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2003

THUS's Commitment to Channel Recognised by Comms Channel Awards

2 April 2003 - THUS plc, one of the UK's leading providers of voice, data, Internet and contact centre services, unveiled its new channel strategy today at the Comms Channel Expo. The new strategy is now fully established following a six-month implementation period and is already proving to be a success, with 50 new Reseller Partners signed up. THUS's commitment to the channel has been recognised by the Comms Channel Award judges, who have selected THUS as a finalist in the "Network Operator of the Year" category. The winners will be announced at a ceremony on the first evening of the Comms Channel Expo.

THUS's new channel strategy has involved a significant re-structuring of the division and the creation of separate units for three key channel areas - volume, business and solution. The new structure ensures that THUS can provide support, products, pricing, solutions, remuneration and account management to meet the specific needs of each of its channel partners in the most effective way possible. Each unit is headed by an expert in the field, and additional staff have been recruited to ensure that THUS maintains an extremely high level of service for all its Channel Partners

"A 'one size fits all' approach to the channel simply won't work, as the needs of different channel players vary so widely. Our new strategy is based on a solid understanding of how our Channel Partners want to work with us, and will enable us to deliver specialist support effectively. The channel is an important and valued route to market for THUS, and we are committed to delivering for all our Channel Partners to maximise revenue for everyone," said Duncan Wilkinson, Director of Channel Partners at THUS plc. "We are absolutely delighted to have been short-listed as the Comms Channel Awards 'Network Operator of the Year' as this reflects the pride we take in the quality of our offering and the hard work we have put into ensuring we meet the needs of all our Channel Partners."

THUS's Volume Partner Unit manages THUS's relationships with Channel Partners that it 'sells to'. In this unit are the switchless resellers who buy THUS's wholesale products and brand them as their own. This sector has £1 billion annual UK revenues and THUS has already seen solid growth in this area during the short implementation period.

THUS's Business Partner Unit has been set up for those Channel Partners with which THUS has a 'sell through' relationship. Channel Partners are able to access the full THUS portfolio in return for attractive revenue share commissions. THUS manages the larger accounts directly, while smaller accounts are managed by THUS resellers, known as "Senior Channel Partners", which adopt a role similar to that of a distributor.

THUS's Solution Partner Unit is for Channel Partners which THUS sells with. This includes systems integrators and value added resellers, with whom THUS, as the network services Channel Partner, devises large CPE solutions, business processes, point of sale solutions, consultancy and facilities management. The end-users of these solutions would typically be Financial Times 500 companies.

THUS 's channel proposition includes a complete range of voice, data, video and Internet services over its extensive optical fibre network, which covers 24 metro areas with 100 points of presence.