BT McKinseyed in bid for world leadership

BT's been McKinseyed. The telco has announced details of a monster restructuring initiative it claims will enable it to become the "world leader in the next wave of the communications revolution". The plans include separating the UK fixed network business into wholesale and retail divisions. And in common with other large corporations BT is to group its other businesses by market sector rather than geography. The result of the management consultants' arcane art is that there will now be four businesses that go to make up BT:

• Ignite, a data-centric broadband IP business focused on corporate and wholesale markets.
• BTopenworld, a mass market Internet business focused increasingly on broadband services.
• BT Wireless, an international mobile business emphasising mobile data and next generation services.
• Yell, formerly known as Yellow Pages, an international directories and e-commerce business which BT intends to list by year end.
• In a statement, Sir Peter Bonfield, BT's CE, said: "The restructuring follows a comprehensive strategic review of the changes in technology, market structure, customer needs and regulatory approaches which are driving the industry. Further details of the move will be fleshed out at a press conference today. However, initial market reaction to BT's moves has been positive. While the FTSE 100 fell almost 65 points (1.02 per cent) in early morning trading, BT's shares rose by 31p (2.85 per cent) to £11.20. ®