British Telecommunications, owner of Esat Telecom, has begun the task of reducing its debt with the £157 million sterling (€255 million) sale of its aeronautical and maritime division to Stratos Global of Canada.

The business supplies satellite communications to remote locations such as oil rigs and shipping, and has been for sale for some time. Mr Robert Brace, BT's finance director, said a number of smaller non-core operations would be disposed of as part of a plan to reduce group debt by £10 billion by the end of next year.