BT 2002 Annual Report Download - page 16

Business review
BT Group Annual Report and Form 20-F 2002 15
&met its target of enabling more than 1,000 exchanges
for DSL services to ensure that over 60% of UK households
are connected to a DSL-enabled exchange;
&announced plans to enable a further 100 exchanges,
extending coverage to 66%;
&launched a series of product enhancements, including
a self-install version of asymmetric DSL (ADSL) in January
2002, enabling more than 150 service provider customers
to market attractive broadband product offerings;
&promoted broadband through joint marketing
programmes with its service provider customers; and
&progressively reduced the price of wholesale
broadband through a sustained programme of cost
reductions based on scale economics, e-business
automation, process improvements, improved network
design and lower equipment costs. These culminated in
signi®cant price reductions announced in February 2002,
which are expected to stimulate demand for one million
broadband lines in the UK by Summer 2003.
So, even in a dif®cult year, BT Wholesale made a major
contribution to the ®nancial performance of BT and set out
its aim to be the number one provider of wholesale
broadband in the UK.
BT Ignite
Years ended, or as at, 31 March 2002 2001
Group turnover £4,476m £3,468m
Group operating loss £(353)m £(309)m
No. of employees ('000) 16.4 18.8
Note ± before goodwill amortisation and exceptional items
BT Ignite is our business services and solutions division,
serving customers worldwide.
Its strategy is to deliver managed networks and
communications solutions to multi-site corporate customers
with activities in one or more European countries, including
customers who operate globally with needs in Europe.
BT Ignite, along with BT Retail in the UK, positions us
as a leading provider of managed communications services
and solutions to corporate customers with substantial
European operations.
Meeting customers' needs
BT Ignite provides customers with:
A unique services portfolio, with signi®cant reach and
depth
Its European network covers 56,000 kilometres, linking to
300 large towns and cities, with 20 hosting centres
spanning the continent and Europe's largest IP virtual
private network capability.
It also has a worldwide network of partnerships, joint
ventures and distributors to meet customers' needs in the
USA and Asia.
BT Ignite's customers are increasingly international in
their activities and require advanced, IP-based,
high-performance services, with full functionality, delivered
to all of their locations.
One example is multi-protocol label switching (MPLS),
which BT Ignite was the ®rst to launch internationally.
MPLS-based, IP virtual private networks (VPNs) are the next
generation of data networks for corporate customers,
supporting voice, data and video applications. These
networks offer more ¯exibility and greater service
performance.
A customer-driven portfolio
BT Ignite's services and solutions portfolio is built
around the needs of multi-site businesses. It includes:
&desk top equipment and software;
&web hosting services;
&network equipment and software;
&managed network services;
&transport and connectivity;
&integration services;
&network operations services; and
&network and business consulting services.
Extensive experience in delivering solutions and
value-added services
Revenue in BT Ignite Solutions was £1,828 million in the
2002 ®nancial year, up 17% on the previous year with some
accounts growing by 50% in the 2001 calendar year.
Gartner analysts estimate that BT Ignite Solutions has 6.5%
of the UK integrated communications market.
BT Ignite Solutions has around 5,000 employees and
operates in over 20 countries through joint ventures and
associate relationships. Syntegra, which provides global
systems integration and consultancy expertise, employs
around 5,000 highly-skilled people across the globe, with
particular strengths in ®nancial services and government.
BT Ignite has embarked on an aggressive plan to build
on its UK solutions base and extend its skills, knowledge
and expertise into its continental European sales and
service teams.
Core to the needs of multi-site business customers is
global account management and BT Ignite offers a single
point of contact for sales and service for all its major
customers.
Business realignment
During the year, BT Ignite was realigned to ensure that it
retained its focus on multi-site corporate customers, and
ceased activities that might distract from this strategy.
On 31 March 2002, we successfully transferred the
management of our former Concert customers to BT Ignite
(and BT Retail).
The Concert MPLS VPN platform, with its global
presence in Europe, USA and Asia, is being integrated with
the BT Ignite European platform, to enhance reach and
coverage.
BT Ignite's global reach services (Frame, ATM, IP-VPN)
extend to and across North and South America. This means
that BT Ignite's products are delivered seamlessly from
Europe to its own locations in the Americas, and delivered