According to reports in MediaGuardian.co.uk, the deal is expected to make NTL the third largest ISP in the UK. MediaGuardian.co.uk suggests that the decision to split from NTL is the reason why Virgin.net postponed its unmetered internet access package earlier this year.
Virgin and NTL have worked together on Virgin.net since 1996. The separation of the two companies has been expected since August.