BT 1997 Annual Report Download - page 5

INTERVIEW WITH CHIEF EXECUTIVE
5
How big is Concert going to be?
On day one, Concert will have
about 43 million customers in more
than 70 countries, and revenues of
around £26 billion. It will have
around 180,000 employees and will
operate in hundreds of cities
around the world.
But, rather than focus on the
size of Concert, I would prefer to
stress the scope and scale of its
opportunities. At the moment, the
global communications market is
worth around $650 billion and it
is growing dramatically fast.
Estimates are that the market could
exceed $1 trillion within the next
few years.
And not only is the market large, it
is opening up around the world,
creating new opportunities all the
time. Today, only about 17 per cent
of the market outside the UK and
the US is open to competition;
by the year 2000 that could be
95 per cent.
At the moment, BT and MCI
between them have about six per
cent of the market. If we were to
do nothing other than hold on to
that six per cent, we would be a
£36 billion company within a few
years. But, of course, we are going
after a chunk of that other
94 per cent.
What are your priorities for
Concert’s early days?
I have five priorities for Concert’s
first year:
1First, to continue to grow and
develop our core operations, in
the UK through BT and in the US
through MCI.
1Second, to stake a major claim in
the US local services market.
1Three, to prepare for rapid growth
in Europe. 1 January 1998 really is
the opportunity of a lifetime for us
and we can’t wait.
1Four, to grow our systems
integration business by more than
20 per cent. Increasingly, major
corporate customers are looking
for suppliers to manage the whole
of their communications
requirements – in-house and
external – around the world.
Success in this market comes
from winning the trust of
customers and working with
them in partnership – something
that both BT and MCI know a lot
about.
1And finally, to create and develop a
series of joint venture partnerships
in targeted countries around the
world, specifically in Europe, Latin
America and the Far East.
What will the merger mean for
customers, shareholders and
employees?
Concert is all about bringing
genuine competition into all the
markets in which it operates, and
competition has been shown in
those markets where it is already
operative to result in more choice
for customers, a wider range of
services, improving quality of
service and falling prices.
The results for shareholders will,
I believe, prove equally tangible.
Concert gives BT’s shareholders
access to the dynamic US market,
the world’s largest, while MCI’s
shareholders gain exposure to
the opportunities that will follow
deregulation in Europe. Both will
benefit from Concert’s expansion
into the wider international market –
into the Asia-Pacific region and into
Latin America.
Concert offers shareholders a stake
in a company that is big enough to
be able to balance a more
speculative, potentially high-yield
investment in one market, and
proven, substantial returns in
another. In effect, it offers
shareholders the benefits of a
diverse portfolio in a single share.
The commitment of our employees
has been fundamental in placing BT
in the position whereby this merger
could take place. For the future
there should be great opportunities
for our employees as we become
closer to achieving our vision of
becoming the most successful
worldwide telecommunications
group. People are crucial to our
success because if we want to be
the best we must be in a position to
attract and retain the best people.
Weshallstrivetodothisby
becoming an employer of choice
and give even greater emphasis to
developing and training our people.
Sir Peter Bonfield CBE
Chief Executive
20 MAY 1997