Alpha queries BT's relationship with discount operator

NEWS Alpha Telecom has issued a statement questioning the relationship between BT and Quip, the recently launched discount operator, which is 49 per cent owned by BT. Alpha, a discount telephony provider with revenues approaching £60m per year, described Quip as an attempt by BT to "win back some of the business it is 'haemorraging' to the cut-price operators". Andy Middleton, UK MD of Alpha, has encouraged Oftel to investigate Quip because of "the potential for BT to use Quip as a Trojan horse for anti-competitive behaviour". However, BT and Quip have strongly denied the Alpha allegations. Simon Lubin, Quip marketing director, said: "We're buying minutes from all sorts of carriers. We're totally independent with separate management team, separate premises and so on. This is not like BA and Go. There are two other investors in this besides BT." Quip's two other investors are Bank of Scotland and Unisys. A BT spokesman said there is "absolutely no question of cross-subsidy", and claimed Oftel was fully informed about the establishment of Quip.