BT Asks FCC to Withhold Approval of Sprint European Alliance Pending Further Market Liberalization; Also Urges FCC Investigation into AT&T International Deal.

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 6, 1994--"The Federal Communications Commission should hold up its approval of the alliance between Sprint, France Telecom (FT) and Deutsche Telekom (DT) until there is privatization, liberalization and effective regulation in France and Germany," according to comments filed with the FCC by BT North America (BTNA), a wholly owned subsidiary of British Telecommunications plc.

BTNA also requested that the FCC carefully scrutinize AT&T's World Partners and Unisource alliances, which involve state-owned companies from Switzerland and the Netherlands, whose telecommunications regimes are even less liberalized than in France and Germany.

"The same market conditions required by the FCC prior to its approval of the BT-MCI alliance should be applied to these other alliances," said James E. Graf II, president of BTNA.

In contrast to BT, which in the United Kingdom faces facilities-based and resale competition at the local, long distance and international levels, FT and DT have protected monopolies over public switched voice and telephone services and network infrastructure.

Unlike the situation in France and Germany, the U.K. has an independent regulator (OFTEL) and a well-developed and fully functioning regulatory framework to ensure that interconnections are provided on standard, published, cost-based and nondiscriminatory terms that apply to BT's competitive businesses (such as Concert) as well as to competitors.

"BT agrees with AT&T that the telecommunications markets in France and Germany are essentially closed to competition and that the monopolistic PTTs have significant ability to discriminate against and otherwise put Sprint's competitors at a disadvantage," said Graf. "As these same market conditions exist in the countries of AT&T's monopolistic partners, BTNA is urging the FCC to investigate the AT&T World Partners/Unisource web of alliances to determine the extent to which those alliances raise the same serious public interest and policy concerns."

With annual revenues of $20 billion, BT is the world's fourth largest telecommunications company, employing approximately 156,000 people in 100 offices and 30 countries around the globe. The company's principal business is providing long distance and international telecommunications services in the U.K., serving 26 million access lines. The company also has major commitments in other advanced business communications services.

CONTACT: BTNA

             Jim Barron
             212-418-7860