Consortium to Invest in New Data Centre Network

British Telecommunications PLC
5 April 2000


          BT, AT&T AND CONCERT TO INVEST $2 BILLION

         IN GLOBAL NETWORK OF INTERNET DATA CENTRES

BT, AT&T and Concert today jointly announced plans to invest
£1.25 billion ($2 billion) over three years to deliver
seamless, global e-commerce services via a network of 44
Internet data centres in 16 countries.
     The centres will be directly connected to the world's
most powerful and wide-reaching Internet protocol (IP)
backbone and will provide the wide range of co-location, web
hosting, application and networking professional services
that are now critical success factors for companies ranging
from start-ups to dot-coms to 'clicks and mortar' businesses.
     Today's announcement builds upon the companies' rapid
rollout of Internet data centres in their home markets and
globally. The global platform will include the 14 Internet
data centres already 'open for business' in New York (two
centres), Middletown, Va., San Diego (two centres), San
Francisco and Phoenix in the United States, and in
Birmingham, Cardiff, Bletchley and St. Albans in the UK and
in Madrid, Milan and Zurich.
     This year, the companies will open 11 additional
Internet data centres in the US, UK, Canada, Germany, the
Netherlands, France and Japan, for a total of 25 centres
by the end of 2000.
     The next 19 Internet data centres will begin opening
next year in the US, the UK, Mexico, Australia, Brazil, 
Hong Kong, Belgium, Portugal, and Sweden and will be
completed within two years. In total, BT, AT&T and Concert
will make available nearly three million square feet of
space in existing or new centres, giving the three
companies and members of their joint ventures one of the
world's largest and most advanced Internet hosting
capabilities.
     Beyond their existing base, BT, AT&T and Concert are
targeting customers for web hosting services in a global
market forecasted to grow from nearly $4 billion in 2000 to
more than $16 billion by 2004. More than half of this growth
will occur outside the US.
     Sir Peter Bonfield, BT's chief executive, said: 'Our
customers are demanding high speed, reliable and
sophisticated global Internet services. Today we are
demonstrating our commitment to delivering those services and
our determination to be the pre-eminent players in the global
marketplace.
     'The financial commitment we have made today in web
hosting forms part of our Internet strategy to become the
leading web hosting and IP network provider by working with
AT&T and Concert, our joint venture partners, as well as
leading companies in the market.'
     C. Michael Armstrong AT&T chairman and chief executive
officer, said: 'AT&T believes that Internet data centres are
the 'next generation central offices' and we're committed to
working with BT and Concert to build the world's leading
global network of data centres. Today's announcement isn't
about real estate. It's about moving more intelligence and
content to the edge of the network and getting as close to
your customer as possible - whether they need us in Amsterdam
or Arizona.'
     David Dorman, Concert chief executive officer, added:
'Businesses are operating in a web-based world. We've
consistently promised our customers simple solutions and
leading edge IP applications. Through our global networking
capabilities and IP platform, we're delivering on this
commitment on a scale and scope unmatched by anyone in the
industry.'
Global Networking Capabilities
     Concert's state-of-the-art global IP backbone network,
which now covers 21 cities in 17 countries, will connect the
Internet data centres.  The centres also will leverage the
companies' extensive data networks as well as BT's and AT&T's
industry-leading IP backbone infrastructures. Combined, these
networks reach more than 60 countries and more than 850
cities, and represent more than 2,200 points of presence.
AT&T's extensive OC-48 IP backbone was the first to carry
traffic on an OC-192 link and also offers leading-edge
intelligent content distribution and web acceleration
services.
     BT brings an extensive range of networking assets to the
platform, including the new high-capacity 'Colossus' Internet
backbone network in the UK and the Farland pan-European
network, as well as BT's partner and joint venture agreements
and centres in key strategic markets. Within Europe, for
example, Telfort, BT's joint venture and a distributor of
Concert services in the Netherlands, will be the first to
roll out new web hosting services and capabilities through
its Amsterdam centre.
     The three companies have formed a senior executive
oversight group to spearhead the rapid deployment of their
Internet data centres around the world.  The effort is being
led by Concert's David Dorman, Rick Roscitt, president of
AT&T Business Services, and Alfred Mockett, president of BT
Worldwide.

Hosting and Data Centre Growth
     AT&T has more than tripled its available Internet data
centre space in the past six months, with demand continuing
to grow rapidly. Customers such as Sony Online Entertainment,
CMP Media, Activision and Microcast are driving much of this
growth.
     Demand is also being propelled by AT&T's Ecosystem for
ASPs, a network services platform for Applications Services
Providers with a comprehensive co-marketing and distribution
programme.
     The Ecosystem for ASPs was launched in January with 17
other category-leading participants. Current Ecosystem
participants range from Sun Microsystems, Cisco Systems, EMC,
IBM and Hewlett-Packard to Intelligroup and
USinternetworking.
     Similarly, alliances established by BT and Concert with
software and applications providers, such as CommerceOne,
Microsoft, E-fusion, Staffware, SAP and VerticalNet, are
creating new application possibilities for customers such as
Shell, G-wizz (Granada) and Chartered Trust.
Seamless Global Services
     For these and other customers, BT, AT&T and Concert plan
to offer a range of co-location or dedicated hosting
services, bundled Internet access and value-added services
and applications. This platform will be designed to meet a
wide range of customers' needs, whether storage services,
managed security or intelligent content distribution. The
services will ride over the common global IP network
architecture and platform envisioned when BT and AT&T first
announced Concert, their global venture, in July 1998.
     The companies also intend to offer services and
applications locally or globally via a single vendor under
one global contract, with multi-currency billing.
Professional and managed services needs will be supported by
both BT Solutions and AT&T Solutions, as well as the
companies' extensive network of alliance partners and value-
added resellers. This new global data centre network will
also be the launching pad for a variety of new strategic
alliances in coming weeks and months.