BT hops onto Vodafone, targets business mobiles

BT Mobile has changed it piggy-back partner. From today, the telco will be a mobile virtual network operator - or MVNO - using the Vodafone's UK network rather than O2.

Many organisations such as supermarkets, easyGroup and most famously Virgin have entered the mobile space as MVNOs.

It is a big day for BT - which spun off O2 parent company mmO2 in 2001 and re-entered the mobile market virtually as an MVNO soon after - not least because the move also marks increased focus on business customers.

Steve Andrews, BT Group chief of mobility and convergence, told silicon.com that a range of BT-branded services covering voice calls, mobile VPNs, conferencing, Blackberrys and even 3G data cards and handsets will be available.

The bright red 3G data card from Vodafone, increasingly seen hanging out the side of laptops, has spearheaded that operator's push into the market for fast cellular data access, at least until the full launch of 3G handsets last week across 13 countries.

Andrews said BT considered tenders from several mobile operators in the UK but in the end went with BT because it had the "wherewithal, global coverage, commitment and real vision" to be a long-term partner. That decision was made several months ago and from today new customers will use Vodafone infrastructure with existing accounts being gradually transferred across.

Andrews' unit looks after BT Openzone Wi-Fi as well as cellular mobile and clearly he sees an opportunity in combining those two services, as well as fixed line broadband, which is outside of his remit but now a big money spinner for the telco. He said to "expect within days rather than weeks" special rate offers that combine mobile services with access at 20,000 hotspots.

BT Openzone typically charges £5 per month for 500 minutes of access, excluding special offers.

BT Mobile was criticised after its launch for the slow rate at which it was signing up customers. Andrews said that since then customer acquisition has picked up and he pointed out that of 305,000 users by the end of September this year, around 145,000 are business accounts and mostly post-pay, generating higher average revenues than pay-as-you-go customers.

"We've done pretty well but we want to ramp up on the business front," said Andrews.