British Telecommunications Plc has won a contract to provide what it says is Europe’s largest interactive satellite data network for the Argyll Group Plc, operator of the Safeway supermarkets. Valued at several million pounds, the contract will see British Telecom’s Visual and Broadcast Services unit replacing Argyll’s terrestrial network with a service to be called SatStar. It will be based on very small aperture terminals to connect over 900 of Argyll’s stores and petrol stations with the company’s group headquarters and central computer hosts. Among the applications to be used are two-way data transmissions, including credit card verification, price updates and stock control. The network will be based on kit from Scientific-Atlanta Inc, following the marketing agreement announced between the two companies last week.
