public relations disaster for the company in the East
Yorkshire city where more than 70,000 locals bought shares in the group's 1999
flotation at 225 pence, three times the current price, the paper said.

KCOM are so frustrating!! They have reasonable fundamentals (apart from the debt), a virtual monopoly in the Hull area and there is no reason why they shouldn't follow the rest of the telecoms market up. But they don't. And then they do this. Makes you want to scream! Still, too far in to get out now....

I've managed to get hold of a graph comparing KCOM against the rest of the TEL sector over the last 12 months. But can't post it. It has even done better than the FTSE over the same period.

So over the last 12 month KCOM has been one of the best performing shares in the sector.

Over a couple of years they are not - but that was because they originally way outstripped the rest of the sector and had further to fall!)

Updated the charts to compare KCOM against the sector

It is thought that Steve Maine could be in for as much as K760 2*K380 payments the 2nd one payable in 6 months time dependant on him not taking a job beforehand (reported in Business Telegraph) That is not a bad reward for leaving the company. I just hope that I will eventually get a reasonable return for investing my cash in the company. Of course many locals showing large losses in their holdings, bought at flotation, will certainly resent this seemingly astronomical payout.
I have some faith KCOM suceeding in the future but the present management has a lomg way to go to bring back the goodwill of many investors.

We'll find out for sure, hopefully when the results come out, which is soon. (I'm wondering if someone leaked the info from seeing the draft docs.)

Hi LW
I really do think you deserve to be on MoneyAM's paroll you never seem to leave your post, always there with a usefull contribution. On the other hand I'll bet you don't get much value out of your T.V. licence!!!
All the best
optomistic