EAB board appointments

BT Group PLC
11 October 2005





DC05-669                                                 October 11, 2005


                     BT ANNOUNCES EQUALITY OF ACCESS BOARD


BT today announced the membership of the Equality of Access Board (EAB). This
Board is being created as a result of the new regulatory settlement confirmed by
Ofcom on September 22. BT also revealed the Board will be operational from 1
November, a full four and a half months ahead of schedule.

            The EAB will monitor, report and advise on BT's compliance with the
Undertakings given to, and accepted by, Ofcom on September 22. In particular, it
will oversee the provision of certain products on an equivalent basis and the
performance of the newly created openreach business. It will not have an
executive policy-making role.

            The five members of the EAB are: Carl Symon, a BT Group
non-executive director who is the chairman, Sally Davis, BT's chief portfolio
officer, and three independent external members, Sir Bryan Carsberg, Stephen
Pettit and Dr Peter Radley. The independent members bring to the EAB a wealth of
relevant experience in the telecommunications industry and regulation, coupled
with wide-ranging consumer, financial and commercial expertise.  Their
appointments were carried out in consultation with Ofcom.

            Sir Christopher Bland, BT chairman, said: "The creation of this
Board is a central plank of the new regulatory settlement. The fact that it will
be operational several months ahead of schedule is evidence of BT's firm
commitment to the settlement and the delivery of equivalence."

            Carl Symon, chairman of the EAB, added: "The Equality of Access
Board has a key role to play in ensuring there is widespread confidence in the
new regulatory regime. Sir Bryan Carsberg, Stephen Pettit and Peter Radley bring
an outstanding mix of relevant knowledge, ability and experience to the board.
Together with Sally Davis, who plays a pivotal role in BT, they constitute a
formidable team to tackle the job ahead."

            As required by the Undertakings given to Ofcom on 22 September 2005,
the EAB will report regularly to the BT Group plc Board, provide minutes of its
meetings to Ofcom and send a report on its review of BT's compliance with the
Undertakings to Ofcom annually.  It will be supported by the full-time Equality
of Access Office and its own Secretariat.





Biographical Details


Sir Bryan Carsberg

Sir Bryan Carsberg has had a distinguished academic and business career.  He was
professor of accounting and business finance and dean of the Faculty of Economic
and Social Studies at Manchester University, before becoming professor of
accounting at the London School of Economics from 1981 to 1984.

He has served in a number of high-profile positions in public office, including
Director General of Oftel (the former telecommunications regulator) from 1984 to
1992, Director General of the Office of Fair Trading from 1992 to 1995 and
Secretary General of the International Accounting Standards Committee from 1995
to 2001.

He received his knighthood in 1989.

Sir Bryan Carsberg is currently Chairman of Council and Pro-Chancellor of
Loughborough University.  He holds a number of non-executive board appointments.
He is a qualified Chartered Accountant.


Sally Davis

Sally Davis was appointed as BT's Chief Portfolio Officer in May 2005.  She had
previously held several senior executive roles within BT since joining the
company in 1999.  Before joining BT, Sally Davis held leading roles in several
major communications companies, including Bell Atlantic in the US and Mercury
Communications in the UK.


Stephen Pettit

Stephen Pettit is a non-executive director of National Grid plc, National Air
Traffic Services and Halma plc.  He is Chairman of ROK Property Solutions plc.
He is a former executive director of Cable & Wireless plc. Before joining Cable
& Wireless, he was Chief Executive, Petrochemicals at British Petroleum.
Stephen Pettit was previously a non-executive director of KBC Advanced
Technologies plc and Norwood Systems Limited.


Dr Peter Radley

Dr Peter Radley has been the Chair of the IEE Communications Sector Panel since
its creation in November 2002. He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of
Engineering.  Dr Radley has been involved in the telecommunications industry
since 1965. Between 1991 and 2002 he held positions in Alcatel with global
responsibility for technology and marketing and as Chairman and CEO for Alcatel
UK. He is one of the players in realising 'Broadband Britain', being involved
from the start of the government's initiatives through the Broadband Stakeholder
Group. Since 2002 he has been an independent advisor to a number of commercial
organisations and to public sector bodies including the DTI and South East
England Development Agency.  During that period he has also been chairman of
technology start-up companies in the domains of broadband, IP and mobile.


Carl G Symon

Carl Symon was appointed a Non-Executive Director of BT Group plc on 14 January
2002.  He retired from IBM in May 2001 after a 32-year career, during which he
held senior executive positions in the USA, Canada, Latin America, Asia and
Europe, including chairman and chief executive officer of IBM UK.

Carl Symon is chairman of a number of private companies and a non-executive
director of Rolls-Royce and Rexam. Carl Symon is a US national.




Inquiries about this news release should be made to the BT Group Newsroom on its
 24-hour number: 020 7356 5369. From outside the UK dial + 44 20 7356 5369. All
  news releases can be accessed at our web site: http://www.bt.com/newscentre



About BT

BT is one of the world's leading providers of communications solutions serving
customers in Europe, the Americas and Asia Pacific.  Its principal activities
include networked IT services, local, national and international
telecommunications services, and higher-value broadband and internet products
and services.

BT consists principally of three lines of business:


  • BT Retail, providing a comprehensive range of communications and related
    services to more than 20m UK consumers and businesses.


  • BT Wholesale, providing network services and solutions within the UK to
    more than 600 fixed and mobile operators and service providers including the
    provision of broadband and private circuits.


  • BT Global Services, providing networked IT services to meet the needs of
    multi-site organisations globally.  BT Global Services operates in more than
    130 countries and also offers international carrier services.


In the year ended 31 March 2005, BT Group's turnover was £18,623 million with
profit before goodwill amortisation, exceptional items and taxation of £2,085
million.


BT Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in London and New York. British
Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group and
encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group.



For more information, visit www.bt.com/aboutbt


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