Cable & Wireless (LSE：CW.) is a British telecommunications company. In the mid-1980s, it became the first company in the UK to offer an alternative telephone service to British Telecom (via subsidiary Mercury Communications, merged into C&W in 1997). The company later offered cable television to its customers, but it sold its cable assets to NTL in 2000. It remains a significant player in the UK telecoms market and in certain overseas markets, especially in the former British colonies of the Caribbean, where it was formerly the monopoly incumbent. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It is also the main supplier of communication in the British South Atlantic, including Saint Helena and the Falkland Islands. [1]

大东电报局(Cable & Wireless)(LSE：CW.) 是英国一间老牌电讯公司，曾拥有香港最大电讯网络供应商香港电讯。大东电报局也是澳门电讯股东之一。

英国大东电报局（Cable& W ireless Plc）成立于1872年，世界500强企业之一。它为商业用户和个人消费者提供语音、数据和IP业务，为其他电信运营商、移动通信运营商以及内容、应用和互联网服务提供商提供服务。业务遍及80多个国家，拥有130多年的电信服务经验，占有世界长途电话通讯市场1/4的份额。

2002年11月，大东电报局宣布，公司亏损扩大，需裁员3500名，并收缩海外业务。

2006年1月31日，大东电报局宣布执行长Francesco Caio将于3月底离任，并且对集团进行大规模的重组，分为英国本土和国际业务两个部分。2月，又宣称他们正在寻找机会卖掉其在巴林电信持有的20％股权。3月初再度传出大东电报局将出售其海外业务和运营机构，在全球范围内裁员3000人、终止合约客户达90%，进一步撤出海外的运营投资。

大东电报局的常务董事 John Pluthero 表示，大东电报局目前约有3万用户，公司计划将用户群的规模由目前的3万个缩减至3000个大型企业用户。

至2005年3月为止的财政年度，大东电报局共有51亿英镑的净亏损。

据了解，早在1983年，大东电报局曾与深圳市政府成立国内第一家合资电信运营企业——深圳深大电话有限公司，英方持股49%，然而这段姻缘却在2004年“破裂”。目前除中信大东，大东电报局在国内还有一家大东电报局通信技术服务（上海）有限责任公司，这家全资子公司员工数量10多人。

Cable & Wireless remains the 3rd biggest supplier of IP services to FTSE350 customers behind BT plc and MCI/Verizon. However, with recent cable company consolidation it can no longer claim its position as the second largest UK fixed player. The fortunes of the international wholesale telecoms division of C&W UK is significant - accounting for over one third of UK revenues. Indeed, its international wholesale voice operation and European IP (AS1273) remain sizable, but commercially struggling.

Following acquisition of Energis in August 2005, C&W strengthened its UK position but still have only half the Internet Access corporate market share of former incumbent (BT). Former CEO Francesco Caio publicly stated the aim of making C&W the preferred alternative to BT in the UK. John Pluthero, on his accession in the Energis management takeover, modified this to be the leading UK IP services company.

C&W also bought Bulldog Communications in the UK, providing it with an Local loop unbundling network as well as a consumer broadband Internet service provider. During aggressive expansion it gained a poor reputation for provisioning and customer service. Falling new sales and a strategy change led C&W to sell the brand and customer base to Pipex in September 2006. It continues to own, and wholesale on, the LLU capability.

Historically, Cable and Wireless has had a strong market presence in many current and former British colonies where it provided local telephone service. It was awarded the 1996 Worldaware Business Award^[21] for its long term commitment to developing Cable links in the Pacific region (especially Fiji, Vanuatu, Tonga and the Solomon Islands). The company had a virtual monopoly amongst the colonies in the Caribbean region. In recent years, their market share has somewhat diminished with the dismantling of their regional monopoly and the introduction of more competition in the Caribbean, particularly from Irish-owned cellular multi-national, Digicel. The company was also the main fixed line operator in Hong Kong until the sale of Hong Kong Telecom to PCCW.

The company remains the main fixed-line provider in the British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Panama, Macau, Maldives, Monaco, Seychelles, the Falkland Islands, St. Helena, Turks and Caicos Islands, Anguilla and Guernsey (where it operates under its own brand name LIME, while in Bermuda it provides international communications only; local services are provided by the Bermuda Telephone Company.

Cable & Wireless HKT was the Hong Kong operations of British-based telecom firm Cable & Wireless and was established in the then British colony in 1934. It was not until 1981 that the unit formally registered as a Hong Kong company, Cable and Wireless (Hong Kong) Limited. In 1988 Cable and Wireless (Hong Kong) Limited merged with Hong Kong Telephone Company as Hong Kong Telecom. It was renamed as Cable and Wireless HKT International in 1998. CWHKT was acquired by Pacific Century Cyberworks in 2000.