BT signs £2bn deal with Marconi

NEWS BT has signed a five year, £2bn deal for a high-bandwidth optical network from British communications firm, Marconi. Most of BT's services - data, video and voice - will be carried over the network, and the first customers should be online by April 2001. The network will be based on Marconi's photonics equipment and synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) products. Just over 800 Marconi employees are already working on the BT project, and the company may expand its photonics production facility in Coventry to meet the deadline. It also hopes to create jobs in its research and production facilities in both Italy and the UK.