Vodafone to help run BT Mobile
British Telecom today said Vodafone would replace its former subsidiary mmO2 as the network supplier for its fledgling mobile operation.
The former state-owned telecoms group, which demerged from mmO2 three years ago, said Vodafone would take over as network provider for its BT Mobile service.
BT will continue to do the marketing, branding, billing and customer service for its mobile operation in a deal similar to that between Virgin Mobile and German network provider T-Mobile.
BT does not currently plan to begin any new deals with mmO2 when existing arrangements expire, a spokesman said.
BT said it was launching its so-called Mobile Virtual Network Operator business with Vodafone to the business market today. It currently has about 160,000 corporate customers in the UK.
BT Mobile will extend the service to the consumer market in January.
In the spring, it plans to launch a service called Project Bluephone, which allows customers to use mobile handsets to link to their fixed line at home and their mobile network on the move. The BT spokesman said the firm also plans eventually to offer other services, such as broadband on Bluephone, through its deal with Vodafone.
It expects to generate about £1bn (€1.42bn) of annual revenues from mobile and mobile/fixed line services within five years.
BT said in May this year that it was planning to work with the Newbury-based group on mobile services.
The spokesman said: “This is an important milestone for BT because it marks the start of our arrangement with Vodafone.”
There has been speculation that BT was interested in buying back mmO2 in order to re-enter the mobile market.
The spokesman today ruled out such a move, saying a virtual network operation was its preferred arrangement going forward.
