BT's quarterly newsletter for industry analysts 
BT Wholesale sees MNS demand soaring
Demand for managed network solutions (MNS) has doubled in the last 12 months, accounting for 19 per cent of BT Wholesale's external revenue in Q3, up from nine per cent in the same period last year.
Overall, BT Wholesale’s MNS business saw revenues increase 118 per cent to £166m in the third quarter, boosted by the new MBNL mobile access deal and the Post Office contract. BT Wholesale has also signed long-term managed services contracts with more than half of its 15 largest wholesale customers.
This impressive performance comes as wholesale customers, which include the biggest mobile operators, are increasingly turning to BT to support their businesses so they can benefit from BT’s economies of scale while reducing their own capital investments.
Brian Fitzpatrick, managing director of BT Wholesale markets, said: "We are supplying an à la carte service, where customers can ask us to design, implement, manage and operate their entire network or parts of it – or where we just add value to their current solutions."
"CPs can also benefit from BT’s global reach, economies of scale, state-of-the art technology and ability to upgrade capacity at very short notice. These factors allow them to focus on what matters most - acquiring and retaining end-user customers - whilst enjoying the most cost effective and flexible solution possible."
In the hands of experts
Four of the UK's five mobile operators - Vodafone, O2, T-Mobile and 3 UK - have now signed up for the Wholesale Managed Ethernet Access service, which has generated business worth £750 million, allowing BT Group to profit from the growth in mobile usage.
MNS uses 21CN-delivered Wholesale Ethernet to provide flexible solutions customised to meet the individual needs of major UK service providers. According to Fitzpatrick, demand for bandwidth to move data around is growing in direct ratio to the rapid increase in third generation (3G) and mobile broadband take-up.
He added: "From an MNS perspective, we are basically saying to our customers, 'give us your problems. BT is the expert in running and operating the network - so let us do it for you'."
"Not only does this allow them to concentrate on keeping their customers happy, they also get a guaranteed and rapid increase in capacity as and when they need it - while paying only for the access and capacity they use. In short, we're helping our customers manage the non-predictability of future bandwidth requirements."
Fitzpatrick highlighted the fact that fixed line customers are also interested in the MNS service, with BT Wholesale now managing the voice requirements of almost 30 per cent of UK homes through agreements with the likes of Virgin Media and Sky.
"The primary interest of communication providers is delivering the most up-to-date applications to their customers and having access to the capacity they need, when they need it. It's very clear that network operation and management is no longer a differentiating quality for our customers. They are far less interested in the technology behind the network and are increasingly becoming 'network-light'. Outsourcing elements to BT enables CPs to free up resources - both capital and people – and take full advantage of immediate cost savings."