BT Conferencing Integrates Reservationless Audio Conferencing with Microsoft Office Live Meeting.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

LONDON & BRAINTREE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 21, 2003

New offering, enables users to easily initiate a group conference

using BT Conferencing's audio system & Microsoft's Web conferencing 

BT Conferencing, a leading provider of innovative Audio, Web, and Instant conferencing solutions, is delivering a best-in-class conferencing product that creates a seamless remote meeting experience, which increases productivity and helps reduce costs enterprise-wide. By combining their reservationless audio conferencing with Web conferencing powered by Microsoft Office Live Meeting, part of the Microsoft Office System, users can now enjoy a unified Web and audio experience for both small collaborative meetings as well as for larger events. BT Conferencing is today demonstrating the new offering at the Microsoft Office System launch in New York City at the Millennium Broadway Hotel.

"Microsoft Office Live Meeting provides an excellent complement to the Microsoft Office System by seamlessly connecting people and information in real time, delivering business efficiencies and accelerating informed decision making," said Anoop Gupta, corporate vice president, Real-Time Collaboration Business Unit, Microsoft Corp. "Using Microsoft Office Live Meeting will allow BT to help their customers realize increased benefits in their conferencing and virtual collaboration solutions."

"Microsoft Office Live Meeting is a true business solution that will serve as an on-ramp for a broad class of new advanced collaboration services," said Nigel Stagg, director, BT Conferencing. "We see this alliance with Microsoft as a way for our two companies to sell our respective solutions, while working together to address joint customer requirements, serve more markets worldwide, and generate new opportunities by providing robust, highly scalable collaboration solutions."

BT Conferencing has created a dual product that now allows easy access to both audio and web conferencing. Along with a traditional reservationless audio account, users will receive a link, which, with one click, will launch a web conference session. Now the ability to add a visual element to all remote meetings is as easy as clicking one web link.

By combining Microsoft Office Live Meeting with BT Conferencing's audio conferencing service, users will have the ability to:

-- Take advantage of an easy to use system that empowers

individuals to contribute and keep pace with an increasingly

demanding business environment;

-- Streamline services by receiving one integrated bill for both

audio and web conferencing; and

-- Enjoy the benefits of advanced products from two of the

world's most innovative companies.

About BT Conferencing

BT Conferencing is a division of BT Retail, BT's consumer and business facing organization and BT Conferencing Inc. is its US subsidiary. They provide clients across the world with global conferencing services including audio, video and web conferencing. The America's headquarters for BT Conferencing, Inc. is located in Braintree, Massachusetts. More information on the company and its solutions and services, can be found at www.bt.com

About BT

BT is one of Europe's leading providers of telecommunications services. Its principal activities include local, national and international telecommunications services, higher-value broadband and internet products and services, and IT solutions. In the UK, BT serves over 20 million business and residential customers with more than 29 million exchange lines, as well as providing network services to other licensed operators.

BT consists principally of three lines of business:

-- BT Retail, serving businesses and residential customers and

including BT Openworld, one of the UK's leading ISPs.

-- BT Wholesale, providing network services and solutions within

the UK, including ADSL, conveyance, transit, bulk delivery of

private circuits, frame relay and ISDN connections.

-- BT Global Services, BT's managed services and solutions

provider, serving multi-site organisations worldwide. Its core

target market is the top 10,000 global multi-site

organisations with European operations.

There are a number of other businesses within the BT group, including BT Exact, an internationally renowned centre of excellence in IT and networking technologies. It is also BT's technology and research and development business. In the year ended 31 March 2003, BT's turnover was GBP18,727m. with profit before taxation of GBP1,829m.

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