24 December 2008

Sarantel Group plc

("Sarantel" or the "Company")

Holdings in Company

The Company has received notification today that on 23 December 2008 BT Pension Scheme Trustees Limited, as trustee of the BT Pension Scheme, acquired 15,855,334 ordinary shares in the issued share capital of Sarantel, equivalent to 8.30 per cent. of the voting share capital of the Company. This represents its entire shareholding.

In addition, the Company has been notified that following a disposal on 23 December 2008, Hermes UK Smaller Companies Fund no longer holds a notifiable interest in Sarantel.