May 17, 2007
The Post Office and BT today announced a new strategic partnership that sees BT become the provider of wholesale communications services to the Post Office for resale to its customers. In an agreement worth up to £750 million over the next four years, and the largest single contract ever signed by BT Wholesale, BT will underpin the Post Office's ambitions to become a fully integrated voice and broadband communications provider.
The agreement provides the Post Office with a suite of broadband and converged services from BT Wholesale's white label managed services portfolio. These new services will underpin the Post Office's plans to launch a new and enhanced communications service later this year and upgrade its existing 400,000 telephony customers seamlessly to the new service. The service will combine high speed broadband and telephony, as well as customer equipment and applications such as web-based email and anti-virus protection. BT is also supplying online and telephone based customer service and support.
Commenting on the agreement, Alan Cook, the Post Office's Managing Director, said: "The Post Office wanted a partner that could help us provide one of the best and most customer-focused voice and broadband services in the telecoms market at leading edge prices - and with BT, we're very confident we've got the best strategic relationship to provide our customers with a trusted and reliable service at leading edge prices."
Paul Reynolds, chief executive at BT Wholesale, said: "This is a landmark agreement between two of the UK's leading and best established businesses. It will help to quickly establish the Post Office as a key player in an exciting, dynamic and ultra competitive market for broadband-based services. Today, people live their lives and run their businesses on broadband.
This new world is set to accelerate with BT's major investments to bring further innovation and 21st century network communications to everyone in the UK. We've already committed to delivering broadband speeds up to three times faster than what's possible today. Today's announcement is further recognition of how BT's world class expertise and capabilities can help create customer quality and choice."