British Telecommunications Plc says that the bid by AT&T Co to operate in the UK could speed liberalisation of the key North Atlantic telecommunications route, and reckons that the matter could be settled within months; AT&T says that it would much preferred to have entered the UK market with a local partner but saw no prospect of that (it had been negotiating with Cable & Wireless Plc for a stake in Mercury Communications Ltd; meanwhile each side throws regulatory brickbats at the other, with AT&T complaining that it has to deal – on a confidential basis – with British Telecom on interconnect and access charges where in the US, charges are much lower and have to be applied within the operator’s own business as well – and that simply applying for a licence in the UK costs $70,000 against just $610 in the US; British Telecom complains that it wasn’t allowed to increase its 20% stake in McCaw Cellular Communications Inc and achieve a management position – and likely would be barred from buying MCI Communications Inc, where AT&T would be free to buy Vodafone Group Plc – or even Mercury, outright, if it wanted to.
