BT Cellnet New Customers

BRITISH TELECOMMUNICATIONS PLC
4 October 1999


                            
         BT CELLNET CONNECTS 923,000 NEW CUSTOMERS

BT  Cellnet today  reported  that 923,000 new customers  joined  BT
Cellnet  in the period July-September 1999, a 301% increase
on  the  same  period in 1998.  This brings  the  network's
total  customer  base to 5.95 million.  In  the  first  six
months  of this year, BT Cellnet has recruited a  total  of
1.424 million new customers to the network.

BT  Cellnet continues to lead the UK market for contract or
subscription  services.  In this quarter it  added  another
74,000  customers  to bring the total  number  of  contract
customers  to 3.83 million. The remaining 2.1  million  are
pre-pay customers.

Peter  Erskine,  BT Cellnet Managing Director  said,  'This
latest quarter has seen particularly strong growth in  what
is  normally a quiet period for all the operators. While BT
Cellnet's  current surge is largely down to the  popularity
of  pre-pay phones, we continue to be the market leader for
subscription customers.'
                             
                             

BT   Cellnet   Quarterly  Connection  Figures   -   1998/99
Comparisons

BT          Gross        Net          Total      Closing     Closing
Cellnet     Connections  Connections  Closing    Digital     Analogue
Quarterly                             Base       Base        Base
Growth

July-Sept   1,320,000    923,000      5,946,000  5,702,000   244,000 
1999
Apr-June    850,000      501,000      5,023,000  4,723,000   300,000  
1999          
Jan-Mar     812,000      479,000      4,522,000  4,163,000   359,000  
1999                    
Oct-Dec     925,000      658,000      4,044,000  3,631,000   413,000   
1998     
July-Sept   448,000      230,000      3,386,000  2,883,000   503,000  
1998