a firm called Ionica, with its wireless system using a small aerial fixed in the home which then relays the call to a conventional telephone. Or they can use one of Britain's relatively inexpensive mobile wireless systems such as Orange of Cellnet, 60% owned by BT (Capturing the customers, 1997).
Taken this new competitive domestic environment BT had to rethink its domestic market. With 20 million residential customers and 7 million businesses BT still controlled about 80% of the combined business and residential market in the UK. Yet cable companies were gradually winning about 35% of the homes their lines passed, equalling about 4% of the domestic market or, to state it another way, a loss of about 70,000 residential customers a month for BT. In addition telecommunication firms like Cable and Wireless were going after BT's business customers. By late 1996 BT's market share in London's financial district was just 30% (Lynch, 1996).
BT management decided that its best strategy was to attempt to grow the overall market through advertising, merch
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