Peters resigns from One 2 One to return to the US
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.One 2 One, the smallest of the four mobile phone networks, yesterday stunned the industry by announcing the departure of Jan Peters, its managing director, after just a year in the job.
Ms Peters, 45, is returning to the US to run MediaOne, the cable group owned by One 2 One's joint shareholder, US West. The UK company stressed that the job, as chief executive of the third-largest cable empire in the US, was a promotion which Ms Peters could not turn down. She was flying to the US last night on what was described as a "house-hunting" mission and was due to leave the UK business at the end of next month.
The news came as a complete surprise even to close followers of the company, who have watched its customer base and marketing campaign expand since Ms Peters was appointed in June 1996.
Just a fortnight ago she was giving presentations to analysts outlining One 2 One's aggressive strategy, including the first pay-as-you-go digital mobile service to be launched on Monday.
One suggestion was that the move could cause a rift between One 2 One's shareholders, US West, and Cable & Wireless. Relations between the two groups have been shaky in the past, with US West apparently unwilling to sell its 50 per cent stake in One 2 One to enable C&W to combine the company with its main UK telephony operation, Cable & Wireless Communications.
Ms Peters was credited with turning round One 2 One's position in the UK, growing customer numbers from 410,000 to more than 700,000 with a big advertising campaign and new tariff structures. The company recently borrowed a further pounds 1.2bn to complete the roll-out of its UK base station network.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments