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Discontinued operations
About the business
In November 2006, we announced our decision to focus on our core UK and US energy markets and to exit our wireless infrastructure operations in the UK and the US and the Basslink electricity interconnector in Australia. As a consequence of our commitment to sell these operations, and our expectation that their sales were or are highly probable, they have been presented as discontinued in our consolidated financial statements.
Our UK wireless infrastructure operations were sold to Macquarie UK Broadcast Ventures Limited on 3 April 2007 for £2.5 billion. Also in April 2007, we have agreed a sale of our wireless infrastructure operations in the US for approximately $290 million (£147 million), which is expected to complete later in 2007. We continue to progress the sale of the Basslink electricity interconnector in Australia.
UK wireless infrastructure
Our former UK wireless infrastructure business is the leading independent provider of network infrastructure to mobile network operators. It operates around 5,000 active sites used for mobile communications and is one of two providers of transmission networks for analogue and digital television and radio broadcasters with around 750 purpose-built broadcast towers and associated transmission equipment.
Certain of the UK activities of the discontinued wireless infrastructure business are subject to regulation by the Office of Communications (Ofcom), in particular its television and radio transmission infrastructure networks. It also operates two digital multiplexes under the terms of licences granted by Ofcom.
US wireless infrastructure
Our US wireless infrastructure operations provide communications infrastructure and related network services to wireless and fixed network operators in a number of states in the US. Services include the use of communication towers, wireless pylon attachments, distributed antenna system networks and related network services and a dark fibre network.
Basslink
The Basslink project is an electricity interconnector linking the electricity network on the island state of Tasmania to mainland Australia. It was successfully commissioned in April 2006 and can provide up to 600 MW of hydroelectricity to mainland Australia and up to 480 MW of electricity into Tasmania.
Basslink has a 25 year contract with Hydro Tasmania to build, own and operate the interconnector. As a holder of a transmission licence, Basslink is directly affected by the requirements of state and federal energy regulators in Australia.
We remain committed to the sale of Basslink, which we expect to occur during 2007/08.