Marconi Communications

Marconi Communications is a principal subsidiary of the Marconi Corporation plc and is formerly known as GEC Plessey Telecommuncations (GPT). The company is a world leading telecommunications manufacturer.

=GPT=

The General Electric Company (GEC) attempted a takeover of Plessey in 1986 but was barred by regulatory authorities. Instead in 1988 GEC and Plessey merged their telecommunications businesses as GEC-Plessey Telecommuncations (GPT). GPT was a world leader in many fields, for example Synchronous optical networking (SDH) technology.

In 1989 GEC and Siemens acquired the Plessey Company through the joint company GEC Siemens plc. While most of Plessey was divided between the companies GPT remained a joint venture, with a 60/40 shareholding between GEC and Siemens respectively.

In August 1998 GEC acquired Siemens 40% stake in GPT and merged with the telecoms units of its Italian subsidiary Marconi SpA, GEC Hong Kong and ATC South Africa to form Marconi Communications.

=Marconi Communications=

In March 1999 GEC added RELTEC, a telecommunication network and access products manufacturer, to Marconi Communications. In April FORE Systems was added to the group. The $4.5Bn company is a major supplier of Asynchronous Transfer Mode, Gigabit Ethernet and Internet Protocol products.