BT launches developer competition at Symbian Smartphone show

Competition to spur the creation of new mobile applications for Wi-Fi enabled devices

London, 8th October 2007 - BT today announces the launch of a competition to promote the development of innovative applications and services for Wi-Fi enabled mobile devices. The competition will be launched at the Symbian Smartphone Show, 16-17 October at the ExCel Centre in London. The overall winner will receive £1000 in prize money, with further monetary prizes for second and third places.

Nick Sim, senior devices researcher at BT says, “As increasing numbers of people want to work on the move and be better connected we’re seeing a growth in Wi-Fi enabled devices. Through this competition we hope to encourage developers to create innovative new applications for these devices, which will have a positive impact on consumers and businesses in the future.”

As well as supporting the development of converged services on Symbian OS™, the market-leading operating system for advanced, data-enabled mobile phones known as smartphones, the competition also supports BT’s Wireless Cities initiative. Developers will be able to take advantage of the high bandwidth Wi-Fi on offer to create new mobile applications and services that will benefit end users. There are currently 13 Wireless City networks up and running across the UK, which provide wire-free, high-speed broadband coverage for easy access to information and services in city centre locations.

Competition Details:

The BT Developers Challenge is open to software developers, including individuals, companies and open source communities. Entries must be submitted by 16th January 2008.

Competition entries will be judged on the following criteria:

• Innovative use of Wi-Fi connectivity – to what extent does the application make use of the high bandwidth offered by Wi-Fi to provide an enhanced experience for the user?
• Ease of use – how easy is the application to set up and use for non-technical users? How intuitive and attractive is the application’s user interface? How likely are users to utilise the application on their device?
• Commercial potential – does the application have the potential to secure a large customer base and/or achieve strong revenues?
• Ease of execution / roll-out – how easy and cost effective would it be to roll out the application to a large customer base?

Entries will be judged by representatives from BT, Symbian and a third party organisation. The winners will be announced at the Mobile World Congress (previously known as the 3GSM World Congress) in February 2008.

- Ends -

Notes to editors

For more information on the submission of entries and information on competition criteria see: http://www.bt.com/developerchallenge. Entries can be submitted from Tuesday 16th October.

In addition, BT will be present in the Developers Zone (stand DZ20) at the Symbian Smartphone Show, ExCel Centre, London, from 16th to 17th October 2007.

About BT

BT is one of the world’s leading providers of communications solutions and services operating in 170 countries. Its principal activities include networked IT services; local, national and international telecommunications services; higher-value broadband and internet products and services and converged fixed/mobile products and services. BT consists principally of four lines of business: BT Global Services, Openreach, BT Retail and BT Wholesale.

In the year ended 31 March 2007, BT Group plc’s revenue was £20,223 million with profit before taxation of £2,484 million.

British Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in London and New York. www.bt.com/aboutbt

Media Enquiries

Mike Witts BT Group Press Office Tel: +44 207 356 5369 Email: mike.witts@bt.com

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