BT Takes Mobile Internet to a Global Mass Market
British Telecommunications PLC
9 March 2000
BT TAKES MOBILE INTERNET TO A GLOBAL MASS MARKET
Strategic partnerships with more than 30 world-leading
companies;
Genie to go global;
First commercial deployment of 3G mobile service
BT today announced a number of major initiatives that will
take mobile Internet to a mass market both in the UK and
globally.
The company has set up a new unit to offer global
mobile Internet services based on BT Cellnet's successful
Genie service. BT also announced strategic partnerships
with more than 30 world-leading companies and content
providers to create new global mobile services.
Kent Thexton, former marketing director of BT
Cellnet, will be managing director of the new unit.
At the same time, BT's mobile company, BT Cellnet,
made a number of key announcements in the mobile Internet
market. These include:
* The launch of the UK's first pre-pay wireless application
protocol (WAP) mobile Internet phone (see separate
news release).
* Restructured pricing to take the mobile Internet to the
mass market. Customers will be able to choose between
voice-only and mobile Internet calling plans, depending on
usage.
* Forecast sales of up to 500,000 WAP phones between April and
June. BT Cellnet predicts that in just 18 months nearly all new
mobiles will be Internet-enabled.
Kent Thexton said: 'Globally, the number of mobile
subscribers is expected to leap 200 per cent in the next five
years to more than a billion. Also BT's Internet turnover is
growing at more than 80 per cent a year. The convergence of
these two fast growing markets is creating a huge opportunity
in a field where we already have a leading position in the
world.
'Genie Internet has been a tremendous success in the
UK. This service has more than 600,000 customers, growing
at 4,000 a day, and is the UK's leading mobile Internet
service provider. We will now replicate this success in
other markets.
'BT and its joint venture partners already have the
reach and the technology. Now, through today's strategic
partnerships and the success of Genie Internet, we have the
content appropriate for a leading player in the mobile
Internet field.'
The worldwide mobile e-commerce market is projected to
be worth $200 billion in four years when there will be
about 14 billion transactions a year. BT will become the
leading provider of mobile Internet applications by taking
advantage of mobile data networks being developed by BT and
its joint ventures.
The new unit will develop a mass-market global mobile
portal and applications as well as solutions for
corporates, which will be offered to customers by BT in
collaboration with its international joint ventures.
Also, BT will continue to create a common set of
services with AT&T Wireless through its mobile Advance
partnership. This represents a customer base of about 48
million in more than 15 countries.
BT will develop the service with some of the biggest
names in the industry. Microsoft will provide mobile
Internet applications and, in accordance with previous
announcements, Microsoft and BT will continue to work
together to develop applications and devices which allow
full access to both corporate and consumer services
provided by BT globally in mobile Internet.
Mobile Telecommunications International will provide
further applications; Phone.com will provide the portal
software, WAP gateways and certain key applications;
Looksmart will develop content aggregation for customers
worldwide.
Logica and Syncordia will be responsible for systems
integration; Sharp, The Matsushita Group (Panasonic), Motorola,
Ericsson, Siemens and NEC will all offer Internet-enabled mobile
handsets.
BT is working with leading content providers including
BskyB, E Signal, Popcorn.co.uk, Unmissable TV, Uprush, Financial
Times Information, Guardian, PR Newswire Europe, EMI, dotmusic.,
Interactive Investor (iii), AFX News, European Investor,
GlobalNet Financial (UK Invest), NavigateOne, The Street.com,
Thomson Financial, First Direct, Xest/Charles Stanley, Insurance
Wide, 365 Corporation, Agence France Presse, Eclipse Sports,
Sports.com, Bluesquare, Time Out, Travelocity, Lastminute.com,
Mapquest.com, Michael Page, Robert Walters, and Select
Appointments.
Together, they will offer up-to-the-minute news,
information, entertainment services and other interactive
services, which will allow users, for example, to pay credit
card bills, sell shares, listen to music, watch highlights of
the previous night's football match, book an airline ticket,
receive directions or check a bank balance - all from a
mobile device.
Joint venture partners
The Internet and portal services will be developed by
the unit with BT's subsidiaries and affiliates, as well as
drawing on the global reach, knowledge and expertise of
these companies.
BT will work with BT Cellnet (UK), Viag Interkom
(Germany), Telfort (Netherlands), SmarTone (Hong Kong) and
StarHub (Singapore) to secure early implementation of the
mobile portal service. It will build on existing
capabilities such as Genie Internet, offering the UK's
first WAP mobile Internet e-mail service.
Global mobile portal
BT will invest £160 million in the global mobile
applications and services. The global mobile Internet
portal services will be launched in the summer, with trials
commencing in April. Initially these will be offered
through BT's joint ventures worldwide with the expectation
of later offering to other distributors.
Next generation mobile
BT also announced today Europe's first commercial
deployment of a universal mobile telecommunications service
(UMTS) network, and BT Cellnet
has already announced its forthcoming general packet radio
system (GPRS) network - the first of its kind in the UK.
The UMTS network unveiled today by BT and Manx
Telecom, its Isle of Man wholly-owned subsidiary, as well
as leading suppliers NEC and Siemens, will be introduced
early next year.
BT's mobile portal business will be offered to Manx
Telecom, which will provide an excellent testbed for the
rollout of this service over other third generation (3G)
networks.