British Telecommunications plc (BT) and VeriSign announced today they will
collaborate to deliver digital certificate services for secure Internet
access and electronic commerce solutions.
BT plans to provide digital certificate services in the spring of this year
as part of its electronic commerce offerings, and allow users to send and
receive digitally signed and encrypted e-mail.
In conjunction with VeriSign, BT will deliver digital certification
services to a customer base that includes financial services, healthcare,
membership organizations, corporate intranet users, Internet Service
Providers (ISPs), and online services.
The companies report they will also create a certification authority in the
UK to authenticate customers, and issue and manage digital certificates.
According to BT, it will be the first European company to sell digital
certificates bearing the BT and VeriSign brands compatible with the
VeriSign Trust Network (VTN), an interoperable digital certificate
infrastructure.
“BT’s introduction of these advanced services will help bring credibility
to the emerging e-commerce market and give customers and suppliers greater
confidence in conducting business electronically,” said Simon Champion,
BT’s Head of Electronic Commerce.
“The agreement between BT and VeriSign combines BT’s strong UK presence,
routes to market and network security expertise with VeriSign’s technical
expertise and in-depth knowledge of digital certificate operating procedures
and processes required for these services.”