BT 1997 Annual Report Download - page 4

4
An interview with
Chief Executive,
Sir Peter Bonfıeld
Sir Peter Bonfield, Chief
Executive Officer (designate) of
Concert plc explains why the
merger is such a major
opportunity for both BT and MCI
and why he believes the new
company will be a force to be
reckonedwithintheglobal
communications markets of
the future.
Why are you so convinced that
the Concert merger is the right
thing for BT?
For a start, the timing of the merger
is perfect. BT has done great things
in the 12 years since privatisation,
but we now need to become a
global player. MCI also finds itself
with opportunities to develop and
grow. It has, of course, been
fantastically successful, but now
faces new challenges in markets
it wishes to break into, primarily
local services in the US and
Latin America.
The global telecoms market is
growing at an extraordinary pace.
The local market in the US will be
worth $100 billion a year; the
European Union, post 1 January
1998, could be worth $190 billion;
and other markets – the Asia-
Pacific region and Latin America
in particular – could be even
more valuable.
So, we are confronted by a wealth
of opportunity in a huge and varied
market. No one company can hope
to go it alone; so you have to do it
with partners. But not just any
partner. One of the great
advantages of moving early, as we
did, is that you can choose the
best. Which is what we did – and,
of course, what MCI did.
If you can talk about natural
partners in business, BT and MCI
are it.
In what ways are BT and MCI
natural partners?
The two companies complement
each other extremely well. We share
a commitment to free competition
and customer choice, we have a
shared view of the future of our
industry, and a shared strategy
for making the most of the
opportunities that we face.
BT has a worldwide reputation for
research and development; MCI is
famous for its innovative marketing.
They bring speed of action - they
get new products and services
from the drawing board to the
marketplace in a matter of months;
we bring unrivalled strategic
management skills.
BT has 12 years’ experience
of competition in the local
telecommunications market, which
will be of enormous importance to
MCI as it moves into the local
services market in the USA. MCI,
on the other hand, has come of age
as the main contender in the US
long-distance market, competing
against the incumbent AT&T. This
experience will be invaluable,
particularly in those European
markets in which Concert is up
against the incumbent operator.
You would be hard pressed to
come up with two partners more
likely to succeed.
Besides, we have shown that we
can work together - we have a
highly successful track record. For
the past three years, BT and MCI
have been involved in a joint
venture – Concert Communications
– which now has over 3,000 major
customers and around £900 million
revenue under contract.