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Conduit Enterprises Ltd, the UK-based subsidiary of Conduit Plc, said on Thursday that it had initiated legal proceedings against British Telecommunications Plc at the High Court in London. The business, which operates the 11 850 directory inquiries number in Ireland, also lodged a formal complaint against BT to the UK telecoms watchdog Oftel.
In a statement, Conduit said that the legal action centres around a directory enquiry service that Conduit currently provides for O2 in the UK with BT's involvement. In the documents filed in court, Conduit claimed that BT had inappropriately attempted to terminate the contract between BT and Conduit for this service, and is in breach of a number of the terms of the contract.
Conduit also said that BT had acted improperly in "attempting to remove Conduit as the supplier of directory enquiry services to O2."
Additionally, the Irish company accused BT of breaching its telecommunications licence and of contravening the UK Competition Act by attempting to supply its directory enquiry service to O2 on preferential terms. This accusation was made in its formal complaint to Oftel.
The moves by Conduit come just before the UK directory inquiries market is set to be deregulated on 10 December. That lucrative market, thought to be worth around STG500 million a year, is where Conduit is currently focusing the bulk of its energy. Chief Executive Officer Liam Young has said on multiple occasions that Conduit is eagerly looking to slice into BT's existing 80 percent market share.
Conduit plans to launch its 118899 number in the UK this autumn and the business now has around 11 percent of the UK market, with most of current business coming from mobile users through deals with mobile operators. The Irish firm's stated goal is to have 20 percent market share in two years' time. Although a deregulated market will allow for more competitors, Young has said in the past that he is confident of Conduit's position because of its early leader advantage.
Conduit currently operates call centres in Dublin, Cardiff, Biel and Vienna and provides directory assistance services to clients in the UK, Ireland, Switzerland and Austria.
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