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Conduit files legal action against BT
Thursday, September 19 2002
by Matthew Clark


In its fight for more market share in the STG500 million a year UK directory
inquiries market, Irish company Conduit has filed a lawsuit against BT. 

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.