BT has sold BT Federal, its US government contracting operation, to system integrator 22nd Century Technologies, marking another step to gut its international infrastructure portfolio as BT International pivots to a multi-cloud Global Fabric platform.
In sum – what to know:
US divestment – BT has sold BT Federal to 22nd Century Technologies; staff, offices, and government contracts transition, while BT retains a strategic US presence.
Portfolio streamlining – BT has offloaded businesses across Europe, alongside non-core operations, as it focuses on the UK and multi-national service orchestration.
Service pivot – BT International is pushing a software-defined multi-cloud platform, Global Fabrice, to orchestrate cloud, edge, and network for multinational enterprises.
BT has sold its US-based government services business BT Federal to IT system integrator 22nd Century Technologies for an undisclosed fee. The deal, approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), sees 22nd Century Technologies take charge of its staff and portfolio. The UK firm, consolidating its global operations to put clearer focus on its home operations, said it will retain offices and staff in the US. BT International, handling its slimmed-down new-look foreign affairs, is directing its multi-cloud Global Fabric strategy, pitched to multi-national enterprises as a software-defined control layer to orchestrate global data comms in the AI era.
BT Federal will operate under its new parent’s brand, boosted by BT’s managed network services, zero-trust security products, and roster of customers among US federal agencies. BT, continuing its pivot toward its core UK business and multi-cloud connectivity for multinationals, said it will keep regional offices and employees based in New York, Dallas, and also in Reston, at BT Federal HQ, in order to maintain a “strong presence in the US”. The pair have promised a “seamless transition for employees, customers, and partners”. BT Federal was founded in 1999. 22nd Century Technologies said its customers include the US Department of War, Department of Justice, and Department of State.
It said the transaction will expand its managed network services to cover all 50 US states. BT has been systematically pruning its non-core, international, or asset-heavy operations over the last few years as part of its local reorganization and cost transformation. It sold its Italian operations and assets to enterprise comms specialist Retelit in October 2025, essentially exiting the Italian market for local telecom services. It has completed similar twin off‑loads in Ireland, with Speed Fibre Group buying its wholesale and enterprise business units in September last year, and Equinix picking up its Irish data centre business (two datacentres in Dublin) in November.
BT retains an Irish presence still, offering connectivity and cloud security for large organisations, as well as delivering the country’s Emergency Call Answering Service, but its recent trades in the country again show its shift toward a more asset-light, services‑focused international strategy. Like in Italy, it has quit direct ownership of overseas physical infrastructure, reducing cap-ex exposure, but it has retained its managed service customers and offerings – where profitable. BT has also exited lower-margin ventures in France (to Computacenter in 2020) and Spain (to Portobello Capital in 2019), mostly by selling local connectivity and enterprise assets to local operators.
Over the past decade, BT has completely scaled back its old BT Global Services operations, now presented as BT International. Besides, it has washed its hands of speculative overseas niche (none-core / ‘strategic’) ventures, too. In September last year, it agreed to sell Radianz, its specialist financial markets business, to Transaction Network Services (TNS) in the US; the deal is expected to complete in the first half of 2026. As well, BT divested its BT Sport operations into a 50/50 joint venture with Eurosport in 2022; Reuters reported last May that BT is in close to selling its stake in TNT Sports, its post-JV branding, to its JV-partner Warner Bros Discovery.
BT international strategy centres on its Global Fabric service platform, which proposes to stitch together local and regional cloud, edge, and network resources into a single software-defined orchestration layer. The service allows enterprises to select performant connectivity to public and private clouds while leveraging local network and data centre partners worldwide. It integrates metro-edge computing, carrier-neutral facilities, and AI-driven path selection to deliver predictable, secure, and energy-efficient application performance at scale. It positions BT International as a global orchestrator of cloud and connectivity services, moving away from owning physical infrastructure.
BT called its latest sale “another milestone” – as it “simplifies its portfolio and pursues a more UK-focused strategy”. It stated: “It allows BT International, now a standalone unit, to… become a global leader in secure multi-cloud connectivity. Bas Burger, chief executive at BT International, talked about focusing on what BT International “does best: providing secure multi-cloud connectivity to large organisations globally.”
Anil Sharma, chief executive at 22nd Century Networks Incorporated (TSCTI), called it a “transformational moment” for his firm, ramping-up its delivery of “cyber-secure network solutions” for US federal agencies. He stated: “We are advancing digital modernisation while also securing the network layer that underpins our nation’s most critical operations… By delivering secure, sovereign infrastructure engineered for zero trust, interoperability and mission continuity in any environment, we are deepening our commitment to protecting the people, systems, and missions that keep our nation safe.”
Satvinder Singh, president at 22nd Century Technologies, said: “This acquisition is a growth catalyst for us, our customers, and the agencies we have yet to serve. The expansion of solutions and reach allows us to bring more innovation and reliability to a wider set of federal missions that depend on secure, high-performance network infrastructure.”
