British Telecommunications Plc and web portal LookSmart Ltd yesterday said they have struck a deal worth $200m for the Australian firm to provide portal services for BT in Europe and Asia-Pacific. But the deal could be seen as a snub to Excite.com, the portal BT tends to use in its internet ventures overseas.
Under the terms of the deal, BT will use co-branded LookSmart portals in ISP services offered by its non-UK joint ventures and subsidiaries, such as those in France, Germany and Japan. These will include offering LookSmart as the portal for any virtual ISPs launched by businesses that wish to use the BT network said a spokesperson for BT.
Previously, such as in virtual ISP deals with Dell Computer Corp and Sega Enterprises Ltd, BT has worked with ExciteÆs European arms to provide the portal, such as in dellnet.excite.fr with BTÆs Cegetel SA and sega.excite.de with BTÆs Viag Interkom AG. This will no longer be the case, although the existing partnerships are expected to remain untouched.
BT has joint ventures and subsidiaries in Germany, France, Spain, Netherlands, Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and Japan. The LookSmart deal will extend to all of these but will not apply in the UK. BT owns half of Excite UK Ltd.
