British Telecom (BT) is apparently looking to re-enter the mobile phone market, 12 years after selling off what is now O2.
At the time, the company had to make this step due to its heavy debts following the bursting of the telecoms bubble. Since then, it has attempted a number of modest reseller agreements but never pushed hard to be a mobile service provider again.
As I’m writing this, Vodafone is the supplier of BT’s mobile services, and is reportedly being asked to retender for the contract.
BT has secured a block of 4G radio spectrum for $289 million and is now looking for ways to put those airwaves into a good use, making its shareholders that much happier. Here’s what the company’s representatives told to the Financial Times:
We can confirm we’re looking for a fresh partnership with a mobile operator. We won some excellent 4G spectrum just recently so it makes sense for us to explore the new opportunities that 4G presents. We have a strong position in the WiFi market and we are looking to build on that.
It is said that BT may be looking for some sort of capacity sharing agreement with a mobile network, cause launching a whole new carrier in the UK’s saturated market doesn’t seem like a good idea. Perhaps we’re wrong… We’ll let you know how this pans out…