Strategic Alliance

BRITISH TELECOMMUNICATIONS PLC
16 September 1999



               BT AND AT&T FORM MOBILE ALLIANCE
                               
BT and AT&T today announced the formation of Advance, a

strategic alliance aimed at creating seamless mobile

communications services around the world.

     The two companies' wireless businesses currently cover 17

countries with a total market population of more than one

billion.  Between them they have a customer base of 41

million.

     John Zeglis, president of AT&T, said:

     'This alliance is an important one for AT&T and BT

customers  'If you travel, you expect your BT or AT&T digital

phone to work anywhere and everywhere with all of the advanced

features you have - just as if you were at home.  This is not

possible in many cases today for a whole host of reasons,

including incompatible technology and government regulation.

     'By pairing two of the leading telecommunications

companies in the world, AT&T and BT, we think we can make some

things happen that will eventually give customers  those

'anytime, anywhere' capabilities from their mobile phones.'

     Sir Peter Bonfield, BT's chief executive said:

     'Our joint vision is to be global leaders in mobility by

providing seamless, best value, leading technology services to

our rapidly growing customer base around the world - and to

enhance shareholder value.'

     
     The Advance alliance will focus on the following
priorities:
     
*    Developing new services for global travellers and
     multinational enterprises, exploiting the largest mobile
     coverage footprint ever made available including 198 GSM
     networks in 100 countries and 140 TDMA networks in 50
     countries.
     
*    Providing a new mobile Global Account Services package,
     offering multinational customers global contracts and
     consolidated management information.  A trial of this
     service is expected later this year.
     
*    Taking a common position on Third Generation mobile and
     mobile Internet standards, to converge the TDMA and GSM
     communities around a set of standards for third
     generation mobile communications services.
     
*    Sharing knowledge, ideas and experience through a work
     exchange programme, enabling AT&T Wireless and BT people
     to carry out assignments in other parts of the Advance
     alliance.  AT&T Wireless has also joined mobilityleaders,
     a knowledge-sharing forum supported by BT for mobility
     professionals worldwide.
     
*    Growing roaming revenues, by directing as much traffic as
     possible onto the two companies' own networks around the
     world; developing simpler roaming packages to stimulate
     usage; and negotiating with other operators on the basis
     of pooled roaming volumes.
     
*    Pooling resources to gain economies of scale in
     purchasing and investment decisions, such as the recently
     announced joint investments in Japan and Canada totalling
     more than $3 billion.
     
     The alliance builds on an announcement earlier this year
that nine global leaders in wireless communications, including
BT and AT&T, would support the development of next generation
wireless services, including enhanced voice, high-speed data
and Internet access, imaging and video conferencing on an all
IP-based network architecture.

     Today's announcement is the latest in a series of
initiatives AT&T and BT have undertaken in the past 14 months.
In July, 1998, they announced that they would form a $10
billion global venture to serve the communications needs of
multinational businesses, carriers, and ISPs.  That venture,
currently awaiting regulatory approval, will combine the
transborder assets and operations of both companies, including
their international networks, traffic, and products for
business customers.