SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549


                                    FORM 6-K


                            Report of Foreign Issuer

                      Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16 of
                       the Securities Exchange Act of 1934


                        For the Month of January 7 2003

                         Commission file number: 0-30924


                                   MARCONI PLC

             (Exact name of Registrant as specified in its Charter)


                                One Bruton Street
                                 London W1J 6AQ
                                     England
                    (Address of principal executive offices)


(Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual
reports under cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F.)


                             Form 20-F X   Form 40-F


(Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the information
contained in this Form is also thereby furnishing the information to the
Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934.)


                                   Yes   No X


              CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS


In order to utilize the "Safe Harbor"  provisions  of the United States  Private
Securities  Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "Reform Act"),  Marconi plc ( the
"Company")  is  providing  the  following  cautionary   statement.   Except  for
historical information contained herein,  statements contained in this Report on
Form 6-K may constitute  "forward-looking  statements" within the meaning of the
Reform Act. The words "believe",  "anticipate",  "expect", "intend", "estimate",
"plan",  "assume",  "positioned",   "will",  "may",  "risk"  and  other  similar
expressions which are predictions of or indicate future events and future trends
which do not relate to historical matters identify  forward-looking  statements.
Reliance should not be placed on such statements  because they involve known and
unknown  risks,  uncertainties  and other factors which are in some cases beyond
the control of the Company,  together with its subsidiaries  (the "Group"),  and
may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Group to differ
materially  from  anticipated   future  results,   performance  or  achievements
expressed or implied by such forward-looking  statements (and from past results,
performance or  achievement).  Certain  factors that may cause such  differences
include  but are not  limited  to the  following:  (1) any major  disruption  in
production  at our key  facilities;  (2) changes in the  environmental,  tax and
other laws and regulations,  which, among other things,  could cause us to incur
substantial additional capital expenditures and operation and maintenance costs;
and (3) adverse  changes in the markets for our products,  including as a result
of increased  competition in the highly  competitive  international  markets for
such products. These and other risks, uncertainties and factors are discussed in
the  Company's  Registration  Statement  on Form F-1 and other  filings with the
Securities and Exchange  Commission,  including this Form 6-K.  Shareholders and
prospective  investors  are  cautioned  not to  place  undue  reliance  on these
forward-looking  statements which speak only as to the Company's  judgment as of
the date hereof.  Any such  forward-looking  statements are not intended to give
any  assurance as to future  results.  The Company  undertakes  no obligation to
publicly update or revise any of these  forward-looking  statements,  whether to
reflect new information or future events or circumstances or otherwise.



                   TELECOM ITALIA AWARDS MARCONI EUR15 MILLION

                   FRAME CONTRACT FOR NEXT-GENERATION NETWORK



London,  January 7th, 2003 - Telecom  Italia has awarded  Marconi  (MONI) a new,
two-year  frame  contract  worth  EUR15  million to  install a national  optical
backbone  network in Italy based on  Marconi's  next-generation,  high  capacity
optical cross connect (MSH2K). The equipment, part of Marconi's new Series 4 SDH
(synchronous digital hierarchy) portfolio, was launched in mid September 2002.

Following  completion  of the  project,  Telecom  Italia  will have  available a
next-generation  network,  characterized by high standards of network protection
and traffic re-routing in the case of signal failures, across which the operator
will be able to provide new, innovative services to its customers.

The new equipment has been developed by Marconi at its laboratories in Genoa and
is manufactured in Marcianise,  both in Italy. The platform has been designed to
fit  well  with  the  new  requirements  of  telecommunication   operators.  The
implementation  of  this  infrastructure  will  provide  Telecom  Italia  with a
flexible and cost-effective  evolution towards integrated optical networks, with
fast restoration  capabilities  based on the GMPLS protocol  (Generalized  Multi
Protocol Label Switching).

ENDS/...

About Marconi plc

Marconi  plc is a global  telecommunications  equipment  and  solutions  company
headquartered  in London.  The  company's  core  business  is the  provision  of
innovative and reliable optical  networks,  broadband  routing and switching and
broadband access  technologies and services.  The company's aim is to help fixed
and mobile  telecommunications  operators  worldwide  reduce  costs and increase
revenues.

The   company's   customer   base   includes   many  of  the   world's   largest
telecommunications operators. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange
under the symbol  MONI.  Additional  information  about  Marconi can be found at
www.marconi.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements with respect to products,
partners,  customers,  future growth and other matters. Please refer to the Form
20-F  report and Form 6-K reports  filed by Marconi  plc with the United  States
Securities  and Exchange  Commission  for a discussion of risks that could cause
actual results to differ materially from such statements.

Copyright (c) 2003 Marconi plc. All rights reserved. All brands or product names
are trademarks of their respective holders.


Contacts

Joe Kelly/David Beck

Public Relations

Marconi PLC

+44 (0) 207 306 1771

joe.kelly@marconi.com


Heather Green

Investor Relations

Marconi PLC

+44 (0) 207 306 1735

heather.green@marconi.com



                                   SIGNATURES

Pursuant  to the  requirements  of the  Securities  Exchange  Act of  1934,  the
registrant  has duly  caused  this  report  to be  signed  on its  behalf by the
undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.


                                       MARCONI PLC



                                       By:     ____M Skelly____

                                       Name:   M Skelly
                                       Title:  Secretary


Date: 7 January 2003