About us Our brands Investors Media centre Our responsibility Careers About us Group overview Our customers Our strategy Our board Our history Corporate governance Our locations Our standards Home » About us » Our history Our history The KCOM Group has been around for over a century. Key events in our history include: 1882 Invited to bid for telephone licences, only 55 of 1334 UK local authorities expressed an interest. Hull Corporation, part of the City Council, was among them. Called on to support the establishment of a local telephone service, just 28 of 600 local businesses declared their enthusiasm, but in 1902 the Council gained its first licence to operate services in the Kingston upon Hull area. 1904 The Hull Telephone Department opened its first exchange at the former Trippett Street Baths. 1914 Hull's bid to renew its licence was made conditional on its purchase of the National Telephone network infrastructure for £192,423. The Council gave the go-ahead, securing the future of the country's only remaining municipally-owned Corporation. 1954 To celebrate its Golden Jubilee, Hull Corporation produced Golden Pages, a Yellow Pages® forerunner printed on gold paper and distributed with a classified business section. 1987 The Hull City Telephone Department became Kingston Communications (HULL) PLC, a company in its own right, though still 100% owned by Hull City Council. 1989 Kingston's conversion of its network to a digital infrastructure - the first all-digital network in the UK - was completed. 1994 Torch Telecom - a joint venture with Yorkshire Electricity - was launched, offering telecommunications services to businesses across Yorkshire. 1996 Kingston acquired Yorkshire Electricity's share of Torch Telecom, making it a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Kingston Group. 1998 Kingston acquired Teleport London International, the satellite services arm of the Services Sound and Vision Corporation, a charity providing entertainment services to the UK's armed forces. Upon acquisition, operation was renamed Kingston TLI. 1999 The Kingston Communications Group was partially floated on the London Stock Exchange, with the City Council retaining its interest with a 44.9 per cent stake. KIT, Kingston's interactive television service, was launched in Kingston upon Hull, offering customers digital television, video-on-demand, internet, email and web-based local information via their television sets. 2000 Torch Telecom began to extend its network, establishing a presence in the East Midlands and the South Midlands. 2001 Torch's 2,200km national fibre network was completed and lit. The Kingston Group acquired Milgo Solutions, a provider of data communications and managed network services solutions. 2004 The Group sold its satellite and broadcasting unit, Kingston Inmedia, to focus on its core terrestrial telecommunications business activities. The Group acquired Eclipse Internet, an established and growing broadband ISP that delivers internet connectivity and services to businesses throughout the UK. Kingston's centenary celebrations at the end of 2004 coincided with its acquisition of Omnetica, a leading enterprise data networking company, in a move designed to expand Kingston's service offering to customers in the voice and data services market. 2005 The Group acquired Technica UK Limited, a supplier of network storage services in the UK. The coming together of Kingston Communications Business Services, Omnetica and Technica marked the creation of Affiniti, the Group's national business-to-business operation. 2006 The Group acquired business applications integrator Smart421 and JAM IP Limited, a specialist in the area of converged IP contact centre solutions, to complement and expand Affiniti's portfolio of ICT services. 2007 The Group acquired business internet services provider Mistral Internet to join its regionally-focused Kingston Communications business. 2007 The shareholders of Kingston Communications (HULL) PLC voted to change the company name to KCOM Group PLC to more accurately reflect the changing shape and geographic reach of the company and the brands that operate beneath it. Hull City Council sell remaining stakeholding in the Group. 2009 Stragetic review of the Group announced. The coming together of Affiniti and KC’s Partners and Regions activities marked the creation of Kcom the Group’s communications integrator, delivering converged solutions that create value for business and public sector customers The Group signed a strategic agreement with BT Group, which saw KCOM PLC extend its network reach through access to BT's national network, and outsource the management of its network assets to BT's wholesale division. 2011 The initial phase of super fast broadband deployed in selected areas of our Hull and East Yorkshire market, delivering broadband speeds of around 100mbps. Share price 83.25p +0.25p Date: 02/02/2015 Trade time: 16:35 GMT Our Brands About KCOM Group Careers History Board Standards Responsibility Investor Information Results Report and Accounts Regulatory news services Share price Fact sheet Our brands Kcom KC Business KC Contact Centres KC Colour Pages Eclipse Smart421 Contact us Get in Touch Phone Us Join our Network Follow us View our channel © KCOM Group PLC 2010 Contact us Sitemap Regulatory information Cookies Privacy policy Terms of use Accessibility