British Telecommunications plc

British Telecommunications plc (BT) is one of the United Kingdom's great success stories. Originally a state-owned provider of telecommunications services in the United Kingdom, it is now a major international communications group and one of Europe's largest private sector companies. It is continuing to grow vigorously, with group turnover increasing by nearly 14 percent in 1999, and pre-tax profits reaching $7 billion. At home, BT operates nearly 28 million customer lines, with calls made in and from the United Kingdom currently accounting for 40 percent of group turnover. However, the nature of the United Kingdom market is changing. As a consequence of deregulation, one of BT's fastest-growing areas of business in the United Kingdom is carrying interconnect calls for other licensed operators. Where nine years ago there were only three United Kingdom operators, there are now 160.
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