Concert Communications Services
Concert Communications Services was a global telecommunications joint venture and service brand created by BT and MCI to provide integrated international connectivity for multinational corporations.
Last updated October 14, 2026
AI crawler reads
No AI crawler has read this profile since Oct 28, 2026.
Overview
Concert Communications Services was a telecommunications joint venture and international service brand established by BT Group and MCI Communications in June 1994. Its purpose was to give multinational corporations a single provider for end-to-end communications services across multiple countries, at a time when international telecommunications depended heavily on arrangements among nationally dominant carriers. Concert positioned itself as a multiservice global carrier capable of coordinating voice, data, conferencing, messaging, electronic data interchange, e-mail, videoconferencing, network management and related enterprise communications services. The business emerged from BT strategic work in the early 1990s aimed at making the British carrier more internationally competitive. A central requirement was a global carrier-level service that could control or coordinate the complete route of a customer's communications rather than handing responsibility from one national telecommunications provider to another. Concert was intended to meet that requirement while remaining organizationally separate from BT, partly because telecommunications regulation was still structured around national and regional jurisdictions. Its global headquarters were established in Reston, Virginia, placing the venture close to the large North American telecommunications and technology market while retaining practical links with Europe. Rather than constructing a fully owned worldwide physical network, Concert expanded by leasing capacity from national telecommunications companies and interconnecting with existing networks. This approach allowed it to develop international reach more quickly than infrastructure-led competitors that built substantial cable systems and other physical facilities. The model was particularly suited to corporate customers seeking a coordinated service relationship, even though it also created operational and commercial complexity because BT, MCI and Concert initially maintained separate boards, sales organizations, operating teams and billing systems. Concert's early portfolio included global virtual network services for voice, switched data and conferencing; managed data services such as packet switching and frame relay; flexible and pre-provisioned bandwidth; application services including messaging, electronic data interchange, electronic mail and videoconferencing; and customer management services involving outsourced network management. The former Tymnet network was incorporated into parts of its managed data proposition. By August 1995, the company stated that its products represented approximately $700 million in contracts with around 2,000 customers in 40 countries and 800 cities, although the organizational structure made genuinely unified global delivery difficult. The source material identifies a customer-managed service for Dow Chemical as the only such project that progressed to delivery under the original arrangement. BT and MCI later proposed a broader corporate combination, announced in November 1996 under the proposed name Concert plc. Portugal Telecom joined the alliance in 1997 as a distributor of Concert services in Portugal, while BT and MCI acquired minority interests in Portugal Telecom. The proposed BT-MCI merger received regulatory approvals but collapsed after WorldCom made a successful competing bid for MCI. BT subsequently sold its MCI stake to WorldCom and acquired MCI's interest in Concert, making Concert wholly owned by BT. To preserve North American reach, BT then reconstituted Concert as a partnership with AT&T in 1999. The new relationship faced management, cultural and commercial tensions. Concert's owners competed for influence and revenue, while the venture's structure and inherited sales arrangements limited its ability to operate as a fully integrated global business. David Dorman became chief executive in 1999 with a mandate to revive the company. At its height, the managed network directly reached more than 800 cities in 52 countries and connected with approximately 240 additional networks, extending access to about 1,300 cities in 130 countries. The BT-AT&T relationship ultimately broke down. In 2001 the partners agreed to divide Concert's assets, with AT&T receiving North America and eastern Asia and BT receiving the rest of the world together with a reported portion of the venture's financial obligations and resources. In 2002, BT's remaining Concert operations were folded into BT Ignite and later into BT Global Services. Concert therefore ceased to operate as an independent global brand, but its business model and assets contributed to the development of BT's later international enterprise-services organization.
History
Concert Communications Services developed from BT's early-1990s effort to create a globally competitive telecommunications group. The strategic problem was that international corporate communications were traditionally delivered through a chain of national carriers. Each carrier controlled its own territory, and responsibility for the customer experience could be lost at the handoff between providers. BT's proposed solution was a global carrier-level service that could present multinational customers with one coordinated provider, even where the underlying network capacity belonged to different telecommunications companies. The project was designed to appear operationally independent from BT because telecommunications regulation remained divided among national, regional and global authorities. Reston, Virginia, was selected for the global headquarters because of its proximity to the North American market and the developing Northern Virginia technology corridor. Concert began assembling its network in 1993. Instead of building a wholly owned physical infrastructure, it leased capacity from national carriers and connected those facilities into a managed international service. This gave it a potentially faster route to geographic coverage than competitors that invested heavily in their own submarine and terrestrial cable systems. In June 1994, BT and MCI Communications formally launched Concert as a joint venture valued in the source material at $1 billion. MCI provided access to the North American market, while BT gained a partner for its global strategy. Concert marketed a portfolio aimed primarily at multinational corporations. Its global virtual network services covered voice, switched data and conferencing. Its managed data portfolio included packet switching, frame relay and bandwidth services, with elements of the former Tymnet network integrated into the offer. Application services covered messaging, electronic data interchange, e-mail and videoconferencing, and customer management services were intended to support outsourced network management. The early commercial figures reported by Concert indicated substantial reach: by August 1995, the company said that its products represented about $700 million in contracts with approximately 2,000 customers across 40 countries and 800 cities. Yet the structure that helped the alliance navigate regulation also impaired delivery. BT, MCI and Concert each had separate governance, sales, operations and billing arrangements. As a result, combining services into a truly seamless global contract was difficult. The source material identifies the customer-managed service for Dow Chemical as the only project of that type that reached delivery under the original structure. BT and MCI attempted to deepen their relationship by announcing a full merger agreement on 3 November 1996. The proposed company, to be called Concert plc, was to be incorporated in the United Kingdom with headquarters in London and Washington, DC. Portugal Telecom joined the alliance in 1997 as a distributor of Concert services in Portugal. Although the proposed BT-MCI transaction obtained approval from the European Commission, the United States Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission, it was overtaken by competing bids for MCI. WorldCom's successful offer caused BT to withdraw from its merger agreement. BT sold its MCI stake to WorldCom and acquired MCI's interest in Concert, making Concert a wholly owned BT operation. BT still wanted a North American partner, so Concert was reorganized as a BT-AT&T venture in 1999. The alliance inherited unresolved issues involving ownership, sales responsibility and the division of customer revenues. The two companies also had different management cultures and strategic pressures. Concert continued to sign customers, but revenue growth slowed. David Dorman was appointed chief executive in 1999 with responsibility for revitalizing the business. At its peak, Concert's directly managed network reached more than 800 cities in 52 countries. Interconnections with roughly 240 other networks extended its potential reach to approximately 1,300 cities in 130 countries. This scale illustrated the value of the leased-capacity model, but it did not eliminate the underlying commercial tensions between the parent companies. By late 2000 and 2001, BT and AT&T were no longer willing to maintain Concert as a unified venture. The parties negotiated a division in 2001: AT&T received the North American and eastern Asian portions, while BT took the remaining international operations and associated assets. BT's remaining Concert business was subsequently transferred into BT Ignite and later BT Global Services in 2002. Concert consequently became defunct as an independent brand and operating entity.
- 2002
BT absorbs its remaining Concert operations
[1]BT's remaining Concert assets were merged into BT Ignite and later BT Global Services.
- 2001
BT and AT&T split Concert's assets
[1]The partners agreed to divide the venture, with regional assets allocated between AT&T and BT.
- 1999
Concert is reorganized with AT&T
[1]BT formed a new Concert joint venture with AT&T to maintain access to North American telecommunications markets.
- 1998
BT acquires MCI's interest in Concert
[1]After the collapse of the proposed BT-MCI merger and BT's sale of its MCI stake to WorldCom, BT acquired MCI's interest in Concert and became its sole owner.
- 1997
Portugal Telecom joins the alliance
[1]Portugal Telecom became a partner and distributor of Concert services in Portugal.
- 1996
BT and MCI announce the proposed Concert plc merger
[1]The partners announced a plan for a larger global telecommunications company named Concert plc, with proposed headquarters in London and Washington, DC.
- 1995
Concert reports broad early commercial reach
[1]By August, Concert said its contracts covered approximately 2,000 customers in 40 countries and 800 cities.
- 1994
BT and MCI launch Concert
[1]Concert Communications Services was launched in June as a BT-MCI joint venture focused on integrated global telecommunications for corporate customers.
- 1993
Concert begins building its global network
[1]The venture began assembling international coverage by leasing capacity from telecommunications companies and interconnecting existing networks.
- 1992
BT develops the strategic foundation for a global carrier service
[1]BT strategic work identified the need for a global service that could coordinate end-to-end communications for multinational customers rather than relying solely on national-carrier handoffs.
Products and positioning
A single-provider, end-to-end global communications platform for multinational corporations, built by combining carrier relationships and leased network capacity across national markets.
Enterprise telecommunications · 1994
Global virtual network services
Concert's virtual network proposition provided multinational organizations with coordinated voice, switched-data and conferencing services across countries. The service was designed to make geographically distributed communications appear to operate through a single global provider, reducing the need for customers to manage separate national-carrier relationships.
Managed data networking · 1994
Global managed data services
This portfolio covered low- and high-speed packet switching, frame relay, managed bandwidth and related data-network capabilities. Concert used leased carrier capacity and incorporated elements of the former Tymnet network to extend international enterprise connectivity without constructing every physical route itself.
Business communications applications · 1994
Global application services
Concert offered communications applications including messaging, electronic data interchange, e-mail and videoconferencing. These services were part of the company's effort to move beyond basic international carriage and provide a broader managed communications environment for multinational corporate users.
Network management outsourcing · 1994
Customer management services
Customer management services were intended to outsource aspects of network administration and provide a single management relationship for complex international communications environments. Delivery was constrained by the separate organizations and billing systems maintained by the alliance participants.
Brand decisions
2001
Divide Concert between BT and AT&TM&ABackground
The BT-AT&T relationship deteriorated and the partners no longer maintained Concert as a unified global operation.
Action taken
The parties divided the assets geographically, allocating North America and eastern Asia to AT&T and the remaining international operations to BT.
Aftermath
BT's remaining operations were absorbed into successor divisions, while Concert ceased to function as an independent global brand.
1999
Reconstitute Concert with AT&TM&ABackground
BT continued to require access to the North American market after the end of its MCI relationship.
Action taken
BT formed a new Concert joint venture with AT&T.
Aftermath
The partnership preserved international scale but was weakened by management, cultural and commercial disagreements between the two parent companies.
1997
Separate Concert from the failed BT-MCI mergerM&ABackground
WorldCom's competing bid for MCI caused BT's proposed merger with MCI to collapse.
Action taken
BT sold its MCI stake to WorldCom and acquired MCI's interest in Concert, turning Concert into a wholly owned BT operation.
Aftermath
BT retained the Concert platform and sought a new North American partner rather than abandoning its global enterprise-services strategy.
1993
Build global reach through leased telecommunications capacityStrategyBackground
Concert needed rapid international coverage but could not own or construct infrastructure in every national market.
Action taken
The venture assembled a managed global network by purchasing or leasing capacity from national telecommunications companies and connecting that capacity into enterprise services.
Aftermath
The approach enabled broad geographic reach, although it left Concert dependent on partner networks and did not remove the operational complexity of coordinating multiple carriers.
Recent events
- 2002
Concert operations absorbed into successor BT divisions[1]
M&A
BT's remaining Concert assets were merged into BT Ignite and subsequently associated with BT Global Services, ending Concert's life as an independent operating brand.
- 2001
BT and AT&T agree to divide Concert[1]
M&A · Leadership change
After the BT-AT&T relationship deteriorated, the partners agreed to split Concert's assets between their regional operations.
- 1999
Concert becomes a BT-AT&T joint venture[1]
M&A
Following the end of BT's relationship with MCI, Concert was reorganized as a joint venture between BT and AT&T to retain a global enterprise telecommunications presence.
- 1997
Portugal Telecom joins the Concert alliance[1]
M&A
Portugal Telecom became a partner and distributor of Concert services in Portugal, while BT and MCI acquired minority interests in Portugal Telecom.
- 1997
BT-MCI Concert merger plan collapses after WorldCom bid[1]
M&A
A proposed broader combination involving BT and MCI was disrupted when WorldCom made a competing bid for MCI, leading BT to withdraw from the transaction and acquire MCI's interest in Concert separately.
- 1994
BT and MCI launch Concert Communications Services[1]
Product launch · M&A
BT Group and MCI Communications launched Concert as a joint venture intended to provide integrated international telecommunications services to multinational corporations.
Sources1 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/concert-communications-services · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled