BT boss fears 'crap service'
By Jason Nissé
25 February 2001
The managing director of BT, Bill Cockburn, has warned that BT Cellnet could end up offering a "crap service" unless it is given the go-ahead to build thousands of new telephone masts.
The five winners of the auction for third-generation mobile licences, including BT, need to build 50,000 new masts, or base stations, in the UK to deliver the enhanced mobile services. Presently there are only 20,000.
In an exclusive interview with the Independent on Sunday, Mr Cockburn admits BT has a hard task persuading local authorities and central government to give planning permission for the masts because of worries about health risks. He says: "If you don't make the investment in the base stations, you won't have the service. You will get a lot of frustration from customers saying: 'You sold us phones but we got a crap service'."
BT Cellnet is already suffering in the market, as was shown by figures from Continental Research, published here last week, which suggested its core business is in decline.
BT hopes to float off BT Wireless, which owns BT Cellnet, later this year. But the float has been put in doubt by the poor performance of Orange shares, which stand 11 per cent below their issue price earlier this month.
independent.co.uk |
