The Department of Trade & Industry has issued a draft Public Telecommunications Operator licence to City of London Telecommunications Ltd, which intends to offer private wire and switched services for voice, data and video applications. The company says it wants to install a digital fibre optic Metropolitan Area Network throughout Greater London, with construction starting early in the second quarter and initial services available towards the end of the year. It hopes to sign interconnection deals with British Telecom, Mercury and the new public telecommunications operator licensees, in order to offer its customers the choice of services outside of London. City of London Telecom – COLT – is 90% owned by fund management group Fidelity Investments Inc, Boston.
