Wanadoo and BT clash over internet deals

Wanadoo has hit back at BT after the telecoms giant ran a series of ads in the national press attacking one of its customer offers.

France Telecom’s internet arm, which is to be rebranded as Orange, took out a full-page ad in The Sunday Telegraph this weekend in the form of a letter.

It beagn: “Dear BT, we don’t blame you for trying to emulate the great deals we give – but let’s be honest, our customers are still going to be a lot better off than yours.”

The ad even took a swipe at the perceived lack of access BT gives its rivals to its network – a problem Ofcom and BT are addressing with a process known as local loop unbundling.

The letter finished with the line: “So BT, if you really want to ‘reward’ your customers and give them the chance to benefit from a genuinely top value 2Mb broadband offer – why not give them this number?” before printing the number for the Wanadoo registration line.

The ad was created in house, with media planning and buying by Initiative.

BT’s campaign, launched the weekend before last in a number of national papers, claimed Wanadoo charges £20 to upgrade customers to 2Mb broadband whereas BT does it for nothing. BT declined to comment.