ISTEL

ISTEL, formerly BL Systems, and latterly AT&T Istel, was a British information technology company.

History

The company was formed in 1979, as BL Systems, as a merger of all the computer departments of the various companies brought together under the British Leyland (BL) umbrella.^[1] John Leighfield became the chairman of the new company, which, in addition to providing the computer resources and telecommunications services for the BL empire, gradually started to provide similar services for other outside companies. The company's headquarters were established in Redditch and Coventry. BL Systems pioneered many services, including the establishment of Europe's first microwave communications network in the late 1970s, and the creation of Comet in 1981, Britain's first electronic mail service. In 1984 the company's name was changed to ISTEL. The new company name was said to have been chosen by Leighfield randomly combining pairs of syllables that sounded vaguely related to systems, telecommunications, or technology until he hit upon one he liked the sound of.

In June 1987, Rover Group (which British Leyland had been renamed to in 1986) sold ISTEL, in a management buyout, to a consortium of, its management and employees, and investors, led by John Leighfield, for £35 million.^[2]

In October 1989, ISTEL became part of AT&T, and was renamed as AT&T Istel.

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