A little like oom really from my point of view - I believe they are the favoured company within their sector and despite the markets - Oftel and the G3 nonsense they will climb back. They pay a divi and this wioll be seen to be increasingly important in the days to come. They have new management and are looking to enhance shareholder value .....

I hold and swing trade a few and not adverse to intraday trading them.

ains


BT in web-based investor relations drive

London, February 7 2003, (netimperative)



by Chris Lake

BT is launching a web-based scheme which it hopes will improve communications with its retail shareholders and help cut costs.


Dubbed 'ShareholderPlus', the system allows investors to sign up and receive BT communications - such as reports, news releases, mandates and, subject to a change in the law, electronic tax vouchers - by email, rather than by post.

BT said this will help it achieve cost savings - by not having to print and despatch reports - and pointed out that it is also good for the environment.

Furthermore, it has negotiated a number of deals with companies such as Virgin Wines, Apollo Travel, RSA and National Car Rental, to market the service and said it will add new offers in the future if it proves to be a success.

BT claims to be one of the first FTSE100 companies to launch such a programme, though it is likely that more will follow.

www.btplc.com/shareholderplus

J P Morgan overweight on BT - optomistic on pension situation and cash flow

going well today and outperforming market and sector @ plus 3.4%



ains

Their target price is 225p against the current 182p

TELECOMS giant BT is to spend 4.7 million doubling the size of its North American network as part of a plan to fill gaps left after scrapping a joint venture with United States rival AT&T.

The company said it would add 14 new network nodes, or connection points, upping its total to 23, in cities in the US, Mexico and Canada, to bring the network closer to corporate customers locations.

BT revealed the decision to add to its North American network a week after it signed up two Asian telecoms partners, Japan Telecom and Singapores Starhub, to beef up its service in the region.

"We decided to build organically in North America because it was the fastest option and gave us the best technical design," said BT Americas chief operating officer, Chuck Pol.

Mr Pol said BT had considered buying a US network operator, or setting up North American partnerships as it has done in Asia, but decided an acquisition would cause network integration problems.

"In the Americas, we looked for a franchise partner, but we didnt find one that had what we wanted," he added.

BT considered AT&T as a potential partner, but Mr Pol said matching the companies networks would have limited technical capabilities.

BTs international network is based on internet technology known as Internet Protocol , but while IP is a widely used standard in telecoms networks, it does not work the same on different carriers networks, Mr Pol said.

BT expects to spend about 4.7m expanding the North American network. Mr Pol noted that about 65 per cent of 2000 multinational companies targeted by BT have a presence in North America.

The group plans to add about seven of the network points by the autumn. It will leave the remainder for next year and the year after, depending on customer requirements.

Cities where it plans to add nodes include Toronto, Cincinnati, Phoenix, Detroit, Washington DC and Mexico City.

currently 2nd in the ftse100 risers board @plus 4.68%


09 May 2003 15:22 BST

BT shares rise ahead of results, pension gap news

By Braden Reddall and Louise Heavens
LONDON, May 9 (Reuters) - Shares in BT Group Plc gained five percent on Friday as investors took a second look before its full-year results, when the British telecoms firm will give a figure for its pension funding gap and put the issue behind it.

Concerns about the gap of several billion pounds will have eased with a recent recovery in the British stock market, in which much of the former monopoly's pension money is tied up.

BT announces its results for the year to end-March on May 22.

The company also received a boost this week from Goldman Sachs, which downgraded the entire wireless sector. The British company is Europe's only major fixed-line telecoms group without a mobile phone network.

"People have been switching out of European wireless into fixed line," one dealer said. Other dealers said the shares were rebounding from a sharp sell off on Thursday, which left the shares underperforming the wider market by some margin.

Shares in BT were 5.25 percent higher at 185-1/2 pence on Friday, within a few pennies of its highest close since January.

"We expect BT to announce the findings of its actuarial review, removing months of uncertainty, and give guidance on dividend policy. In both areas, we expect to hear positive news," JP Morgan analysts said in a research note, reiterating its "overweight" stance and a fair value of 225 pence.

JP Morgan estimates that under the new FRS17 accounting method, BT's funding gap is 7.4 billion pounds. But under its preferred methods, the investment bank estimates the gap is between 2.5 billion and 3.2 billion pounds.

BT has consistently said it does not expect its annual pension deficit payment to be much different from the current 200 million pounds.

In February, BT reported a better-than-expected profit, but concerns about the pension fund gap knocked its shares lower. They fell as low as 141 pence in March and despite a recent recovery, BT has still underperformed the DJ Stoxx pan-European telecoms index by 13 percent since the start of 2003.

"Operationally, the BT Group is a utility, and should trade as such. However, the materiality of the pension is such that BT equity also plays out as an option on market movement," Williams de Broe analyst Morten Singleton said, repeating a "buy" rating.

SG Securites has also reiterated a "buy" on BT, focusing on its improving profitability despite low revenue growth.

its all getting very silly with oftel behaving like a spoiled child



BT fails to stop rival copying advert
By Robert Budden, Telecommunications Correspondent
Published: May 9 2003 20:32 | Last Updated: May 9 2003 20:32


BT Group embarked on the first steps to stop a rival from mimicking its advertising campaign for directory inquiry services on Friday at the High Court in London.


BT had been running a press advertising campaign flagging its new directory inquiries number that will replace "192" when it is disbanded in August. But the telecoms group was enraged when a new entrant, The Number, copied the exact format of the advert to promote its own service.

On Friday, the High Court failed to give BT an immediate injunction on The Number's advert, but required it to give BT 48 hours' notice if it intended to re-use the same advertisement.

The ruling follows a referral by Oftel, the telecoms regulator, of BT's original advert to the Advertising Standards Authority.

Oftel is understood to have been annoyed that BT's advert did not prominently point out that more than a dozen new companies would be competing to offer directory inquiries services as part of deregulation of the sector. The 192 service will be superseded in August by six-digit numbers starting with "118". In the meantime, the new telephone numbers will run alongside 192.

The wranglings highlight the seriousness with which BT is taking the threat of new competition. BT currently answers almost 700m directory inquiry calls a year in a market worth about 300m ($480m) annually. The telecoms operator is desperate to hold on to as much of this market as possible in the face of new competitors.

As part of this drive, BT has placed an advert promoting its new directory inquiries number on the front page of all of its phone books. It is also seeking to ensure that its new number is the only service that is mentioned on a recorded message when consumers dial 192 after August.

However, these moves have provoked concern at Oftel, which is considering barring distribution of BT's phone book because of the prominence of the advert.

bought in at 182p last week and have already risen 10p on Friday on better sentiment from brokers and there is every possibility they will breach 200p next week.. lets wait and see..

Goldman Sachs initiates coverage of FKI with an in-line rating and reiterates its in-line rating for BT Group (BT.A).

oops wrong thread!

deleted

More UK firms plan broadband upgrade
17:46 Tuesday 13th May 2003
Graeme Wearden


UK companies want broadband, but nearly half of existing business users think they'd ditch it if prices rose by just 10 percent
Over a third of businesses with Internet access expect to soon upgrade to a broadband connection, according to new figures from Oftel.

In its latest survey of Internet use, the regulator found that 15 percent of firms thought they were "very likely" to move to broadband and a further 19 percent considering it "fairly likely".

This is in addition to the 19 percent of wired SMEs that had already moved to broadband by February this year, when the survey took place.

Businesses who currently use a pay-as-you-go dial-up connection are most likely to move to broadband soon, with six in 10 expressing an interest.

Insufficient use of the Internet was the main reason given by small businesses for not upgrading to broadband, followed by price. For medium-sized firms, price was only the second-most popular reason for avoiding broadband, behind satisfaction with current surfing speeds.

Oftel also found that only 55 percent of businesses thought they would carry on using broadband if prices rose by 10 percent. A 50 percent rise in broadband prices would see 86 percent of business users move elsewhere -- to ISDN, unmetered or metered dial-up -- or simply stop using the Web.

The regulator cautioned, though, that this kind of research should be treated with caution because it asks people to speculate about their possible future behaviour.

Furhtermore, the research was conducted before BT slashed its wholesale business ADSL prices by some 50 percent. This is expected to give a significant boost to business broadband take-up -- a conclusion backed up by this Oftel report.

BT wants to embrace BB partners
By Tim Richardson
Posted: 13/05/2003 at 10:19 GMT


BT wants to build partnerships across the country to help extend the reach of broadband to people in rural areas.

In particular, it wants to reach out to its competitors and share with them the knowledge it has gained from a number of broadband initiatives.

Initiatives such as the project in Caerphilly where BT is working with the local borough council, the Welsh Development Agency and steelmaker Corus, to provide broadband to more local people and drive down costs for small businesses - and all to help revitalise Caerphilly's economy.

Laudable stuff indeed.

According to Bill Murphy, MD of BT Regions: "BT is leading the way towards a truly Broadband Britain.

"BT is now volunteering to share its initiatives with other partners who also wish to see wider access and greater take-up of broadband services, in a truly competitive UK marketplace.

"In addition, we will make our 'Broadband Britain Blueprint' available to our competitors who also have responsibilities for creating a broadband-enabled society across the UK," he said.

May 16, 2003

TIMES Rumour of the day



BT GROUP ticked up 3p at 189p amid talk that next weeks full-year results could be accompanied by a large contract win from Royal Bank of Scotland. The telecoms carrier, which has recently sealed deals with Unilever, HBOS and Abbey National, is said to be the front-runner for a five-year outsourcing and network management deal valued at north of 100 million.

Durlatcher reminds their trading clients that the close was highest since january and expects a breakout to the upside ..... hope so - my third biggest holding at this time


ains

Zooming up the riser board - now 8th @ plus 2.51%

I expect you use BT a lot in your search for guttesnipes

LOL!!!!!!!!!'

csfb have a new note out - bullish on forthcoming results but expecting some profit taking

reuters


BT (LSE: BT.L - news - msgs) , MMO2 RESULTS

Europe's fifth largest mobile phone company mmO2 , increasingly seen as a takeover target, reports first half numbers, while BT will also update investors.

Analysts polled by Reuters expect BT to show full-year underlying pre-tax profit at between 1.784 billion and 1.835 billion pounds up from the previous year's 1.273 billion.

Darren Winder, UK equity strategist at UBS Warburg said UK equities were undervalued.

"There is still quite good valuation support in equities. It does seem more appropriate to take profits in bonds than equities," said Winder.

Britain's institutional and retail funds cut their holdings of bonds and raised their exposure to equities in April, monthly data from Lipper showed on Friday.

"With the dividend yield at 3-4 percent and a third of the market with price to earnings ratios as low as the last recession, support is pretty strong," said Winder.

"People if anything are thinking too negatively about future growth prospects. The underlying picture globally is one of expansionism," he added.

Profit taking has set in although still out-performing market and sector on the day @ plus 2p.



Friday 16th May 2003
Andy McCue, Silicon.com


BT is expecting to deliver its SDSL services this August, but is finding that most businesses are very happy with their ADSL connection
BT claims it is still on target to launch SDSL services for businesses at 100 exchanges this August, but the telco admitted most businesses are still happy with ADSL broadband and that take-up will be slow and dependant on specific business requirements.

Unlike ADSL, which is significantly slower upstream than downstream, SDSL is equally fast in both directions. This makes it more suitable than ADSL for businesses that need to send large amounts of information across the Internet -- such as small branch offices who need to upload customer records and firms that are hosting data.



Some companies are looking at SDSL for CCTV and it will suit others with remote database access needs, according to Neil Armstrong, product marketing manager at BT.

He said: "We won't see a wholesale migration to SDSL in the short-term. There are some businesses where symmetric bandwidth is a requirement but many are finding ADSL gives them everything they want. For the majority that is a huge improvement."

Fifteen ISPs are involved in the SDSL pilot at 100 exchanges, which are located in mainly metropolitan areas including London, Manchester, Leeds and the West Midlands.

BT was responding to claims by virtual network provider Vanco that businesses are being put off lower-cost ADSL broadband services because of myths that symmetric bandwidth is needed.

In a statement, Vanco said: "This argument is based on a combination of myths that bear little relation to the facts but are a highly convenient view for operators keen to protect revenues against the encroachment of low-cost broadband technologies."

But Armstrong agreed with many of Vanco's assertions that ADSL is suitable for most companies and that issues such as contention and quality of service are not really an issue.

He said: "We're very serious about broadband being the best solution for business customers and the technology is a secondary issue, whether it is SDSL or ADSL it is going to come down to the individual requirements of the businesses."

Bringing broadband to the masses


Getting broadband to rural areas is still a challenge
Technology analyst Bill Thompson lays down a challenge to UK Government - offer broadband to everyone in the UK and offer it now.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3033889.stm

MILAN (AFX) - Finmeccanica SpA chairman Pierfrancesco Guarguaglini said the company has held contacts with BT Group PLC over acquiring its Eutelsat stake.
Finmeccanica could be interested in BT's 17.5 pct stake in Eutelsat after an earlier interest in the 23.14 pct Eutelsat stake held by France Telecom, subsequently sold to France's Eurazeo.

"There are contacts with British Telecom. (But) there is not a true negotiation," Guarguaglini said.

In other comments, he said he is "rather optimistic" about reaching an agreement with BAE Systems PLC on an alliance in the defence electronics sector.

"We are continuing to discuss this. In the last month there have been notable steps forward in discussing the best structure for the alliance," he said.

Recent reports have said the two companies are discussing a broad alliance in radar, avionics and communications, with each taking the lead in the sector where they are strongest.

nt/wf

Must admit I think wireless is the way of the future ..... allows the freedom to roam whilst staying in touch


BT to put wireless net links in 1,000 pubs
By Mary Fagan (Filed: 18/05/2003) S. Telegraph


BT has forged an agreement to install local wireless broadband networks in more than 1,000 pubs across the UK. The networks, known as WiFi, allow customers to use their laptops to link wire-free into the national broadband backbone.

The plan is part of a drive by BT to accelerate broadband take-up. It will be announced tomorrow along with a separate deal to introduce very low-cost equipment, costing 400, which will transform any venue with a broadband link into a WiFi "hotspot".

BT will share the revenues with the owners of the hotspot premises, which could include cafes and restaurants, golf courses and hotels.

The pubs initiative will be launched in co-operation with Leisure Link, which installs digital gaming equipment. The outlets are likely to include branches of All Bar One and pubs owned by Mitchells and Butlers and Enterprise Inns.

BT has said it will have 4,000 WiFi hotspots around the country by summer 2005. However, Pierre Danon, the chief executive of BT Retail, will say this week that he will reach that target a year early.

"We want to keep BT's innovation ahead of the competition. The challenge is to make WiFi hot spots ubiquitous across the UK," he said.

In a bid to boost demand, Danon will also reveal that anyone buying a new BT wireless broadband modem will receive two free hours of WiFi hotspot usage every month for a period of six months. The charge per hour is normally 6.