BT Round-Up: KCOM Outsourcing Contract; ATM Wifi Deal; Open IPTV Forum Membership

BT Vision

KCOM-BT: East Yorkshire based telco KCOM is outsourcing the management of its broadband network to BT (NYSE: BT) as part of a five-year partnership. KCOM, which owns Hull’s Kingston Communcations fixed-line operator, will now be able to trim back its costs, extend its reach using BT’s national network and keep ownership of its fibre-optic network. The outsourcing will take place over several years with the first stage expected to be completed within a year. Release.

BT Openreach via ATMs: BT also announced a five-year deal with ATM manufacturer Cashbox to make each of its terminals a wifi hotspot. They will be part of the BT Openzone network, access to which is included in higher-level BT ISP customer’ packages and some 02 mobile contracts, although casual users will be able to log on for “as little as £00.05″. Cashbox has 2,500 ATMS nationally but only 10 will be turned on for the time being in pubs and bars across the country. Openzone is being added to Starbucks cafes in the UK next month. Release.

Open IPTV Forum BT is the latest telco to join the forum, which is working on a IPTV open standard for the industry. BT’s membership may appear slightly odd as it is a key member of the BBC-convened Project Canvas IPTV project, which also has the mission of securing industry standards in web TV. But, as Beeb IPTV director Richard Halton told the IPTV World Forum in March, Canvas is not necessarily about creating IPTV technological standards and may involve one or more existing technologies. Release.

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