Chief Executive Statement

British Telecommunications PLC
16 February 2000


           BT STATEMENT ON CHANCELLOR'S SPEECH ON

              BRITAIN AND THE KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY



BT today issued the following statement from chief

executive, Sir Peter Bonfield.

     'Gordon Brown has today stated his belief that

delivering low cost Internet access is one of the single

most important things that Britain can do to promote the

knowledge economy. BT is already doing this.

     'BT has had its Surftime package - the UK's first mass-

market unmetered call package - on the table since December.

It has not yet been introduced as we are bogged down in

regulatory approvals which are much more complex here than

in other countries.

     'Opening up our local access network to our competitors

is an entirely separate issue. BT shareholders own the

network and BT not only needs to be consulted but to agree

any timetable with Oftel.

     

      'We have already agreed with Oftel a deadline of July

1, 2001 and there will be no change to this date without our

agreement. That would anyway be a matter for Oftel and BT -

not for the Treasury.

     'The local network is not the only route to the

Internet.  BT is a leader in the new wave and offers a range

of exciting possibilities including Interactive TV, mobile

Internet, WAP (wireless application protocol) and broadband.

     'BT is already rolling out the biggest broadband (ADSL)

programme in the world. By spring we will have 400 exchanges

equipped: no other major telecom operator comes close to the

scale of this project.'