BT announced the signature of a three year contract with H&M, the Swedish-owned, international fashion retailer, covering the management and development of its global data communication network. H&M currently operates 1,100 stores across the world, and for the 2003/04 fiscal year, the H&M Group reported earnings after taxes of approximately €800 million.

Under the terms of the agreement, BT will supervise and manage the fashion giant's global data communication across 25-30 country locations, utilising BT's network and MPLS technology.BT will also conduct a technical upgrade of H&M's network, providing access to more bandwidth. Such improvements are in line with H&M's objective to streamline data centres and applications to allow the organisation's IT infrastructure to better support its business objectives.

Anders Westkämper, BT Nordics Country manager comments: "An increasing number of Scandinavian companies with international activities are looking at improving their network and communication services. H&M is a typical example of the way business can benefit the most from utilising a single provider with a global network. A similar agreement was officially concluded with Volvo about one month ago and we are delighted to see another great international brand with Scandinavian roots trusting BT with their communication services.