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BT Web plans connect
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March 9, 2000: 9:06 a.m. ET
Cellular Net strategy provides welcome boost to U.K. telco's stock
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LONDON (CNNfn) - British Telecommunications on Thursday unveiled a series of measures aimed at broadening the appeal of Internet access via cellular phones, and reaped an immediate reward as its shares rocketed 14 percent.
BT, Britain's third-largest company by market value, published a bullish forecast that its BT Cellnet cellular arm will sell more than 500,000 Internet-enabled mobile phones between April and June.
BT shares rose 13 percent, or 158 pence, to 1,329 pence Thursday. The shares have been on a roller-coaster ride in recent months, slumping by a fifth in early February after the company warned profit was under pressure from severe price competition, and suffered a further blow this week when a number of competitors unveiled plans to offer free or flat-rate Internet access in Britain.
"Full marks to BT for keeping up with the pack and focusing on mobile opportunities," commented Nomura Securities telecom analyst Doug Hawkins, although he pointed out that Thursday's sharp bounce could partly be seen as recouping earlier falls.
BT will carry out its cellular/Internet plans by working with a variety of partners, for example by extending its existing partnership with software colossus Microsoft.
Other plans unveiled Thursday include the introduction of a universal mobile telecommunications service (UMTS), the next generation of digital cellular technology. The new service will be rolled out in a limited region of the U.K. early next year as a testing ground for the eventual rollout of UMTS, which will provide includes full-motion video on cellular handsets.
BT Cellnet is Britain's second most popular cellular service, behind Vodafone AirTouch. 
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British Telecom
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