BT cuts blackspots

British Telecommunications PLC
12 April 2001







NR 0114    April 12, 2000


                  BT WHOLESALE MOVES TO FILL THE MOBILE GAPS

BT Wholesale today announced that it is making space in BT phone boxes
available to all mobile phone operators for low-powered, localised
transmission capacity.

The phone box sites will increase coverage and fill in gaps for existing
services and for the new generation of mobile phones.

Initially, 1,020 locations will be available, increasing to 5,000 during 2001/
2. Several mobile companies have already expressed interest in the sites,
which are available to all mobile operators at commercial terms. This follows
a successful technical trial of five BT phone boxes fitted with low-powered
mobile phone micro cells.

The transmitters are intended to give mobile customers in urban areas better
quality calls and increased reliability by cutting the number of blackspots.
BT believes that similar technology could also benefit 3G services when they
are launched.

The small aerials could also help reduce the number of large masts and towers
required for mobile phones and, because they can be incorporated in existing
structures, they will not add to the clutter on the street in urban areas.

The income earned from mobile companies will help safeguard BT's comprehensive
UK-wide network of public payphones.

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 Inquiries about this news release should be made to the BT group newsroom on
its 24 hour number: 020 7356 5369. From outside the UK dial [phone].

All BT group news releases can be accessed at our web site: http://www.bt.com/
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