Ampersand history

In 1983, HBO's The Terry Fox Story was the first made-for-cable film, while Showtime ran original episodes of The Paper Chase, a critically acclaimed drama that had been dropped by the broadcast networks.

The 1984 Cable Act established a more favorable regulatory framework for the industry, stimulating investment in cable plant and programming on an unprecedented level.

The booming industry attracted big-business investors, and the cable television landscape became dominated by multiple system operators (MSOs). By 1988, the five largest MSOs serviced more than 40 percent of cable subscribers in the nation.

TCI's reach eventually extended to forty-eight United States states, and in 1989 its cash flow was greater than the three broadcast networks combined.

In 1990, however, Primestar became the first company to offer commercial satellite TV service direct to customers' homes.

Since its founding in 1991, NCC has been involved in facilitating the growth of the Japan Studies field in North America, and now many of the librarians and scholars who helped to train and mentor the current generation are retiring or have already retired.

By 1992 about 60 percent of American households subscribed to cable television service, yet the industry's unregulated growth had created widespread negative feelings.

A major change in satellite technology occurred in 1993, when Hughes Electronics launched the first direct broadcast satellite (DBS). In DBS systems, the service provider receives programs from broadcast and cable TV networks at a technologically advanced broadcast center.

In 1995 the number of cable TV subscribers declined for the first time.

Six of the ten largest MSOs launched cable modem services in limited areas in 1996.

Cable telephony service was also launched in limited communities in 1997.

By the spring of 1998, the number of national cable video networks had grown to 171.

NCC Group started life in June 1999, when the National Computing Centre sold its commercial divisions to its existing management team.

Around 2000, cable providers began to face intense competition from satellite television systems.

By the time of the terrorist attacks on the United States of September 11, 2001, surveys showed that 45 percent of viewers went to cable news first for the latest information, while 22 percent turned to the three main broadcast networks and 20 percent to local newscasts.

More than 2 million customers were using cable for their phone connections by mid 2002.

Talks to resolve issues related to “two-way” digital television sets began in 2003 and continue.

On 12 July 2004 the company was admitted to trading on AIM. The flotation raised £38.1 million before expenses through a placing of 22.4 million ordinary shares and the Company’s market capitalisation was £55.4m.

Results at the end of the Third Quarter of 2005 provide ample evidence of the growth potential of cable’s new position as a broadband provider.

At the start of 2006, cable companies counted a total of about 5 million telephone customers, representing VoIP customers and customers for traditional circuit switched telephone service.

It would be a further three years before the company made a move to the London Stock Exchange – on 13 July 2007.

iSEC Partners (October 2009) – the leading US-based security testing services provider

As of 2013, NCC represents companies that account for approximately 95 percent of broiler chicken production in the United States.