This comes as little surprise as new BT chairman Sir Christopher Bland makes significant changes to BT’s infrastructure.
The two companies are currently discussing different possibilities of action for the venture, which made a loss of $250 million in the first three months of 2001, BT losing £89 million a figure which it cannot permit.
BT may also sell its Ignite wholesale Internet division to AT&T’s business services unit along with its stake in Concert. Concert’s finance director Philip Hampton told analysts that the company would continue to make significant losses in its current form.
BT chief executive Peter Bonfield admitted that he was deeply disappointed with Concert’s performance, which he attributed to plunging prices for telecoms services: We’ve seen the bottom fall out of that pricing.
BT said in a press statement that it would review what the correct course of action would be for Concert and Ignite. The options considered where a combination of these businesses with AT&T’s business services unit, a disposal of all or part of the businesses or their separation from BT by way of IPO or demerger from BT.
