BT is getting ready for what amounts to the opportunity of a lifetime as the European telecommunication markets open up to competition from 1 January 1998. And, for some time now, we have been preparing to make our mark in markets which, analysts predict, could be worth around £115 billion a year.

We are already well positioned, not only in the largest markets of Germany and France, but also in the Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal and Scandinavia. In January 1995, BT and VIAG Aktiongesellschaft formed a joint venture - VIAG INTERKOM - to challenge Deutsche Telekom in the German market.

BT and MCI have also announced strategic alliances with Spain's Telefonica and with Portugal Telecom. With BT, Telefonica will explore investment possibilities in Europe and, with MCI, it will pursue opportunities in the fast-growing Latin American markets, expected to be worth $60 billion by 2000. Portugal Telecom becomes the exclusive distributor of Concert Communications' voice products in Portugal and, with MCI, will also seek opportunities in Latin America's largest market - Brazil.

CEGETEL, BT's telecommunications venture with French utility Compagnie Generale des Eaux, has been chosen by SNCF, the French state-owned railway company, to help develop its telecoms network. The deal will help ensure that, come 1 January 1998, CEGETEL (which holds a majority stake in SFR - the highly successful second mobile operator) is an effective alternative to France Telecom in the French market.