British Telecommunications Plc will be eyeing the Australian telephony market as soon as it is liberalized in 1997, Reuter reports. Opening a new office in Melbourne, BT Australasia Pty Ltd said it was considering offering cellular telephone and other services. Sydney-based BT Australasia, British Telecom’s regional headquarters for Asia, Africa and the Pacific says Australia is an important market as its the leading carrier in the Asia- Pacific region and, along with Japan and South Korea, one of the three preferred regional markets of its multinational customers. Australians were paying 30% to 50% more for telecommunications services than people in Britain, it said. British Telecom is likely to install its own telephone exchanges but lease its lines from one or other of the majors, or other entrants.
