British Telecom is working on a new strategy for mobile phones following slow takeup of its Fixed/Mobile Convergence (FMC) service Fusion, the BBC reports. The report states that BT is no longer marketing Fusion to consumers and is developing a new device that will give customers access to the Internet and emails. According to the report, the new product will be similar to RIM’s Blackberry and is currently undergoing trials.

Launched in 2005, Fusion promised lower phone bills by combining a traditional phone and mobile phone in one handset. To date approximately 45,000 users have signed up to the service. Analysts believe BT Fusion has been hit by fierce competition in the mobile phone industry. “It’s a failure,” Emeka Obiodu, senior telecoms analyst at Global Insight, told the BBC. “When BT started the service mobile calls were still expensive but since then it’s been overtaken and now there’s no point in signing up.”