BT and Vodafone Ireland Agree

RNS Number : 0711W

BT Group PLC

22 July 2009

 



NEWS RELEASE                            DC09-234                                    22 July 2009 

BT AND VODAFONE AGREEMENT TO SIGNIFICANTLY BOOST COMPETITION AND NETWORK INVESTMENT IN REPUBLIC OF IRELAND

• BT to develop broadband infrastructure with speeds of up to 24Mbs for approximately two thirds of available broadband lines

• Agreement positions Vodafone as the clear no 2 in the fixed market with over 170,000 fixed customers and a 15% market share of the fixed broadband market

• Increased competition and greater choice for customers as wholesale access to BT's advanced network enables Vodafone to launch differentiated suite of fixed products

Dublin, Wednesday 22nd July 2009: Consumers and small businesses in Ireland will benefit from greater competition and choice, following a strategic partnership agreed between BT and Vodafone today. The landmark contract will also result in the creation of an alternative, competitive telecoms network in Ireland.  

Under the terms of the agreement, which is subject to approval from the Irish Competition Authority, BT will transfer its consumer and small business broadband and voice customer base to Vodafone and will also provide wholesale network services to underpin Vodafone's business over a seven-year period. BT will continue to focus on becoming the number one provider of networked IT services to mid and large sized businesses and the public sector in Ireland.  

BT will also be committing significant investment towards building an advanced network infrastructure and improving broadband speeds in Ireland. It will provide a platform for the delivery of up to 24Mbps broadband services to approximately two thirds of Ireland's available broadband lines by unbundling up to 58 additional exchanges. To date, BT has already unbundled 22 exchanges in the Republic of Ireland.

Today's announcement combines Vodafone's strength in sales, marketing and distribution with BT's expertise in the successful delivery of managed network services. Over 84,000 consumers and 3,000 small businesses currently with BT will transfer to Vodafone over the next several months, where they will benefit from access to a wide range of innovative converged services from a leading total telecommunications company. 

Chris Clark, CEO, BT Ireland said "This is a very positive chapter in Ireland's telecoms history and will open up the market to greater competition and choice. BT has made remarkable strides in Ireland in recent years in securing landmark managed services deals with corporate customers, the public sector and other communications providers. We will aggressively focus on growing our impressive share of these market segments, while investing in the network access that customers and Ireland Inc. need to compete effectively."

Charles Butterworth, CEO, Vodafone Ireland said "Today's announcement will give Vodafone the ability to launch an exciting and innovative roadmap of fixed products and services that are strongly differentiated from those available in the market today, giving customers more choice and better value. This deal strongly positions Vodafone as the no 2 player in the fixed broadband market. Our strategy is to compete aggressively in the fixed market to deliver real value, bring best-in-class products to market and build a sizeable fixed base to rival other participants in this market. We guarantee that BT customers who are transferring to Vodafone will be better off as a result of this agreement." 

The value of the gross assets that are the subject of this transaction was €4.8 million at 31 March 2009.

Ends

For further information please contact:

Priscilla O'Regan, BT: 086 633 5398

Rosemary Steen, Vodafone: 087 050 5050

Christine Heffernan, Vodafone 087 050 5555

Notes to Editor:

1. This transaction is subject to approval from the Irish Competition Authority

2. Small businesses are those with 6 telephone lines or less 

3. A small number of BT employees are expected to transition to Vodafone under the terms of the agreement. 

About BT Ireland:

BT is one of the world's leading providers of communications solutions and services operating in 170 countries. Its principal activities include the provision of networked IT services globally; local, national and international telecommunications services; broadband and internet products and services and converged fixed/mobile products and services.  

BT Ireland is headquartered in Belfast and Dublin and employs close to 2,800 people in offices across the island.

In the year ended 31 March 2009, BT Ireland's revenue was £800.8 million.

For more information visit www.btireland.ie

About Vodafone Ireland

Vodafone is Ireland's leading total telecoms provider with a customer base of over 2.18 million comprising business and personal subscribers and a market share of over 41.5%. In November 2007, Vodafone Ireland acquired Perlico, bringing the company's total customer base to 2.26 million as at 31st March 2009. 

In 2001 the Irish company officially became a subsidiary of Vodafone Group Plc, the world's leading international mobile telecommunications company, with equity interests in 31 countries and Partner Markets in approximately 40 countries. As of 31 March 2009, Vodafone had 303 million proportionate customers worldwide. For further information, please visit www.vodafone.com.

 

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