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Title: BT considers new mobile move Post by: mobaholic on January 26, 2009, 03:46:02 PM The telecoms company is reported to be in talks with T-Mobile and 3 BT is reported to be in talks about a return to the mobile phone market through a joint venture with T-Mobile and 3. The Observer claimed that informal discussions have taken place between the companies about branding, cost and revenue. Talks are thought to be at an early stage, as BT looks at making another tilt at cracking the mobile phone market. The report said that German-owned T-Mobile and Hong Kong-based Hutchinson 3 are keen to look at new revenue streams for their businesses in the UK – viewed as one of the most competitive markets in Europe. BT demerged its Cellnet business in 2001, after running a debt of £30bn. The company later marketed its ‘Fusion’ mobile service in 2005 under a virtual network deal with Vodafone. The service worked from jumping from a home wifi network to a mobile network and was eventually abandoned after it failed to pick up customers. It still has a virtual network service through a wholesale deal with Vodafone but has a relatively small subscriber base, largely focussed on business customers. The company’s chief executive, Ian Livingstone, who took over from Ben Verwaayen in 2008, has ordered a strategic review for BT in the mobile sector. See here (http://www.mobiletoday.co.uk/BT_considers_mobile_move.html). |