BT rethinks mobile plans, Lucent struggles for funds and VCs stump up £300m

This morning's Guardian reports that BT is rethinking its future mobile strategy with a number of other papers predicting the wholesale spinning off of the company's BT Wireless arm as the UK telco looks to overcome its escalating debts.

Originally it was expected that any flotation would include its BT Cellnet mobile business, and constitute around 25 per cent of BT Wireless, but now it appears the company will at least greatly increase this stake. The Guardian says BT has been forced "back to the drawing board" over its plans to maximise its wireless assets in the fight against debt, but these debts won't be getting any smaller in the meantime& Another telecoms company currently in troubled waters is US equipment supplier Lucent Technologies. The Times reports that the company is facing financial crisis unless it can secure $6.5bn of new loans by Thursday of this week. The paper reports that Henry Schacht, chief executive of Lucent, on Friday "pleaded with financial institutions" to renew a $2bn credit line and extend a new $4.5bn loan. Ten institutions have already agreed to go along with Schacht's request, including Barclays, suggesting the company may yet turn the corner, however, the company's stock market value has plummeted by $150bn over ten months as a result of the ongoing turmoil within the company and the sector... There is good news for budding entrepreneurs in this morning's Guardian, which reports that institutional investors are still willing to get behind high-tech start-ups. UK venture capital group Advent Venture Partners has raised £300m to fund new technology ventures. The fund represents one of the largest of its kind and is being made available to enterprises in the IT sector& The Times adds to the ever more sullied reputation of the internet with news that a solicitor, struck off after being jailed for five years for conspiracy to defraud, has established his own legal practice over the internet. Rodney Hylton-Potts, jailed for his part in commercial mortgage fraud now provides advice on conveyancing, criminal law, divorce, immigration, insolvency and intellectual property via his website...