BT takes chunk of Italian ISP

BT is to acquire a 32.5 per cent stake in I.NET -- Italy's biggest business ISP-- for £13 million, the telco said today. I.NET -- which expects a turnover of more than £13.5 million this year -- manages the Net affairs of 3,500 large and medium-sized companies including the newspaper La Republica, the Italian Stock Exchange, Benetton, and the Italian bank Banca Intesa. Pat Gallagher, president of BT Europe, said: " This is an important step towards consolidating our Internet presence in Italy, one of the fastest growing markets in Europe As the fourth largest telecommunications market in Europe analysts predict that Net usage in Italy is expected to surge in the coming years. The number of corporate users on-line is predicted to rise from its current figure of 400,000 to around 3.2 million by 2005 -- an annual growth rate of 35 per cent. ® For more city news tune into Cash Register and turn on to our daily Net Finance News