New Data Services

BRITISH TELECOMMUNICATIONS PLC
29 July 1999

               BT OUTLINES ROLL-OUT PLANS FOR
                   HIGH SPEED DATA SERVICE
                              
 New connections will transform the Internet experience and
   provide the platform for a new wave of multimedia-rich
                          services
                              
BT today outlined roll-out plans for new high speed data
services which will turn an ordinary telephone line into a
high speed digital connection capable of carrying information
at between 10 and 40 times the speed of a conventional modem.

     It will significantly enhance existing services such as
the Internet, videoconferencing, online education and
information services, enabling users to download information,
images, video or graphics almost instantly.

     Getting information, education and entertainment on-line
will soon become as quick and easy as flicking through a
magazine or changing TV channels, thanks to the new flat-rate
'always on' high speed data connections for homes and
businesses.

     The technology, technically known as asymmetric digital
subscriber line (ADSL), will be the catalyst for a wealth of
new services and products, the new information services of
the future. These could include:

* On-line shopping and electronic commerce
* Interactive games with players in different locations
* Teleworking
* Videoconferencing and videophones
* Education and distance learning

    ADSL is added to an existing telephone line by attaching
advanced electronics to both ends: at the local exchange and
at the office or home. The network is upgraded without the
streets and pavements having to be dug up.

     Among the earliest parts of the UK to benefit will be
London within the M25, Cardiff, Belfast, Coventry,
Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle, Edinburgh, and
Glasgow.  Four hundred exchanges, covering almost six million
households and businesses, will be upgraded by March, 2000.

     Sir Peter Bonfield, BT's chief executive, said:  'This
roll-out plan is a major step towards making Britain a world
leader in the information revolution.  By committing to a
large scale roll-out, BT will play a vital part in
stimulating a competitive mass-market for consumers as well
as businesses of all sizes.  It will drive new information
industries and services to the benefit of all.

     'Our intention is to be at the heart of the information
society in the UK.'

     These new services are part of BT's strategy to provide
consumers and businesses with the facilities to enable them
to operate effectively in the information age.  In September,
1998, BT launched the Highway family of products bringing
digital data connections to the mass market.  In addition to
its new high speed data services, the company has substantial
shareholdings in BiB, whose Open interactive television
service is scheduled for an autumn launch, and in BT Cellnet,
which expects to introduce its high speed mobile data
service, GPRS, early next year.

     BT intends to provide ADSL connections wholesale to a
wide range of service providers and other operators, enabling
them to develop combined packages of digital content and
digital connections to their own customers.   Corporate
customers will be able to order high speed data services for
installation in the homes of teleworkers, giving them access
to the full facilities of corporate networks.

     Wholesale prices will be in a range from around £40 to
£150 per month to service providers for each user they wish
to connect. Retail prices, and the content of the services,
will be determined by service providers.

     One of many advantages of BT's high speed data service
is the 'always on' data connection which will give consumers
convenient, fast access to their service provider.