BT Group Newsroom

Trading update for the quarter and nine months to 31 December 2024

Thu, 30 Jan 2025 07:01:00 +0000

Allison Kirkby, Chief Executive, commenting on the results, said

“Our ongoing modernisation continues at pace, delivering a further step-up in fibre build and take-up, customer satisfaction and EBITDA. Benefits from our cost transformation more than offset lower revenue outside the UK and weak handset sales.

“Openreach again performed strongly with the highest ever full fibre build, passing more than 1 million premises for the fourth consecutive quarter, and connecting a new record of nearly half a million customers. Consumer returned to service revenue growth and continued to expand its full fibre and 5G customer bases. In Business, our core UK channels were stable. Cost transformation remains firmly on track, with excellent progress on both energy costs and productivity in the quarter.

“We continue to make progress towards becoming fully focused on the UK, with the sale of our data centre business in Ireland. I am also very pleased to welcome Jon James to BT’s Executive Committee as the new CEO of a UK-centric BT Business, effective early March. This appointment enables Bas Burger to dedicate his time to the optimisation of our international business segment, which is progressing to plan.

"BT’s continued delivery means we remain on track to deliver our financial outlook for this year and our cash flow inflection to c.£2.0bn in 2027 and c£3.0bn by the end of the decade.”

Continued progress on strategic priorities:

Record FTTP build rate of over 1m premises passed in the quarter for a fourth consecutive quarter; FTTP footprint reached 17m premises, more than half of the UK; on track to pass 4.2m in FY25 and reach 25m by December 2026
Record customer demand for Openreach FTTP with net adds of 472k in the quarter; total premises connected 6.0m with a growing take up rate of over 35%. Openreach total broadband lines fell by 208k, as we continue to see moderately higher competitor losses with a weaker overall broadband and new homes market; over 80% of our line losses occur where we have not built FTTP
Openreach broadband ARPU in the quarter grew year on year by 6% to £16.1, ahead of the CPI price increases, driven by a greater FTTP take-up and speed mix
Retail FTTP base grew by 33% year on year to 3.2m of which Consumer 3.0m and Business 0.2m
Consumer service revenue returned to growth, up 0.4% year on year after a 1.3% decline in H1; service revenue growth was more than offset by a 12% decline in equipment revenue, mainly handset trading
Consumer customer base relatively stable with broadband base down 40k quarter on quarter (0.5% decline); postpaid mobile base down 4k quarter on quarter (<0.1% decline)
Consumer broadband ARPU down 1.2% year on year to £40.6; Consumer postpaid mobile ARPU up 5.7% year on year to £20.3
Consumer fixed and mobile convergence grew in the quarter from 23.1% to 23.4%; 5G standalone launched in a further 16 new locations, bringing 5G standalone to over 30 major UK towns and cities; EE was named the winner of the umlaut connect 2025 Mobile Network Test in the UK for a 10th consecutive year
Business revenues were stable in our core UK channels; £1.3bn contract signed with the Home Office to continue providing mobile services for the Emergency Services Network over the next seven years
Cost transformation remains on track as we continue to create a simpler BT Group, delivering efficiencies across all units; energy usage in our networks was down 3% in the year-to-date and total labour resource down 3% year-on-year to 117k; we achieved an 11% reduction in year-to-date Openreach repair volumes
BT Group NPS of 29.6, up 4.0pts during Q3, reflecting ongoing improvements in customer experience

Excellent cost control continues to deliver EBITDA growth:

Q3 Adjusted¹ revenue £5.2bn, down 3% year-on-year mainly due to continued challenging non-UK trading conditions in our Global and Portfolio channels and weaker handset trading in Consumer, offsetting the impact of FTTP growth in Openreach and price increases. Reported revenue £5.2bn, down 3%
Q3 Adjusted¹ EBITDA £2.1bn, up 4% driven by strong cost transformation and one-off other operating income in the low tens of millions which more than offset adverse revenue
Q3 Reported profit before tax of £427m, up 1% primarily due to EBITDA growth, offset partially by increased net finance costs and increased depreciation and amortisation
Reconfirming our FY25 financial outlook and our mid-term guidance

_{¹ See Glossary below}
_{² As disclosed in the prior year, Q3 FY24 results included a correction of H1 FY24 revenue across Openreach and Business, with no impact on total group revenue. £38m external wholesale revenue was incorrectly recognised by Business in H1 FY24. H1 FY24 results were not restated; the correction was booked within Q3 FY24 to ensure the results for the nine months to 31 December 2023 were correctly stated. Excluding the adjustment, Q3 Business revenue would have declined 4%, while intra-group items would have increased 4%.}
_{n/m: comparison not meaningful}

Glossary

Our commentary focuses on the trading results on an adjusted basis. This is consistent with the way that financial performance is measured by management and reported to the Board and the Executive Committee and assists in providing a meaningful analysis of the trading results of the group. Reported revenue and reported profit before tax are the equivalent unadjusted or statutory measures and are reconciled in pages 231 to 233 of the Annual Report 2024.


Adjusted revenue	Adjusted revenue is before specific items. Adjusted results are consistent with the way that financial performance is measured by management and assist in providing an additional analysis of the reporting trading results of the group.
Adjusted EBITDA	Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, before specific items, share of post tax profits/losses of associates and joint ventures and net finance expense.
Fixed and mobile convergence	Total households served by Consumer which have both a BT Group (any brand) fixed broadband and PAYM mobile connection present, divided by total number of Consumer households (excluding voice fixed line).
Service revenue	Earned from services delivered using our fixed and mobile network connectivity, including but not limited to, broadband, calls, line rental, TV, residential sport subscriptions, mobile data connectivity, incoming & outgoing mobile calls and roaming by customers of overseas networks.
Specific items	Items that in management’s judgement need to be disclosed separately by virtue of their size, nature or incidence. In the current quarter these relate to our assessment of our provision for historic regulatory matters, out of period balance sheet adjustments, restructuring charges, divestment-related items, Sports JV-related items and net interest expense on pensions. In determining whether an event or transaction is specific, management considers quantitative as well as qualitative factors such as the frequency or predictability of occurrence.

We are scheduled to announce the fourth quarter and full year results for FY25 on 22 May 2025.

Forward-looking statements – caution advised

Certain information included in this announcement is forward looking and involves risks, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward looking statements. Forward looking statements cover all matters which are not historical facts and include, without limitation, projections relating to results of operations and financial conditions and the Company’s plans and objectives for future operations. Forward looking statements can be identified by the use of forward looking terminology, including terms such as ‘believes’, ‘estimates’, ‘anticipates’, ‘expects’, ‘forecasts’, ‘intends’, ‘plans’, ‘projects’, ‘goal’, ‘target’, ‘aim’, ‘may’, ‘will’, ‘would’, ‘could’ or ‘should’ or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology. Forward looking statements in this announcement are not guarantees of future performance. All forward looking statements in this announcement are based upon information known to the Company on the date of this announcement. Accordingly, no assurance can be given that any particular expectation will be met and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward looking statements, which speak only at their respective dates. Additionally, forward looking statements regarding past trends or activities should not be taken as a representation that such trends or activities will continue in the future. Other than in accordance with its legal or regulatory obligations (including under the UK Listing Rules and the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules of the Financial Conduct Authority), the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Nothing in this announcement shall exclude any liability under applicable laws that cannot be excluded in accordance with such laws.

Download PDF - Trading update for the quarter and nine months to 31 December 2024

Jon James appointed CEO of BT’s Business Division; Bas Burger to lead future options for BT’s international business

Thu, 30 Jan 2025 07:00:00 +0000

BT Group plc announces that Jon James has been appointed CEO of BT Business, as it becomes focused on the UK, and a member of its Executive Committee. He will start in his new role on 3 March 2025.

Jon joins BT Group from the leading Danish telecoms provider, Nuuday, where he has been CEO since 2021, leading its transformation and return to growth.

Allison Kirkby said: “I’m delighted to welcome Jon to BT, and to be working with him again. Jon’s considerable experience from the UK and European telecoms markets, together with his track record in leading businesses through transformation, will be hugely valuable as we fully focus BT Business on the UK.”

Jon James said: “I am excited and honoured to join BT as CEO of BT Business, the UK’s leader in B2B telecoms. BT Business has an unbeatable combination of deep customer relationships and world-class technology expertise, and I am looking forward to working with Allison, Bas and the BT Business team as we build an even stronger asset for our customers, our shareholders and for the UK.”

At the start of this financial year BT announced that it would look to optimise its international operations, including via potential partnerships, to enable it to become a UK-centric business. With the addition of Jon to the executive team, Bas Burger, current CEO of Business, will be able to devote all of his time to the optimisation of BT’s international operations and explore options for the unit.

Allison Kirkby said: “I’d like to thank Bas for his leadership of BT Business. His extensive knowledge of the telecoms market for multinational corporations and deep relationships with key partners, vendors and customers will be invaluable as we progress with options for our international business.”

About Jon James

Jon has nearly 30 years’ experience in the European TMT sector, including the UK and Scandinavia. He has a track record in business turnarounds, most recently leading the transformation and return to growth of the leading Danish telecoms provider, Nuuday, where he was CEO from 2021 until the end of 2024.

Jon has previously worked with leading private equity houses (2019-2021), as the CEO of Tele2 Netherlands (2017-19), and Chief Operating Officer at Swedish cable operator, Com Hem (2014-2016), and previously held senior roles at Virgin Media (2007-2013).

Jon, a UK national, is married with two children and, together with his wife, is the co-founder of Space2Grow, an award-winning charity offering support for local families.

BT urges UK’s Critical National Infrastructure providers to move off outdated copper network this year as fault rate increases

Fri, 24 Jan 2025 10:00:00 +0000

As the UK’s ageing copper landline network becomes increasingly unstable, BT is urging Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) providers to move faster in transitioning from analogue to digital connectivity.
The call comes as BT data reveals that 60% of CNI customers in the UK currently have no plan in place to start migrating off the legacy analogue network.
BT is encouraging CNI providers to help safeguard essential public services and work with its experts to review their technology estate, test impacted devices and switch to alternative networks by the end of 2025.

London, 24 January 2025 – BT is calling on the UK’s Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) providers – including sectors such as healthcare, water, energy, emergency services, local and central government, and fire & security – to move away from the outdated analogue copper landline network by the end of December 2025.

As the country’s historic Public Switched Telephone Network (or PSTN) reaches the end of its life, it is becoming increasingly prone to faults and difficult to maintain. Ofcom’s recent Connected Nations report highlights that in 2024, the number of significant PSTN resilience incidents reported increased sharply by 45%.

The transition away from the PSTN is impacting a wide range of critical public systems. This could include water monitoring sensors, phone lines for doctors and pharmacies, fire and burglar alarms, lift alarms, emergency phone lines by roads, help points at train stations, and some older card payment machines.

Moving the UK from analogue to digital connectivity is a once-in-a-generation, industry-wide programme to help future-proof communications for everyone. Recognised as a necessary step by Ofcom and Government, it’s an investment in more stable, secure and efficient connectivity. While BT moved customers off almost 300,000 legacy business lines in 2024, its data shows many CNI providers are still relying on outdated analogue connectivity for mission-critical services.

BT is urging these organisations to act now, and work with its team of specialists to review their technology estates to identify any impacted devices, test whether these devices are compatible with alternative connectivity and make the switch to more reliable digital networks in 2025. This will help customers mitigate the growing risks of communication disruptions, and futureproof their operations.

New BT data highlights the progress still to be made across CNI sectors to harness the benefits of digital connectivity. As of December 2024, 60% of BT CNI customers are yet to put a strategy in place for transitioning to digital networks. However, significant progress is being made in key sectors: 80% of BT customers in the energy industry and 64% in the water industry have a plan in place or are advanced in their migration journeys, demonstrating strong momentum towards a more reliable and future-ready digital infrastructure.

The UK’s PSTN is set to be retired by the end of January 2027. To support organisations with CNI services that currently rely on the legacy network, the Government recently announced the PSTN Critical National Infrastructure Charter, which outlines the safeguards that Communication Providers (CPs) and Network Operators (NOs) will put in place during this change to the UK’s connectivity infrastructure. BT is one of the signatories to the charter, and has hailed it as a major milestone to mark the urgency of moving away from outdated infrastructure, with no business left behind.

Bas Burger, CEO – Business at BT, said: “With the ageing copper landline network becoming increasingly fragile, it’s simply too risky to run the UK’s essential public services on outdated networks. BT is committed to moving these services onto future-proofed modern connectivity well ahead of the closure of the analogue copper network – but we can’t do it alone.

“We're urging all Critical National Infrastructure providers to act now to help protect their services and reap the long-term benefits of going digital. Waiting until the analogue switch-off is too late. We’re working with customers to review their technology estate, test their critical devices and switch to more reliable connectivity by the end of 2025.”

The business benefits of switching from analogue copper to digital networks include better stability, security and efficiency – as well as other operational benefits. For example, digital landlines enable businesses to make and receive calls from one number via multiple devices and offer improved scam protection. Full-fibre broadband connectivity can deliver speeds that are up to ten times faster than copper-based connections.

As part of the national move away from the PSTN, it’s no longer possible to sign up to legacy BT phone or broadband services. From 31 December 2025, any existing PSTN-connected business services may change in preparation for the full retirement of the network by the end of January 2027. Any technology still relying on the PSTN will stop working when the network is retired.

For more information on the national, industry-wide switch from analogue to digital connectivity, businesses can visit: business.bt.com/insights/uk-pstn-switch-off.

The International Year of Quantum

Thu, 23 Jan 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Proclaimed the ‘International Year of Quantum’ by the United Nations, 2025 marks 100 years since the initial development of quantum mechanics - a theory which has transformed our understanding of the world around us as well as enabling inventions such as MRI scans, lasers and solar cells. Whilst marking the impact quantum mechanics has had over the past century, this milestone date also recognises its significance in setting the stage for the new wave of quantum innovation.

The new wave of quantum innovation

Quantum technologies will be a critical enabler of prosperous economies and societal growth. If we look at quantum computing, it has the potential to solve classes of computational problems exponentially quicker that any existing supercomputer. This offers the possibility of major breakthroughs – particularly in sectors such as energy, telecoms, pharmaceutical, finance, construction, and civil engineering.

As such, Nation states are racing to develop and commercialise the opportunities that quantum technologies will bring. The UK is well and truly in the race. Ranked third in the world for the quality and impact of its scientific research and first in Europe for quantum start-ups and capital investment, the UK quantum economy already employs over 100,000 people and is growing. What’s more, the UK is ranked first in Europe for patents in quantum technologies.

With this foundation, the UK is in a strong position - not only for quantum sector growth but also to establish quantum tech as an area of strategic sovereignty and capability. BT is central to supporting the UK in this race as we look to build a network for quantum technologies.

Building a network for quantum technologies

We’re exploring how to develop our networks to support the future quantum internet: a network to connect quantum computers and devices so that our customers can harness the advancements that quantum technologies will bring.

But we must also protect our customers from the threats that quantum computers will bring. A leader in quantum secure communications, we started our research a decade ago and have now built a ‘world first’ commercial trial of a quantum secure network in London, alongside Toshiba, and with EY and HSBC conducting customer trials. With Equinix, we’ve recently made access to the network easier for businesses in a UK-first data centre to data centre connection. Taking cutting-edge quantum research and moving to commercialisation, our network represents an important step towards the Government’s ambition for nationwide quantum secure connectivity.

As with any new technology - standards and assurance must be developed so that the technology is trusted by our customers, to support adoption. We’re leading ‘QAssure’ – a project to assure Quantum Key Distribution as an early example of deployable quantum technology that can play a role in critical infrastructure.

If we look to another area of quantum tech, that of quantum sensing, we’re again leading the way. Quantum sensing uses quantum principles to measure different physical properties, including, gravity, temperature, magnetic field and rotation, with extreme sensitivity. For sectors such as civil engineering, defence, autonomous transport and IoT, this can enable transformational opportunities.

BT has been researching how quantum sensing can be applied to radio receiver technology for some time and today owns valuable IP in this space. Having developed and successfully trialled a new hyper-sensitive quantum radio receiver (in what we believe to be the first standards compliant, mobile communications link), we’re now looking at how we can support the UK with sovereignty in the technology supply chain – a key focus area for DSIT.

We’re incredibly excited by the opportunities that quantum technologies will bring and remain committed to continuing to support the UK to be a front-runner in this global marathon.

What this year’s price change means for our customers

Thu, 16 Jan 2025 11:24:36 +0000

Our annual price change is never an easy conversation to have with customers. It is, however, an important part of how we cover our increasing costs and keep investing in our networks and services to do more for the people we serve.

We're doing all we can to be smart with our cost base and we're incredibly careful about what we pass on to customers. And we want to be clear about how and when any changes to prices will occur.

From 31 March we’ll roll out our annual price change, with customers on two types of model across our brands: Pounds and Pence and CPI+3.9%.

Why two models? In December 2023, Ofcom asked communication providers to move away from inflation-linked mid-contract price rises. We were the first operator in the UK to introduce a Pounds and Pence price change, aligned with Ofcom’s approach offering our customers a predictable long-term view of their annual price rise for the duration of their contract term.

Putting a number on it

So, from 31 March 2025, for new and re-contracting mobile customers on the Pounds and Pence model, this annual increase will be an extra £1.50 a month. It will be £1.50 a month for connected devices (including laptops, tablets and smart watches), £2 a month for TV customers, and £3 a month for broadband customers.

There will be customers on our CPI+3.9% model, because they were already in contract before we introduced the Pounds and Pence change. There will also be some customers with a mix of the two models across different products.

For CPI+3.9%, we use the December rate calculated by the Office of National Statistics to calculate our price change. This was 2.5%, which means a price change of 6.4% (CPI:2.5% + 3.9%). On average, this year’s change is around £2 to £3 per month – a very small part of an average household's bill.

A total of 2.6 million customers will be excluded from price change. This includes our Social Tariff customers, landline only customers who don’t have broadband with us or another provider, and those with PAYG on mobile.

For everyone else, this small increase means we can keep giving our customers even more with the latest tech across fibre and mobile as we roll out 5G standalone and Wi-Fi 7 – setting a new standard for connectivity in and out of the home – continue to invest in our network and keep our most financially vulnerable customers connected.

We’re the UK’s best mobile network for 11 years in a row, and one of the country’s fastest broadband providers. The quality of those network is the foundation that means we can bring our customers so much more as demand continues to increase. Average mobile data useage, for example, has more than trebled in the past five years, and mobile download speeds have doubled.

With customers using more data and getting faster speeds, these relatively small price increases mean we can give them the networks they need.

BT Group brings superfast payments to Belfast Christmas Market with 5G Standalone network slicing trial

Thu, 16 Jan 2025 09:00:00 +0000

BT Group has announced the first real-world deployment of 5G Standalone network slicing capabilities over the EE mobile network, launched to support faster and more resilient mobile payments at Belfast’s Christmas Market, which took place last month.

During the two-week trial, a dedicated slice of the EE 5G network was partitioned for use in the renowned Lavery’s Beer Tent to support its eight mobile payment terminals, enabling superfast card and mobile payments for thousands of customers – even during the market’s busiest periods. It marks the first time that a business has benefitted from access to a partitioned slice from EE’s public network and live 5G Standalone core.

Network slicing uses 5G Standalone technology, which BT Group launched last September, to provide a customer with a protected ‘slice’ of the network for assured performance, boosting connectivity speeds and lowering latency by minimising congestion and unlocking bespoke capacity for businesses.

The trial successfully demonstrated the capability of network slicing to bypass congestion in busy locations and keep businesses connected through dedicated quality of service.

It follows the availability of 5G standalone connectivity for BT's small business customers as part of the company’s investment in the networks of the future.

Belfast’s Christmas Market, which takes place at Belfast City Hall, sees up to 1.2 million visitors each year, with the Lavery’s beer tent proving among the most popular attractions. As Belfast’s oldest family-owned pub, Lavery’s has been at the heart of the city's social life for over 100 years, and the Christmas Market has been one of the most important dates in its diary for two decades.

Bernard Lavery, Director, Lavery’s, said: "With this being the 20^th year of our festive beer tent, Lavery’s is as synonymous with Belfast Christmas Market as it is with the city itself. In that time, the need to enable fast and reliable mobile payments has only grown thanks to the growing trend towards cashless. BT Group's network slicing capability therefore gives us so much peace of mind, not only in enabling transactions to be completed faster than ever, but also in delivering the dedicated mobile capacity needed to keep our customers happy and queues moving even at the busiest times.”

Paul Murnaghan, BT’s Northern Ireland Director, said: “Businesses increasingly rely on technology that’s able to cope with the demands of the ever-pervasive digital world, securely. We have all visited a retailer and had the awkward ‘wait while we check’ to see if a payment has been completed correctly. Network slicing helps tackle this problem by enabling consistently fast and smooth connectivity, critically giving certainty to both traders and customers even when the network is busy in specific locations like Belfast Christmas Market.”

Councillor Ryan Murphy, Chair of Belfast City Council’s Strategic, Policy and Resources Committee, said: “Having access to world-class advanced wireless connectivity is essential for our local businesses. It’s brilliant to see Belfast benefit from BT Group’s first ever real-world deployment of network slicing, helping local business Lavery’s to enhance its operations and provide an even better customer experience at the very popular Belfast Christmas Market.”

Belfast was one of fifteen launch cities to benefit from the arrival of EE’s 5G Standalone network in September 2024, paving the way for BT Group to roll out network slicing for business customers. The company has been investing heavily in futured-proofed network infrastructure across the region to ensure it is ready for the launch of such services.

The real-world deployment at Belfast Christmas Market comes after BT Group successfully demonstrated network slicing for consumer and enterprise use-cases last year at its pilot cluster in Adastral Park.

Other benefits of network slicing include improved security, the ability to quickly adapt the network to meet specific customer needs and the capacity to support IoT sensors. It can also help cut down on accidentally missed payments by removing the lag between a contactless swipe and the funding being accepted.

Notes for editors:

Photo credit: Brian Morrison

The trial was enabled by BT’s Division X

Giving UK businesses the future-fit mobile networks they need

Mon, 13 Jan 2025 09:00:00 +0000

Mobile connectivity has come a long way since the early 1990s when the UK launched its first 2G network. It was a time long before the first smartphone was invented, before the Premier League launched, and even before the first SMS text message was sent.

But it is a world apart from what we, as a society, now demand from our digital communications. Today, just 0.1 percent of all data on our entire EE mobile network is carried over 2G.

As a result, all mobile operators have committed to the UK Government to close their 2G networks by 2033 at the latest. While we will not be closing our 2G network until later this decade, the time for businesses to start preparing is now.

We want to make sure all UK businesses understand how our network is evolving and give several years notice before any changes take effect.

Having first spoken publicly about our 2G retirement plans back in 2021, in the coming months we will be reaching out to all our business customers who still use 2G in their operations to encourage and support them in making the move to a modern network; such as 4G, 5G or our new purpose-built Internet of Things (IoT) service used to connect smart devices and sensors.

Greener. Faster. Stronger.

These modern forms of network connectivity are widespread across the UK, and with cutting-edge technologies like 5G standalone and Global Fabric making headlines, most of our customers already benefit from reliable, secure and energy-efficient connectivity.

Businesses that continue to rely on 2G technology and devices are missing out on better connectivity and the improved functionality, security and productivity that can come from it.

We are listening to our customers, and this long-planned network evolution is our response to their needs. With greater focus on climate change and sustainability targets, more businesses across the UK now only want to use the most energy efficient mobile networks.

2G is extremely energy intensive and, as with any technology, the older it gets the less reliable and more difficult to repair it becomes.

Many operators in the US, Australia and Europe have already switched off their 2G networks. Taking that step here allows us to continue optimising the secure and future-ready networks our customers – and the wider UK economy – need.

Backing UK businesses

If we’re going to provide the UK with a rock-solid foundation to build out its digital economy, then relying on mobile network architecture that was designed three decades ago is not the answer.

Despite the ever-decreasing reliance on 2G, some businesses do still use it as part of their operations, primarily to transfer small amounts of data between devices, sensors or machines.

By reaching out to these businesses now to make them aware of how our network is changing for the better, we can provide tailored support and technical advice so they can upgrade to a modern connection.

We are starting these conversations early so that we can collaborate closely with the business community, giving them certainty and ensuring we take account of their needs in setting a date for the switch off, ensuring several years notice to make the transition safely and affordably.

So, what happens next?

In the years ahead, we will be preparing our network for the closure of 2G. That will include continuing to expand the reach of our 4G and 5G networks and working closely with industry bodies, charities and Ofcom to raise awareness.

When that time comes, we will provide comprehensive support – both online and in-person – to all our remaining 2G customers to move to a more modern and robust network. Doing so will mean they benefit from our cutting-edge connectivity, which many businesses are already using to power greener growth for decades to come.

BT Group announces the UK’s largest ever Electric Vehicle (EV) fleet order

Thu, 09 Jan 2025 00:05:00 +0000

BT Group has today (9th Jan) announced the UK’s largest ever commercial Electric Vehicle (EV) fleet order, with around 3,500 new EVs being ordered, supporting the upgrade of the nation’s largest broadband and mobile networks. The order will mean BT Group has the largest fleet of EVs in the UK, with nearly 8,000, by the time the company’s latest EV order is complete in 2026.

BT Group which includes Openrea ch, the UK’s largest wholesale broadband company, manages the second largest commercial vehicle fleet in the UK, with more than 27,000 vehicles used by engineers across the country. The company already has around 4,300 electric vehicles, supporting its target to become a net zero business by March 2031. The order of the new EVs is part of a larger delivery of 6,000 new vehicles, with more than half of the vans being EVs.

The new fleet will provide colleagues with the most efficient, sustainable, modern vehicles, as they work to build and maintain the company’s next generation mobile and broadband networks. BT Group has the largest full fibre broadband network in the UK, covering more than 16 million homes and businesses, with engineers from Openreach building to more premises every week, on track to reach 25 million premises by the end of 2026. BT Group engineers also look after more than 19,500 mobile masts for the EE mobile network and they maintain around 5,600 telephone exchanges, from Shetland to The Isles of Scilly.

Simon Lowth, Chief Financial Officer, BT Group, said: “By integrating yet more electric vehicles into our operations, we are taking another significant step towards reducing our carbon footprint and supporting the UK's transition to a greener future. As we extend our full fibre build from 16 million homes and businesses today to 25 million by the end of 2026, having the most efficient, sustainable electric vehicles will give our engineers the edge as they connect customers at pace to our next generation networks. Our modern fleet will help us to be more efficient and deliver a better service for our customers.”

Lilian Greenwood, Future of Roads Minister, said: “Businesses have a crucial role to play in driving the transition to electric cars and vans. That’s why it’s fantastic to see that BT Group have made the most of our plug-in van grant to order 3,500 brand new EVs – which means they will have the largest electric commercial fleet in the UK.

“We want to help more businesses decarbonise their operations, and we’ve extended our plug-in van grant with £120m funding to help roll out more zero emission vans on our roads - part of our £2.3bn to support industry and consumers switch to EVs and make the transition a success”.

The order will be delivered by four manufacturers over the next two years: Ford, Stellantis, Toyota, and Renault.

Notes to editors:

BT Group has been a leader on climate action for over 30 years and aims to become net zero for its own emissions by the end of March 2031, targeting net zero for supply chain and customer emissions by the end of March 2041.
By the end of FY24, BT Group achieved a 61% reduction in its carbon emissions intensity since FY17. A big contributor to this performance is the move to more energy-efficient full fibre, 4G and 5G networks, while switching off old legacy networks.

Equinix agrees to acquire BT’s datacentre business in Ireland

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Equinix expansion aims to enable organisations to accelerate digital transformation in Ireland
Deal aligns with BT’s strategic review of international assets

Dublin, 23 December 2024: BT Group Plc and Equinix today announced that Equinix has agreed to acquire BT’s datacentre business in Ireland, which includes two datacentres in CityWest and Ballycoolin, Dublin. The EUR59 million transaction is expected to complete during the first half of 2025, subject to competition and regulatory clearance.

The transaction follows a review of assets in Ireland and includes two optimally located, well-invested, and carrier-neutral facilities of approximately 150,000 gross square feet combined, a highly experienced team, and global as well as Irish customers.

BT’s asset-light strategy internationally includes a transition away from owning and operating datacentre facilities, towards partnering with globally scaled organisations. This asset-light strategy and partnership approach for datacentre services gives BT a much more commercially scalable and flexible model that delivers multiple benefits to customers with services available in over 560 locations worldwide.

Shay Walsh, Managing Director, BT Ireland said, “This announcement with Equinix marks an exciting new chapter for our datacentre business in Ireland. The deal builds on our existing successful partnership with Equinix and ensures that customers will benefit from top-tier datacentre services nationally and globally, allowing BT to specialise in our core strengths in cloud, networking, and security.”

Peter Lantry, Managing Director, Equinix Ireland, said, “Equinix has a vital and long- established business in Ireland, with a strong track record of delivering huge value to individuals and companies throughout the Irish economy. This acquisition of assets from our existing facility enables us to continue to offer exceptional interconnection services from our unique global platform, augmenting the EUR35M annual contribution to national economic output arising from Equinix’s direct and indirect spend, measured in 2022.”

“We look forward to working closely with BT to ensure a seamless transition, welcoming their datacentre team and customers to Equinix and bringing the scale, expertise, and investment that next generation datacentre facilities require for excellent service delivery for organisations in Ireland and globally.”

In the coming months, Equinix will support the transition of the datacentres from BT, ensuring uninterrupted operations to customers and positioning the facilities as integral parts of Equinix’s global network.

About Equinix
Equinix (Nasdaq: EQIX) is the world's digital infrastructure company®. Digital leaders harness Equinix's trusted platform to bring together and interconnect foundational infrastructure at software speed. Equinix enables organizations to access all the right places, partners and possibilities to scale with agility, speed the launch of digital services, deliver world-class experiences and multiply their value, while supporting their sustainability goals.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from expectations discussed in such forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such differences include, but are not limited to, risks to our business and operating results related to the current inflationary environment; foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations; increased costs to procure power and the general volatility in the global energy market; the challenges of acquiring, operating and constructing IBX® and xScale® data centers and developing, deploying and delivering Equinix products and solutions; unanticipated costs or difficulties relating to the integration of companies we have acquired or will acquire into Equinix; a failure to receive significant revenues from customers in recently built out or acquired data centers; failure to complete any financing arrangements contemplated from time to time; competition from existing and new competitors; the ability to generate sufficient cash flow or otherwise obtain funds to repay new or outstanding indebtedness; the loss or decline in business from our key customers; risks related to our taxation as a REIT and other risks described from time to time in Equinix filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In particular, see recent and upcoming Equinix quarterly and annual reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, copies of which are available upon request from Equinix. Equinix does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking information contained in this press release.

Competition Appeal Tribunal dismisses class action

Thu, 19 Dec 2024 11:11:57 +0000

Today the Competition Appeal Tribunal ("CAT") handed down its judgment in the case of Justin Le Patourel v BT Group plc ("BT Group") in which the CAT has dismissed the claim and found that BT Group's conduct did not breach competition law. We take our responsibilities to all of our customers very seriously and welcome today's ruling.

The era of split-screeners, secret streamers, and event schemers: BT’s network wrapped reveals how Brits connected with the biggest cultural moments of 2024

Tue, 17 Dec 2024 09:00:12 +0000

56% of people in the UK believe live sport provided the most significant cultural moments of the year, deeming it more important than the UK general election
More than half of Gen Z have now taken up split-screening during major events, using second screens to multi-task online and stay connected to group chats and loved ones
One in 16 people admit to having secretly streamed live events on their phone while attending a wedding, funeral, or christening
BT Group’s new ‘Network Wrapped’ research available to explore at bt.com/network-wrapped

LONDON, 17th December: The UK has become a nation of split-screeners, secret streamers and event schemers according to new research commissioned by BT Group. ‘Network Wrapped’ is a new annual study that combines mobile and broadband data with consumer insights to reveal the latest trends around how the British public engaged with the biggest cultural moments of the year, both in-person and online.

Era of split-screeners

Whereas once families were more likely to gather around a TV for major events like football matches or Christmas TV specials, the nation’s view of quality time now looks very different with more than a third (35%) of the UK admitting to regularly splitting their attention between multiple screens or devices at the same time. This rises to 58% among Gen Z who have been credited with giving rise to the split-screening habit.

The top reasons Brits are using secondary screens during major events include scrolling social media (47%), messaging friends and family (39%), shopping online (33%) and playing video games (30%).

Rise of secret streamers

When it comes to the most significant cultural moments of 2024, more than half of the UK population (56%) believe live sport is the most important for the nation’s psyche, more than the UK general election (55%), live music (29%), film and TV releases (15%) and gaming launches (11%).

With more connected devices in the household, this year has also seen a greater rise in ‘secret streaming’ with 46% of multi-tasking men having been caught watching a live event covertly; while one in 16 people admit to having watched live events on their smartphone while attending a wedding, funeral, or christening.

The growing desire to be part of the biggest cultural moments in real-time has led to an increase in livestreaming across the nation, with more than a quarter (27%) of Millennials now livestreaming their attendance at major events to share the experience with others, while 35% of Gen Z attendees admit to video calling friends or family members from an event venue.

Celebrating event schemers

Nearly two thirds of the population (61%) spend up to two hours preparing to attend live events, with 14% of ultra-organised Brits spending more than three hours researching travel routes, setting up group chats, buying new outfits online, and chatting to fellow event goers on social media.

This means Brits often spend more time planning to attend an event than the duration of the event itself; none more so than those in the East Midlands where people spend the most time preparing to attend a live event - an average of 2 hours and 4 minutes.

This national obsession with planning is in part caused by a desire to make the most of the biggest cultural moments because of the high cost associated with attending in person. ‘Network Wrapped’ found:

Despite ongoing cost pressures, people spent more than £155 on average, in addition to their ticket, to attend major events in 2024
One in ten Brits admit they splash the cash to make the most of the experience by spending an additional £300 per event
Fans in the Northeast of England are some of the most likely to spend on additional experiences such as VIP access and merchandise, splashing out 66% more than those in Norfolk and Suffolk who spend the least on average (£114.38 vs £68.51).

The biggest frustrations with attending the UK’s biggest cultural moments include queuing to get into the venue, for the toilets, or for food and drink (47%), managing parking and travel (27%), trying to find the right seats (15%), and people recording entire shows on their phones (13%).

Those frustrations aren’t doing much to dampen spirits though, with almost a quarter (24%) of Brits planning to attend or engage with even more major events in 2025.

Howard Watson, Chief Security and Networks Officer at BT Group, said: "This year has seen the British public connect, stream, and split-screen their way through some truly iconic moments – from the final of Euro 2024 to Taylor Swift’s record-breaking Eras Tour. But with more people using more connected devices than ever before, there is a growing desire – among all generations – to be part of the biggest cultural moments as they happen, and this is reshaping how we all use connectivity.”

The full ‘Network Wrapped’ report is available here: bt.com/network-wrapped

Notes to editors:

EE partnered with Sapio Research to survey a sample of 2,000 nationally representative adults in the UK in November 2024.

BT Group leans on AI to transform customer service experience

Thu, 12 Dec 2024 00:01:00 +0000

BT Group has deployed Sprinklr’s unified customer experience management platform to deliver AI-enhanced customer support
EE virtual assistant Aimee now handles up to 60,000 customer conversations per week, with automation success rates on several types of customer journey now approaching 50%, freeing time for guides to focus on more complex issues
Sprinklr’s capabilities will be re-used across the Group, not just for EE
BT Group plans to expand its use of AI to provide real time support and information to customer service guides

London, 12^th December 2024 – BT Group is transforming customer support through the integration of advanced AI and generative AI technologies, in collaboration with Sprinklr. The refreshed customer contact platform significantly enhances the EE and BT customer experience through conversational AI, and enhances support processes for the Group’s customer service guides across its Business, Consumer and internal contact channels.

BT Group has integrated Sprinklr's unified customer experience platform, meaning when a customer is seeking support, the platform can draw on BT Group’s data to provide a personalised, accurate response. The customer contact platform, which powers EE’s virtual assistant Aimee, also provides the messaging capability for real-time online chat with customers.

The platform enables BT Group to use generative AI to support various customer experiences, for sales and support for both EE and BT customers. For example, the Gen AI-enhanced experience within Aimee which helps customers prepare for international travel has halved the need for online chat/messaging support, thanks to its ability to understand and respond to customer needs. This keeps guides free for more complex asks, and helps customers get what they need, faster.

Another place it is making a difference is in billing support, where generative AI provides detailed explanations of billing charges, enhancing transparency and customer satisfaction. Rich media within Aimee also means the chat experience isn’t just a text exchange; product cards and carousels are more engaging and valuable for customers. Over 30 separate customer experiences have been defined within Aimee so far, with more to follow. Aimee’s use has risen 51% year on year, demonstrating customer enthusiasm for the channel as its capabilities continue to be improved.

Looking ahead, BT Group plans to expand its use of generative AI to further improve customer support. Upcoming features are expected to include AI-driven summaries of customer interactions and real-time support and guidance. With this, Aimee will be able to act as a virtual AI assistant for our guides, helping to improve efficiency, effectiveness, colleague and customer experience.

BT Group has experienced an impressive growth in customer interactions facilitated by Aimee. ~60,000 conversations per week are now handled through Aimee compared to ~30,000 per week just two years ago. This frees time for guides to help customers with more complex issues and deliver an even more personal experience.

BT Group has implemented key ethical guardrails to ensure robust data privacy and security measures. AI capabilities are hosted on a private cloud instance, ensuring compliance with data and privacy regulations, and data policies are set by BT Group’s internal data management platform, Data Fabric. This allows BT Group to maintain control over its data while benefitting from Sprinklr's AI capabilities. Working with Sprinklr has also enabled BT Group to put in safeguards to monitor for attempts to get the AI to misbehave.

BT Group remains agnostic about which Large Language Model (LLM) it uses in generative AI, continuing to draw on different LLMs. The architecture in the customer contact platform allows BT Group to select the optimal LLM for each use case, and will integrate with BT Group’s new GenAI Gateway in the future.

Harry Singh, MD of Consumer Digital at BT Group, commented: "The collaboration with Sprinklr marks a significant step forward in BT Group's commitment to using cutting-edge technology to deliver exceptional customer experiences. With our customer contact platform, we have unlocked powerful AI-enhanced capabilities for our customer service, boosting satisfaction and creating exciting new opportunities for customer experience."

Sprinklr President and CEO Rory Read, added: “We’re delighted to be working alongside the iconic brands within BT Group, at the forefront of innovative customer engagement through effective AI. AI has huge potential to enhance and elevate customer experiences, and it’s been fantastic to help BT Group achieve such brilliant results, so quickly.”

About Sprinklr

Sprinklr is a leading enterprise software company for all customer-facing functions. With advanced AI, Sprinklr's unified customer experience management (Unified-CXM) platform helps companies deliver human experiences to every customer, every time, across any modern channel. Headquartered in New York City with employees around the world, Sprinklr works with more than 1,800 valuable enterprises — global brands like Microsoft, P&G, Samsung and more than 60% of the Fortune 100. Sprinklr’s value to the enterprise is simple: We un-silo teams to make customers happier.

For more information, visit www.sprinklr.com

BT Group signs major new contract to deliver mobile services for Government’s Emergency Services Network

Sun, 01 Dec 2024 09:00:00 +0000

BT Group has today announced it has signed a new £1.29bn contract with the Home Office to provide mobile services for the Government’s Emergency Services Network (ESN) over the next seven years.

ESN is a national critical communications system that enables fast, safe and secure mission-critical voice, video and data across the 4G network and gives first responders immediate access to life-saving data, images and information in live situations and emergencies on the frontline.

The network grants priority access for vital services including life-saving blue light workers, to ensure they are able to communicate and respond swiftly to emergency events even in remote areas or when networks are busy.

EE was first entrusted by the Home Office to build ESN in 2015 as part of a wider new Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme to replace the old Airwave system, which had been in place for more than two decades.

This upgrade gave Britain’s police, fire and rescue, ambulance services, and other first responders, access to EE’s award-winning mobile network – which has been named the UK’s best and most reliable mobile network*.

It included building a new dedicated core network for ESN as a mission-critical service, ensuring priority EE connectivity to Emergency Services users at all times. It also included upgrading more than 19,500 of EE’s existing 4G sites ready for ESN and expanding coverage in rural and critical operational areas, as well as developing the network to enable priority and pre-emption for Emergency Services over other users.

EE’s original mobile services ESN agreement with the Home Office is due to expire on 31 December 2024.

Under the new contract, which comes into effect today, BT Group will continue to build, maintain and develop critical mobile coverage and capabilities for ESN as it rolls out to support more than 300,000 users.

This means providing high service availability across all of EE’s 4G Radio Access Network (RAN), as well as adding additional connectivity to boost national coverage for first responders.

The new contract also sees BT Group take management responsibility and provide coverage services for the Home Office’s Air-to-Ground (A2G) network, their Extended Area Services (EAS) sites, London Underground and specific road and rail tunnels.

It is expected that the ESN programme will see BT Group carry out the country’s largest ever single roll-out of coverage solutions into indoor locations – to meet the operational standards for Public Safety Communications Services (PSCS) users. The new contract spans 7.25 years, with option for a one-year extension.

Bas Burger, CEO – Business at BT, said: “BT Group has been a committed longstanding partner for Britain’s Emergency Services Network (ESN). We’re proud to double down on this commitment today by broadening the scope of our agreement with the Home Office until 2032 and beyond – as the Government takes ESN from build through to delivery and operation of this critical network.

“Essential public services like these depend on a rock-solid digital foundation. Through our award-winning EE mobile network, we’ll continue to play a central part in delivering mission- critical, trusted communications for the Emergency Services on the ground, in the air, and wherever they need to operate – helping them connect for good and protect the communities they serve nationwide.”

BT is unrivalled in its experience delivering the UK’s critical connectivity infrastructure, with its fixed and mobile networks trusted to underpin essential public services across the nation.

As well as connecting national and local government, BT works with more than 200 NHS trusts, 43 police forces, 29 fire services and has supported the emergency services by handling all incoming 999 calls since 1937.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

*All claims based on the RootMetrics® UK RootScore® Report: H1 2024. Tested at locations across the UK with the best commercially available smartphones on 4 national mobile networks across all available network types. Your experiences may vary. The RootMetrics award is not an endorsement of EE. Visit ee.co.uk/claims for more details.

Repair Shop star backs BT’s digital drive as 2 in 3 small businesses say tech preserves their traditions

Thu, 28 Nov 2024 09:26:09 +0000

Two-thirds (67%) of UK small businesses say digital technology has helped them keep their traditions alive, rising to four fifths (81%) among those started before 1900
New BT research reveals four in five small businesses (78%) have adopted new tech in the last year, with cybersecurity and social media amongst top investment areas
However, a fifth (22%) still see themselves as “analogue-first” – relying on tech like traditional landlines, paper contracts, physical filing and fax machines
As the UK moves away from analogue networks, BT is supporting businesses to switch on to the benefits of digital connectivity – and is urging them to move off the historic copper phone network by the end of 2025
Will Kirk, star of BBC’s The Repair Shop, joins call to help Britain’s traditional businesses discover how new tech can help them safeguard their heritage for the future.

London, 28 November 2024: Will Kirk, star of hit BBC show The Repair Shop, has joined forces with BT to encourage the UK’s much-loved heritage businesses to go digital – as new research shows two in three small firms (67%) say technology is keeping their traditions alive.

The woodwork expert and Heritage Crafts ambassador, famous for bringing heirlooms back to life, wants to show how moving from analogue to digital can preserve traditional businesses’ historic ways of working, enable them to reach new audiences, and make it easier to manage their operations. The call comes as four fifths (81%) of businesses started before 1900 say tech has helped to preserve their traditions.

BT’s research reveals that three-quarters of small business leaders (77%) believe new technology has ensured their company’s survival. The majority – nine in ten (89%) – say digital tech has opened new revenue streams, 80% feel it has given them a competitive edge, while 79% say it has helped them connect with new customers.

BT’s study shows that the UK’s small business community has been investing in technology this year, with most seizing the opportunity to boost their networks and digital tools in 2024. Four in five small firms (78%) say they have introduced new technology in the last 12 months. The top investment was a new website (50%), followed by increased cybersecurity (48%) and social media (45%). Two in five (40%) describe their small business as being a tech company, or one driven by advanced technology such as AI, robotics, or data analytics.

However, a fifth of the UK’s small and medium firms (22%) – equivalent to more than a million¹ – still think of themselves as an “analogue” company, using technologies like traditional landlines, paper-based contracts and physical filing systems to do business. For example, one in six (16%) still use fax machines.

BT’s research comes as the UK is undergoing a once-in-a-generation tech upgrade, moving to digital networks as the ageing copper-based Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), approaches retirement after more than four decades in operation. The switchover from the PSTN to digital connectivity is a move to futureproof the UK’s infrastructure, with the old network more prone to faults and outages, putting businesses at risk of losing connection to critical services.

BT is working with businesses of all sizes to support them in the move from analogue to digital, and is urging business customers to migrate over to more modern networks by the end of 2025. The PSTN is scheduled for retirement by the end of January 2027. As well as legacy copper landlines and broadband, other business equipment still connected to the PSTN will stop working as the network retires – including certain door entry systems, alarms and CCTV.

Kerry Small, Chief Operating Officer – Business at BT, comments: "These figures show that the majority of the UK’s small businesses have been in upgrade mode this year – embracing the tech to help them thrive in a digital world. Today, businesses of all shapes and sizes can’t run without stable, secure connectivity. The UK’s analogue copper telephone network has a proud history, with its origins in the 1800s, but it’s no longer up to the task for businesses. It’s simply too risky to build the economy on a shaky foundation.

“Analogue companies making the move now can rely on rock-solid digital connectivity to help keep them in business for years to come. We’re supporting customers small and large through the move, so no business is left behind. Whether you’re a tech start-up or a family firm passed down through generations, when it comes to going digital – BT’s got your back.”

Will Kirk, star of BBC’s The Repair Shop, comments: “Restoring the crafts and artistry of the past is my job, so I know how important it is to preserve tradition for the next generations. Embracing digital tech can help small businesses with decades of history reach new customers, streamline services, and stay competitive. It doesn’t mean replacing the heart of what makes heritage businesses unique – it’s about giving them the tools they need to hold onto this heritage in an increasingly-digital world.”

BT is urging all businesses to switch on to the benefits of digital networks, including better stability, security and efficiency. For example, digital landlines enable businesses to make and receive calls from one number via multiple devices, even on the go. They also offer improved scam protection. Full-fibre broadband connectivity can deliver speeds that are up to ten times faster than copper-based connections to handle a wider range of multimedia services, such as video conferencing and streaming.

For more information on the switch from analogue to digital connectivity, businesses can visit: business.bt.com/insights/uk-pstn-switch-off.

Small business case study: Switching to digital

In Birmingham, going digital has helped York Supplies hardware store to continue to deliver on its promise to be an extension of locals’ sheds – as it has since 1947 – even through tough times in retail.

When the previous owner retired in 2022, residents and neighboring businesses rallied round to fundraise to ensure its survival, forming a co-operative that now owns the store. The buyout also led to a full technology makeover, enabling York Supplies to face the future with confidence. The business is now fully digital, equipped with fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) broadband, tablets and modern point-of-sale systems to help its staff streamline orders, expand product offerings, and liaise with customers online. Once a “hidden gem”, York Supplies now has about 2,000 social media followers and is planning to expand its product range.

Richard Bickle, Director of York Supplies Community Society, comments: “Our business has been around since before fax machines, during which time it’s become a huge part of the local community, with generations of customers coming through our door.

“When we purchased the shop we inherited a long-standing relationship with BT, but the infrastructure needed an upgrade so we could adopt new technologies to grow and market the business. Making the switch to digital has been so easy, with BT engineers explaining and installing everything for us. Our new system quietly supports the business as we venture into social media, and online ordering systems, all to help our heritage business to continue thriving in the 21^st century.”

Notes to editors

BT worked with polling house, and BPC member, Censuswide, to survey 1,500 senior decision-makers working for UK-based small and medium-sized businesses between 28th October and 1st November 2024.

¹UK parliament: Business Statistics show there were 5.5 million UK SMEs as of 1^st January 2024. 22% of business leaders surveyed describe the business they work for as ‘analogue’; 0.22 x 5.5 = 1.21 million businesses.

Marc Allera to step down as CEO of BT’s Consumer Division in Spring 2025, with Claire Gillies appointed as successor

Wed, 27 Nov 2024 10:03:00 +0000

BT Group plc (“BT Group”) announces that Marc Allera has decided to step down as CEO of its Consumer division, with Claire Gillies to become CEO-Designate and a member of its Executive Committee on 10 December 2024, kicking-off an orderly transition process with Marc.

After nine years with BT Group, Marc will be stepping down as CEO of Consumer on 31 March 2025, following the handover period with Claire. Claire will become CEO of BT Consumer, on April 1.

Allison Kirkby said: “Marc has been an outstanding leader of BT’s Consumer unit, contributing significantly to the company’s growth, and to multiple key initiatives such as leading the team through the integration of EE into BT Group, the creation of the BT Sport joint venture with Warner Bros Discovery, and launching New EE as our lead consumer brand. I am also grateful to Marc for his support to me this year, and for the support I know he’ll give to Claire as they work alongside each other over the next few months. As he moves on beyond BT in the Spring of next year, we all wish him every success.

“I’m delighted to welcome Claire to BT. She brings a wealth of international telecoms experience and has a track record of driving growth in both consumer focused and retail businesses. She will be a brilliant addition to our team as we continue to grow BT’s Consumer division, and EE into the UK’s leading consumer brand for converged connectivity.”

Claire Gillies said: “I am beyond excited to take this role at such an important British company. BT and EE are two of the UK’s most iconic brands leading the industry and connecting people to the things that really matter. I can’t wait to join Allison and the broader BT team as we pursue our mission to become the UK’s most trusted connector of people, devices and machines.”

Marc Allera said: “I’m proud to have led an incredible team through enormous change in the market, and the evolution of the company for the past nine years. In that time we have transformed every aspect of our operations to deliver great service to our 25m customers across the UK, with everything they need for our fast-moving world of technology. We’ve created a fantastic platform for growth, and I wish Claire the very best for the future. While I’m looking forward to the next chapter, I’ll be leaving with great memories of my time at BT and EE, and want to thank every single one of my colleagues who has contributed to our success together.”

About Claire Gillies

Claire has more than 23 years’ experience in telecoms, having worked at Bell Canada since 2000 in a variety of senior leadership roles. Most recently, she was President of Bell Canada’s Wireless and Consumer Divisions where she ran a business generating CA$14bn (c.£8bn) in revenues with more than 8,000 colleagues and over 20 million customer subscriptions.

Claire also ran The Source, Canada’s largest consumer electronics retailer and has a BSC and MBA. She was the winner of the Top Executive award by the Globe and Mail, in addition to Alumni of the Year for McMaster’s DeGroote School of Business. She is a member of the International Women’s Forum Fellow’s Program and proud vice chair of Kids Help Phone, a youth mental health charity. She is also co-chair of their Feel Out Loud Campaign.

BT launches a new managed SASE service powered by Fortinet

Mon, 25 Nov 2024 09:00:00 +0000

Customers can combine networking and security into a single, cloud-delivered managed SASE service protecting access to digital services

BT today announced an expansion of its managed secure SD-WAN solution for business and public sector customers in the UK with new SSE (Security Service Edge) capabilities, leveraging technology from Fortinet® (NASDAQ: FTNT), the global cybersecurity leader driving the convergence of networking and security. The expanded software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) service will help customers seamlessly transition from managed SD-WAN to secure access service edge (SASE), and forge ahead with their digital transformation by protecting access to their applications and data in the cloud.

Customers’ use of cloud technology is intensifying as they increasingly digitalise their businesses, shifting apps and data from their own private datacentres into public cloud services. At the same time, their organisations are more dispersed than ever, with people and devices accessing digital services from everywhere.

BT’s existing managed SD-WAN service already provides customers with the flexibility to mix different connectivity options for each of their sites with a leading next-generation firewall. The company is now partnering with Fortinet to enhance this with new AI-powered SSE capabilities to provide a firewall-as-a-service, secure web gateway, cloud access security broker and zero-trust network access to provide a complete, managed SASE solution. This will enhance customers’ oversight of their networks backed with AI-powered proactive threat detection and data protection via BT’s unified monitoring services in the UK. It can also help customers create a zero-trust infrastructure by continuously interrogating the credentials of users and devices attempting to access the network either on the edge or out and about.

“Our partnership with Fortinet is another signal to customers that BT has their back as they invest to become even more successful, creative, digital businesses,” said Matt Swinden, director, digital connectivity, BT. “Our new managed service enables them to provide consistent, seamless and secure experiences to their users of cloud-hosted digital services regardless of where they are accessing them from. This will help customers manage risk as they innovate with the latest connected technologies from IoT to AI.”

“Building upon our decade-long partnership, we’re proud to collaborate on the new SASE service with BT to enable its UK customers to converge networking and security,” said Nirav Shah, Vice President, Products and Solutions, Fortinet. “SASE complements the cybersecurity platform approach to delivering integrated security and secure network access regardless of where users are located. By combining Fortinet’s cutting-edge SASE and secure networking solutions with a leading choice of fixed and 5G access networks from BT, customers can have a nimble, robust, and more secure network to help them get the best from the cloud.”

As part of the companies’ longstanding collaboration, BT has earned over 750 Fortinet accreditations, including Regional Partner status as part of the Engage Partner Program and UK Partner of the Year 2023, while Fortinet achieved Critical Partner status with BT Security. The managed service is powered by Fortinet Secure SD-WAN which was recently named a Leader in the 2024 Gartner Magic Quadrant for SD-WAN, marking the fifth consecutive year it has been recognized.

ENDS

Notes to editors

SASE

Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) is a cloud architecture model that combines network and security-as-a-service functions together and delivers them as a single cloud service. Conceptually, SASE extends networking and security capabilities beyond where they’re typically available. This lets work-from-anywhere and remote workers, to take advantage of firewall as a service (FWaaS), secure web gateway (SWG), zero-trust network access (ZTNA), and a medley of threat detection functions. SASE is composed of Security Service Edge (SSE) and SD-WAN.

The term SASE (pronounced “sassy”) was first described by Gartner in an August 2019 report called, “The Future of Network Security in the Cloud.” Gartner notes that in the SASE market trend report, "Customer demands for simplicity, scalability, flexibility, low latency, and pervasive security force convergence of the WAN edge and network security markets.”

The BT-managed Fortinet service leverages a number of solutions, including:

Fortinet Secure SD-WAN, which sends application traffic via a customer’s wide area network (WAN) links, using policies set by them to optimise user experience
FortiSwitch, which provides local area network (LAN) ports for connecting additional wired devices such as desktop PC's, access points and point of sale machines.
FortiAP Access Points, which extend Wi-Fi coverage in larger buildings simply with zero-touch deployment, and no licences to manage. Enjoy broad visibility, automated protection, and integrated threat intelligence.
Mobile Data Access provides instant connectivity over 4G or 5G for rapid site set up and short-term needs, as well as a backup or active-active with a primary connection. All underpinned by EE; the UK’s leading mobile network.
Fortinet Next-Generation Firewalls provide enterprise security at any edge, and at any scale on all WAN and LAN traffic as it passes through.
FortiSASE, a cloud-delivered service that combines network and security functionalities, protecting users and devices when they are off a company's network by using common security policies and functionality similar to on-premises environments.

About the cyber security threat

Cyber security breaches and attacks remain a common threat. According to its latest figures, BT detects over 2,000 signals of potential cyber-attacks every second — over 200 million per day. It also finds web-connected devices are scanned over 1,000 times a day by known malicious sources — an average of once every 90 seconds. While some scans are conducted legitimately for security monitoring, three in four (78 per cent) are not harmless — indicating that hackers are looking for weaknesses in the online systems of businesses and essential public services, as smart tech becomes common. BT’s data revealed a 1,234 per cent annual rise in new malicious internet protocol (IP) scanners recorded across its networks in the 12 months to July 2024. The increase reflects how cyber criminals are increasingly scanning for vulnerabilities through automated, ‘one time use’ disposable bots, in an attempt to evade existing blocking and security measures.

BT’s analysis also showed that IT, defence and financial services are the three most targeted industries for cyber-attacks.

GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally. Magic Quadrant is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved.

Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

Gartner, Magic Quadrant for SD-WAN, Jonathan Forest, Karen Brown, Nauman Raja, 30 September 2024

About Fortinet

Fortinet (NASDAQ: FTNT) is a driving force in the evolution of cybersecurity and the convergence of networking and security. Our mission is to secure people, devices, and data everywhere, and today we deliver cybersecurity everywhere you need it with the largest integrated portfolio of over 50 enterprise-grade products. Well over half a million customers trust Fortinet's solutions, which are among the most deployed, most patented, and most validated in the industry. The Fortinet Training Institute, one of the largest and broadest training programs in the industry, is dedicated to making cybersecurity training and new career opportunities available to everyone. Collaboration with esteemed organizations from both the public and private sectors, including CERTs, government entities, and academia, is a fundamental aspect of Fortinet’s commitment to enhance cyber resilience globally. FortiGuard Labs, Fortinet’s elite threat intelligence and research organization, develops and utilizes leading-edge machine learning and AI technologies to provide customers with timely and consistently top-rated protection and actionable threat intelligence. Learn more at https://www.fortinet.com, the Fortinet Blog, and FortiGuard Labs.

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EE mast doubles-up to support Ben Nevis mountain rescue operations

Thu, 14 Nov 2024 09:00:00 +0000

Partnership with Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team sees the mast fitted with an antenna and cabling to support search and rescue operations in the area
Situated at the base of Ben Nevis, the site delivers connectivity to EE customers in the area while also supporting the UK’s Emergency Services Network
Innovative use-case demonstrates how BT Group’s Tower Division is using the wireless estate to support wider digital needs across the UK, minimising unnecessary duplicate builds

14^th November 2024: EE has partnered with Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team (LMRT) to enable the use of an existing 35m mast site, located at the base of Ben Nevis, to aid search and rescue operations in the area.

As well as providing connectivity to EE customers living in and visiting the area, and 999 coverage to all visitors, the mast is also a part the UK Home Office’s Emergency Services Network – a critical 4G communications system for dedicated use by Britain’s Emergency Services and other authorised first responders.

Situated at Glen Nevis, an area which attracts more than 400,000 visitors per year, it is also in a prime location to support LMRT’s need for shadow coverage in the Ben Nevis area – lighting up areas which previously received no coverage due to ‘shadows’ caused by the natural terrain – and to eradicate a coverage not-spot at the very top of the Glen.

Having identified these benefits, LMRT and EE have worked together to deploy a single antenna and cable to the structure – enabling greater range and more effective communications during LMRT’s search and rescue operations, in what is a popular yet hazardous destination for hiking, climbing and other outdoor pursuits.

While the site has been live since early 2024 for its primary purpose of providing 4G connectivity and supporting the Emergency Services Network, LMRT’s equipment was recently installed and is now operational, providing a vital service to the community as an additional layer of safety which previously did not exist. 2024 is on track to be LMRT’s busiest ever and, since the installation just under two months ago, the team has responded to 17 callouts. Two of these were in areas which previously had no coverage on the footpath leading to the Steall Waterfall, while a further nine were on aspects of Ben Nevis where coverage has been significantly improved.

Ian Pooleman, Secretary and Medical Officer, LMRT said: “Communications play a vital role in all of our rescue operations. We primarily use VHF radios to communicate with our base and other team members on the hill. We have had communication challenges in Glen Nevis and some aspects of Ben Nevis for many years, and the opportunity to locate a ‘repeater’ on this tower, with the support of BT Group, will make our operations safer and more efficient.”

David McKean, BT Group’s Tower Division Director, said: “We’re delighted to be able to support Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team’s search and rescue efforts through the deployment of vital communications equipment on our tower at Glen Nevis. This is a simple yet effective example of how we can diversify the use of our portfolio of physical assets, many of which are in remote locations, to support the UK’s broader digital needs and connect more people for good, both now and into the future.”

Results for the half year to 30 September 2024

Thu, 07 Nov 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Allison Kirkby, Chief Executive, commenting on the results, said

“We have accelerated the modernisation of BT Group in the first half of the year. We’ve ramped up our full fibre build and connections, seen further improvements in customer satisfaction, and our cost transformation contributed to growth in EBITDA and normalised free cash flow despite revenue declines driven by our non-UK operations and a competitive retail environment.

“Our nationwide full fibre rollout has set new records, now reaching more than 16 million premises, and we have further extended our industry-leading take-up rate to 35%. Our cost to build continues to reduce, enabling us to increase this year's build target to 4.2 million with no additional capex spend. We also expanded our 5G network to cover 80% of the UK population, more than any other operator. These investments in the UK’s next generation networks are enabling much better experiences, reflected in our improved net promoter scores.

“We are confirming our EBITDA, capex and cash flow guidance for FY25, albeit on lower revenue guidance. We remain firmly on track to meet our long-term cost savings and cash flow targets, and today announce an interim dividend of 2.40pps. The accelerated modernisation of our operations, combined with a focus on connecting the UK, puts us in a strong position to generate significant value for all our stakeholders.”

Solid progress on strategic priorities

Record FTTP build rate of 2.1m in the half with FTTP footprint passing 16m premises, around half of the UK, in October. We have increased our FY25 build target to 4.2m within our existing capex envelope driven by build cost efficiencies; on track to reach 25m by December 2026
Strong customer demand for Openreach FTTP with record net adds of 446k in Q2; total premises connected 5.5m with an increased and market-leading take up rate of 35%. Growth in FTTP as a proportion of the broadband base contributed to a reduction in 12-month repair volumes of 0.3m to 3.0m, supporting growth in margin and EBITDA
Openreach broadband ARPU in H1 grew year-on-year by 6% to £16, ahead of the CPI price increases, driven by a greater FTTP take-up and speed mix; Openreach broadband line losses in H1 were 377k, a 2% decline in the broadband base - we continue to see moderately higher competitor losses with a weaker overall broadband and new homes market
Retail FTTP base grew by 35% year-on-year to 3.0m of which Consumer 2.8m and Business 0.2m; 5G base 12.5m, up 25% year-on-year
Consumer postpaid mobile base at 13.9m; Consumer broadband base marginally lower at 8.2m. Consumer ARPUs relatively stable despite lower CPI benefits
Business revenue decline due primarily to non-UK trading in our Global and Portfolio channels
Cost transformation on track with £433m gross annualised cost savings during H1 FY25; Total Labour Resource down 2k to 118k and down 4% year-on-year
BT Group NPS of 25.6, up 3.1pts year-on-year, further improving customer experience

Continued EBITDA and normalised free cash flow¹ improvement:

Adjusted¹ revenue £10.1bn, down 3% mainly due to challenging conditions in Business, principally driven by non-UK trading in our Global and Portfolio channels. In the rest of the Group, lower CPI benefit and continued competitive markets in Consumer were broadly offset by growth in Openreach due to the benefit of price increases, Ethernet base growth and improving FTTP volume and mix; reported revenue £10.1bn, down 3%
Adjusted¹ EBITDA £4.1bn, up 1%, with revenue flow through more than offset by cost transformation
Reported profit before tax £1.0bn, down 10% primarily due to lower revenue, higher specific costs and higher net finance expenses, partly offset by reduction in reported operating costs
Capital expenditure ('capex') £2.3bn, down 2% with peak reported capex passed in FY24, primarily driven by lower networks spend despite higher FTTP build due to reduced unit costs and efficiencies; cash capex of £2.5bn in line with prior year
Net cash inflow from operating activities £3.0bn; normalised free cash flow¹ £0.7bn, up 57% due to higher EBITDA, working capital timing and a tax refund
Net debt £20.3bn (31 March 2024: £19.5bn), increased mainly due to our scheduled pension scheme contributions of £0.8bn with cash inflow offset by payment of the final dividend
Gross IAS 19 pension deficit of £4.3bn, a decrease from £4.8bn at 31 March 2024 mainly due to scheduled contributions, partly offset by lower than required asset returns in the period
Interim dividend of 2.40 pence per share (pps) up from 2.31pps in H1 FY24 in line with our policy of paying 30% of prior year's full year dividend pps. FY24 final dividend paid in September was fully covered by normalised free cash flow¹
FY25 Outlook: FY25 guidance reiterated for adjusted EBITDA¹, capital expenditure and normalised free cash flow¹. FY25 revenue guidance revised to down 1-2% primarily reflecting weaker non-UK trading including reduced low-margin kit sales, along with a softer environment in Corporate and Public Sector
Mid-term guidance: Sustained adjusted¹revenue growth and EBITDA growth ahead of revenue, enhanced by cost transformation from FY26 to FY30; capital expenditure excluding spectrum less than £4.8bn until FY26, reducing by c. £1bn post peak FTTP build; normalised free cash flow of c. £2.0bn in FY27 and c. £3.0bn by the end of the decade

Customer-facing unit updates

_{¹See Glossary.}
_{²Net debt was £19,479m at 31 March 2024.}
_{n/m: comparison not meaningful}

Glossary


Adjusted	Adjusted measures (including adjusted revenue, adjusted operating costs, adjusted operating profit, and adjusted basic earnings per share) are before specific items. Adjusted results are consistent with the way that financial performance is measured by management and assist in providing an additional analysis of the reporting trading results of the group.
Adjusted EBITDA	Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, before specific items, share of post tax profits/losses of associates and joint ventures and net finance expense.
Free cash flow	Net cash inflow from operating activities after net capital expenditure.
Capital expenditure	Additions to property, plant and equipment and intangible assets in the period.
Normalised free cash flow	Free cash flow (net cash inflow from operating activities after net capital expenditure) after net interest paid, payment of lease liabilities, net cash flows from the sale of cash flows related to contract assets, monies received as prepayment for the sale of redundant copper, dividends received from non-current assets investments, associates and joint ventures, and net purchase or disposal of non-current asset investments, before pension deficit payments (including their cash tax benefit), payments relating to spectrum, and specific items. It excludes cash flows that are determined at a corporate level independently of ongoing trading operations such as dividends paid, share buybacks, acquisitions and disposals, repayment and raising of debt, cash flows relating to loans with joint ventures, and cash flows relating to the Building Digital UK demand deposit account which have already been accounted for within normalised free cash flow. For non-tax related items the adjustments are made on a pre-tax basis.
Net debt	Loans and other borrowings and lease liabilities (both current and non-current), less current asset investments and cash and cash equivalents, including items which have been classified as held for sale on the balance sheet. Amounts due to joint ventures, loans and borrowings recognised in relation to monies received from the sale of cash flows of contract assets and as prepayment for the forward sale of redundant copper are excluded. Currency denominated balances within net debt are translated into sterling at swapped rates where hedged. Fair value adjustments and accrued interest applied to reflect the effective interest method are removed.
Specific items	Items that in management’s judgement need to be disclosed separately by virtue of their size, nature or incidence. In the current period these relate to our assessment of our provision for historic regulatory matters, restructuring charges, divestment-related items, Sports JV-related items and net interest expense on pensions. In determining whether an event or transaction is specific, management considers quantitative as well as qualitative factors such as the frequency or predictability of occurrence.

We assess the performance of the group using a variety of alternative performance measures. Reconciliations from the most directly comparable IFRS measures are in Additional Information on pages 32 to 33 in the results release.

Forward-looking statements – caution advised

Download PDF - Results for the half year to 30 September 2024

BT helps customers keep a lid on AI carbon emissions

Thu, 31 Oct 2024 09:00:00 +0000

BT expands its Carbon Network Dashboard to show how workloads and apps, including AI, impact carbon emissions from customers’ networks and data-centres

BT today announced it has expanded its Carbon Network Dashboard to give business customers visibility of electricity consumption and carbon emissions at an individual workload and application level. The insight will allow them to optimise their data-centre and network infrastructure to manage emissions as they adopt AI applications at scale.

AI can have significantly different impacts on networks and data-centres than other application types. It can cause sharp, unpredictable increases in bandwidth demand, which in turn cause spikes in power use by infrastructure traditionally designed for predictable workloads. If spikes in demand overload individual network devices or servers, this will not only impact performance but cause them to overheat, wasting electricity. This creates additional challenges for customers aiming to reduce emissions.

The Carbon Network Dashboard already offers a single, end-to-end, near real-time view of how much electricity a customer’s network and data-centre infrastructure is using. It can now tie this consumption to traffic patterns caused by individual applications, including AI.

As part of its sustainable network design and refresh service, BT can use this insight to help customers adapt, either by changing network design, capacity and management or optimising applications and AI workloads. BT can also help customers develop distributed architectures, which bring components of AI closer to users, devices and machines.

The capabilities are part of the latest NetFlow plug-in for the Carbon Network Dashboard. In future, the Dashboard will be able to identify traffic going to colocation or public cloud services and prioritise what to focus on for optimisation, including re-designing for extra or flexible capacity. This will ensure network devices are running within their design limits, efficiently and with flexibility to accommodate growth of AI workloads.

In addition, the Dashboard now incorporates electricity consumption data from a wider range of world-leading network equipment vendors and types of devices. This includes SD-WAN equipment, servers and WAN and LAN devices.

The Dashboard’s energy optimisation tools have also been expanded. They now include: V-App IoT builder integration for energy management of wireless access points; zero-touch automation to enable/disable power over ethernet (PoE) ports when not in use for energy management and carbon savings; and sustainable device refresh recommendations for end-of-life devices.

“AI has incredible potential but if not deployed thoughtfully could place unpredictable demands on customers’ digital infrastructure causing surges in electricity use and carbon emissions,” said Sarwar Khan, sustainability director, Business, BT. “BT is committed to helping customers innovate to achieve sustainable growth. With our Carbon Network Dashboard, we can help them adopt AI at scale while optimising their infrastructure to achieve their decarbonisation goals. It’s a great example of how BT has their back.”

ENDS

BT Group switches on first self-powered mobile site energised by solar and wind

Wed, 23 Oct 2024 09:00:00 +0100

Located in rural Shropshire, 100% of site’s power requirements will be delivered by renewable energy sources, 70% of which generated by on-site solar and wind
Site provides reliable and sustainable 4G and 5G connectivity to EE customers living, working and travelling in the area
This first site will serve as a trial, with potential to deploy similar technology across hundreds of identified sites in future

23^rdOctober 2024: BT Group has switched on its first self-powering mobile site, located in the Shropshire Hills, with approximately 70 per cent of its energy needs expected to be generated by the on-site solar panels and wind turbine.

The site was identified through an environmental assessment which calculated its viability for renewable power. Power is generated through a combination of solar and wind energy which is then used to charge the batteries which power the on-site mast.

In the event of there being insufficient renewable energy source available and the battery power being fully discharged, a generator powered by Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) fuel acts to simultaneously provide back-up power to the mast and charge to the batteries, ensuring the site continues to deliver connectivity to customers. HVO is itself classed as a green fuel, produced as it is from a variety of waste and residual oils.

BT Group expects the site to deliver approximately 17,000kWh of wind and solar energy per year – the equivalent of 100,000 hot showers – as well as cost savings upwards of £10k. While the Shropshire Hills site serves as a trial, BT Group has already identified hundreds of additional locations which have the potential to derive much of their power from on-site renewable sources, in particular in coastal or hilly locations.

Greg McCall, Chief Networks Officer, BT Group, said: “Delivering ubiquitous coverage is critically important in an age where connectivity has never been so central to everyday life, but it absolutely must be done in a responsible and sustainable manner. It’s paramount that we increase the energy-efficiency of our networks, and so we’re really excited about the potential of self-powering sites in enabling us to meet both our sustainability and connectivity ambitions.”

With an ambition to become a net zero business by 2031, improving the energy efficiency of its networks – which account for around 89 per cent of its total energy consumption – is a major priority for BT Group. The self-powering site is the latest innovation aimed at addressing this and follows the roll-out of energy-saving cell-sleep technology across its RAN estate earlier this year, as well as the successful retirement of its legacy 3G network.

BT’s new home phone scam protection service stops 20.1 million scam and spam attempts in first 4 months

Thu, 03 Oct 2024 09:00:00 +0100

BT’s new Enhanced Call Protect on Digital Voice has blocked more than 2.4 million scam calls and almost 17.7 million spam calls since May this year
The scam protection service by Hiya gives 2.5 million BT Digital Voice customers an extra layer of defence, with Digital Voice users set to grow in future
Enhanced Call Protect utilises the landline phone display to warn of spam calls and verify genuine calls
BT shares practical advice to help customers protect themselves from scams

3 October 2024 - BT’s new Enhanced Call Protect on Digital Voice has successfully blocked more than 2,430,000 scam and identified 17,700,000 spam calls to landlines since the new scam protection service from Hiya was introduced in May.

Digital Voice is BT’s home phone service, powered by broadband, which includes an AI powered tool that monitors incoming calls and will notify the user of any suspected spam calls. With machine learning, Hiya is able to improve its scam detection and protection the more malicious calls it encounters – in one day blocking more than 46,500 scam calls. According to data from Hiya, UK residents received an average of 3 spam calls per month from January to June this year, with 28% of all unknown calls flagged as spam. This equates to approximately 195 million spam calls per month.

2.5 million BT customers already receive the new call vetting service, a benefit of migrating to Digital Voice. This figure is set to double as more customers upgrade to digital landlines, and BT expects to block more than 1.5 million scam calls monthly once all customers have moved over to Digital Voice.

On receiving a potential spam call, customers see a visual warning on their landline phone display, saying, “Nuisance?”. They have a choice to reject or accept an inbound call that is flagged as a spam call. Scam calls are automatically diverted to a customer’s junk voicemail, protecting them from the threat of scammers. Any call from a registered business will have their name displayed to verify it as genuine. Overall, the service gives Digital Voice customers peace of mind and enhanced protection from scam and spam calls.

Any customer can potentially fall victim to voice scams known as ‘vishing’ where fraudsters attempt to collect personal data over the phone. These types of scams are becoming more and more popular with scammers making unsolicited calls masquerading as an organisation that people know and trust. Their aim is to harvest personal data such as bank details or account passwords and use these to exploit consumers.

Lucy Baker MBE, BT Consumer’s All-IP Director said: “Our top priority is ensuring our customers feel secure and confident when using our services. This new Hiya technology is now integrated with Digital Voice and is proving to be incredibly effective at stopping scam calls. We remain committed to protecting customers during the switch to digital landlines.”

Alex Algard, CEO of Hiya added: "We're thrilled to be supporting BT in its mission to shield users from unwanted calls. It’s great to see that our technology has successfully blocked fraud and spam calls, which will in turn give customers the confidence to answer their phones and engage in meaningful conversations without the interruption of unwanted disturbances. This progress underscores our dedication to enhancing digital safety and improving the user experience."

BT has made significant progress rolling out Digital Voice across the country as the UK moves from analogue to digital landlines. This once in a generation upgrade aims to future proof the UK’s landlines and to replace outdated technology. BT has embarked on extensive community outreach, visiting 340 towns and cities across the UK, reaching 30% of the nation’s urban areas.

Enhanced Call Protect is included as a free service for Digital Voice customers on their BT home phone plan.

Given the rising number of malicious calls, BT advises customers to remain vigilant. Tips to avoid scams include:

If you receive a suspicious call, put the phone down and call back on a trusted number to verify the call
If you mistakenly give a caller your bank account details, contact your bank immediately.
If you receive a suspicious call, report the call to us here.
Block any suspicious numbers after you have reported them.

Remember:

Take a moment to stop and think. Trust your instincts. If it sounds too good to be true or is suspicious, there’s probably a catch
Don’t stay on the phone unless you’re 100% sure the caller is genuine
Don’t give away any of your personal details or give anyone access to your computer

BT is committed to protecting our customers from the threat of scams and encouraging them to remain vigilant of malicious calls. Customers already benefit from an AI network level firewall that detects inbound calls from international locations using a UK number for scam purposes. This blocks millions of calls from fraudsters reaching our customers and those on other networks every year.

ENDS

About Hiya

Hiya is trusted by global businesses, carriers, and consumers to provide secure, engaging connections and stop unwanted calls. Built on the world’s leading Voice Security Platform, Hiya connects businesses with their customers, helps carriers secure their networks, and protects people from spam and fraud calls. Hiya’s SaaS applications, Hiya Connect and Hiya Protect, serve more than 500 million users on the Hiya Network, powering call protection and identity for EE, Samsung, Ericsson and more. Learn more at www.hiya.com.

Powering the UK’s growth engine – it’s time for big business to step up

Wed, 02 Oct 2024 10:59:34 +0100

Last week, I sat down with leaders and policymakers in the small business space to discuss one of the most important issues facing the UK in the coming years: growth.

Kickstarting economic growth is the Government’s number one mission. And we won’t get there without the country’s small and medium businesses. The figures are clear: there are 5.5 million small businesses in the UK, and improving their annual productivity by just one percent during this Parliament would grow the economy by almost £100 billion, equivalent to over half the annual budget of the NHS.¹ But how do we get there? And whose responsibility is it to lead the way?

It would be easy to write this off as a Government issue. Research has shown that greater adoption of technology amongst small and medium businesses (SMBs) could directly boost the economy² – but that the UK’s SMBs currently invest less in technology than their G7 counterparts.³ The delayed adoption of technology from smaller businesses could hinder the UK’s international competitiveness. The Government can address this by making digital adoption a central pillar of their upcoming Small Business Strategy, with clear delivery targets and the right incentives for SMEs to invest.

However, the reality is that we can’t rely on policy alone. Or on the UK’s start-ups and scale-ups to carry the burden. The small businesses I speak to tell me that they are doing all they can to survive and thrive. Big businesses are already playing an important role in supporting SMBs. But there’s still scope to raise the bar. We all need to do more.

For small businesses to reach their full potential as a UK growth engine, we need big businesses – including BT – to build further on the strong foundations we have in place. This means listening to the common challenges faced by the SMB community and stepping up wherever possible by sharing more of the resources, skills and expertise we all have to offer.

Putting people first

Big corporates often say that their greatest asset is their people. I truly believe this, so if we’re going to empower smaller organisations to drive productivity and growth, then we should start with our people.

Many of our tech peers are already doing excellent work in this space, and we’ve seen it ourselves with our Digital Boost scheme – hosting a range of BT-led activities like 1:1 mentoring sessions, virtual workshops and webinars along with a 6-week accelerator program. More than 5,000 businesses and over 300 BT people have gone through the various schemes over the past two years. This not only helps plug the digital skills gap – it also helps build pride amongst our teams. It’s a great start, but there’s more to do.

It's well known that take-up of apprenticeships amongst small and medium businesses is particularly low. That’s why we announced last week that BT is sharing up to £4 million from our apprenticeship levy funds to help give these businesses the support they need to invest in talent, boost productivity and create a more skilled, diverse, and competitive workforce. I’d urge other big employers to look into ways they can use their levy in a similar way.

Connecting for good

As much as business is about people, it’s also about connections. Digital networks have a vital role to play in making these connections. In a recent study, three in five small companies said a strong digital foundation is essential to their business.⁴

Whether it’s apps that enable payments for food trucks at busy events, or reliable networks to connect social media entrepreneurs to their customers, businesses need technology to help them compete and grow in a digital economy. BT’s fixed and mobile networks connect more than one million small businesses across the UK – and we know we have a major responsibility to underpin their growth.

As confidence amongst small business leaders starts to rise⁵, we’re making a commitment to continue helping boost their connectivity, security and skills. From 01 October we are offering four months’ free broadband for small business customers on 24 and 36-month contracts – as well as three months’ free cyber awareness training for any small business looking to upskill its people (no matter which network they’re on).

These measures can have real impact. After all, we know that only 30% of small businesses had any cyber training or awareness raising activities in the past year, and that figure drops to 14% for micro businesses. For those that don’t turn on their human firewall the cost can be high: the average cost of a successful cyber breach to small and micro businesses is over £4,500.⁶

We’re making encouraging progress, but it doesn’t stop there. As well as working with the UK’s smallest companies, we also count 90 of the FTSE 100 as valued BT customers. So we’re challenging ourselves, our customers and our tech peers to push harder for small business growth. Whether it’s dedicating time, resources or reevaluating our supplier relationships, we must build on the foundations we’re all laying and commit to upholding best practice and leveraging our networks to elevate small businesses.

Let’s continue to prioritise the skills, technology and leadership that will enable national productivity and growth on the scale we need. This is a national mission, and we all have a role to play.

_¹_{Be the Business G7 Productive Business Index | Be the Business}
_²_{Untapped tech adoption could boost UK economy by £232 billion annually (sage.com)}
_³_{FSB | Small Business Index: Quarter 1, 2024}
_{⁴ Research commissioned by BT and conducted by Censuswide among 2,000 UK business decision makers, between 26 March and 5th April 2024}
_⁵_{FSB | Small Business Index: Quarter 1, 2024}
_{⁶ Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, Cyber Security Breaches Survey, published April 2024}

BT readies customers for Global Fabric so they can hit the cloud running

Tue, 01 Oct 2024 09:00:00 +0100

BT in live testing of its new, AI-ready network-as-a-service (NaaS) platform
Global Fabric points of presence (PoPs) now installed in over 45 of the world’s major cloud data-centres
Demo of management portal allows customers to experiment with network configurations and APIs in advance of service launch

BT today announced it has switched on Global Fabric, its new, transformative, network-as-a-service (NaaS) platform and has been carrying out extensive live testing over the past two months. The first Global Fabric services will launch in early 2025.

Global Fabric will make it easier and quicker for businesses to securely connect employees, customers and devices to apps and digital services — including artificial intelligence (AI) — that are hosted across multiple clouds.

Customers will benefit from scalable, secure, high-capacity and resilient connectivity, ready to meet the growing and complex demands of breakthrough AI technologies. Global Fabric’s flexibility will be unprecedented. With legacy networks, setting up or making changes to connectivity services can take weeks. With Global Fabric, it happens in an instant, helping businesses manage unpredictable, AI-driven spikes in data traffic.

BT has already installed Global Fabric ‘points of presence’ (PoPs) in over 45 of the world’s major cloud data centres with the number increasing to 140. This offers customers a choice of locations from which to access Global Fabric services to suit their operational, market and regulatory needs.

Customers that do not have network connections into the cloud data centres hosting Global Fabric PoPs will be able to order new links from BT, ensuring they are ready for the launch of live services in early 2025.

BT is also rolling out a demo of Global Fabric’s digital management portal. By November, this will allow customers’ IT teams to learn how to set up and optimise their multi-cloud network configurations and experiment with application programmable interfaces (APIs). APIs will help customers integrate Global Fabric connectivity into other digital business platforms and apps to boost innovation and growth.

“BT’s Global Fabric will help customers hit the cloud running,” said Colin Bannon, chief technology officer, BT Business. “It will give them a choice of the world’s best cloud locations to interconnect with their customers, partners and suppliers, making them easier to do business with not just today but tomorrow too. With the achievement of our latest Global Fabric delivery milestones, we take another step closer to a new age of AI-ready, digital interconnectivity.”

ENDS

Connecting to Global Fabric PoPs

Global Fabric’s core network hardware is installed in the world’s major carrier neutral facilities (CNFs) — large datacentres where cloud providers, software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies and network operators provide access to their services.

Global Fabric hardware locations are known as ‘points of presence’ (PoPs). BT makes it easy for customers to connect their sites to their business partners, and to their applications and workloads hosted in the multi-cloud, using our PoPs as global connectivity gateways.

BT Group simplifies its strategy and innovation work to accelerate digital transformation

Fri, 27 Sep 2024 19:46:00 +0100

BT Group (‘the Company’) has announced a number of changes to its Strategy and Change (S&C) and Digital teams this morning that will integrate our strategy and innovation teams and enable the acceleration of our digital transformation.

Strategy & Change
Tom Meakin, who joined the Company in April as interim Chief Strategy and Change Officer, will be appointed to the role permanently from 1 November. Tom joined BT Group from McKinsey & Company where he was a senior partner leading its Consumer Tech and Media industry practice.

The new S&C team has integrated all strategy work across BT Group and it has responsibility for driving our large transformation projects that will deliver improved customer experience and connectivity. In addition, BT Group’s product innovation and technology partnerships capability will move under the remit of the S&C team so that it sits at the centre of our strategy.

Digital
Earlier in the summer, responsibility for digital product development moved from Digital to our Consumer and Business units so that it sits as close to our customers as possible. Following this, and the product innovation and technology partnerships move into S&C, BT Group’s Digital unit will now focus exclusively on our digital transformation. It will play a critical role in the relentless modernisation of our platforms and as a catalyst for digital thinking, platforms and architecture. Our deep experience in data and AI will ensure that our customers and colleagues have consistently seamless and brilliant interactions with our company and each other.

Following these important changes, Harmeen Mehta, Chief Digital and Innovation Officer, has decided the time is right to make the next move in her career, outside of BT Group. Howard Watson, Chief Networks and Security Officer, will lead Digital in the interim alongside his current role while we recruit a permanent Chief Digital Officer.

Allison Kirkby, BT Group Chief Executive, said:
“These changes are important steps towards simplifying BT Group and accelerating our digital transformation. Tom has been a hugely valued member of my team since he joined earlier this year, and I am thrilled that he’s joining us permanently.

“Harmeen was instrumental in creating and running Digital and has built some great digital foundations which will continue to serve us for a long time to come. I’d like to thank Harmeen for her energy and passion as leader of our Digital unit over the last three and a half years. I wish her every future success in her next digital chapter.”

Harmeen Mehta commented “Building Digital at BT has been an inspirational journey and I have enjoyed every moment of it. I wish the incredible team here continued success in their digital journey at BT Group”.

BT Group’s Digital Unit launches ‘GenAI Gateway’ platform, powered by AWS, accelerating the company’s safe adoption of generative AI at scale

Tue, 24 Sep 2024 00:01:00 +0100

The GenAI Gateway, a generative AI enablement platform, built in collaboration with AWS, enables BT Group to tap into the power of GenAI with safe, secure access to Large Language Models (LLMs) from a scalable number of foundation model providers
Platform supports prompt security, central privacy controls, billing per use case, enterprise search, and use of multiple corporate data sources to enable the company to be flexible and responsible in the use of different AI models required
Ethics and performance are enabled through embedded guardrails that limit the risk of exploitation of the models (“jailbreak risk”)
A single consolidated Group platform reduces duplication of effort and resources as BT Group scales and accelerates the adoption of generative AI as APIs, security configuration, infrastructure management etc., can be managed centrally, reducing the risk of error along the way

LONDON, 24^th September 2024: BT Group’s Digital Unit has announced the launch of an innovative internal platform to help the company tap into the power of large language models (LLMs) from providers such as Anthropic, Meta, Claude, Cohere, and Amazon. The GenAI Gateway, built in collaboration with AWS and using Amazon Bedrock, Amazon SageMaker and AWS Professional Services capabilities, provides secure, private access to a range of natural-language processing and large language models, a critical tool BT Group will use as it embeds AI into the way it runs the business.

Ad-hoc use of LLMs, whilst appropriate for test and development work, is not well suited to large scale use; cost control, security and privacy need more careful management. LLM performance also needs to be monitored, for unexpected errors (e.g. “hallucinations”) and model decay over time (where LLMs stop behaving as expected). The GenAI Gateway also gives BT Group protection against ‘lock-in’ to any given LLM if any other issues emerge. The use of GenAI Gateway platform will encourage BT Group engineers to use the right model for the right use case, at the right price, as it supports per-use case budget tracking.

A consolidated platform reduces duplication of effort and resources, as BT Group scales the adoption of generative AI. Application programming interfaces (APIs), security configuration and infrastructure management, can all be managed centrally, reducing the risk of error and the cost of maintaining separate LLMs for every use case.

GenAI Gateway, deployed on AWS, is accessed via secure APIs, like all the components of BT Group’s modular digital architecture. GenAI Gateway uses Amazon Bedrock, a fully managed service that offers a choice of high-performing foundation models from leading AI companies like AI21 Labs, Anthropic, Cohere, Meta, Mistral AI, Stability AI, and Amazon through a single API; as well Amazon SageMaker, a fully managed service that brings together a broad set of tools to enable high-performance, low-cost machine learning for any use case. The platform supports prompt security, chat history, FinOps billing per use case, enterprise search, as well as use of multiple corporate data sources. Central privacy controls include separate tenants for each use case, the use of Personal Identifiable Information filters, the location of the data within the UK and the isolation of trained models from each other, protecting data in line with Group policies and relevant regulation. Guardrails are built into the GenAI Gateway, limiting the risk of jailbreaks or toxic interactions, filtering out queries that go beyond the remit of specific applications – ensuring both performance and ethical guardrails are built-in by design.

Gen AI Gateway is one of the several key enablers we are deploying to enable BT Group as an AI-enabled enterprise, and we will also use our “data fabric” data management platform to help enforce governing policies for how data can be used, as well as to manage access control and data sovereignty restrictions.

GenAI Gateway is live today with the first beta use cases. A trial in Openreach is summarising engineering notes on Ethernet and full fibre jobs, helping to simplify processes and boost productivity for its teams and Communications Provider customers. A second use case, supporting contract analysis for the Group’s Business, legal and procurement teams, is also live.

Fabio Cerone, GM EMEA Telco at AWS, said: “The BT Group GenAI Gateway is showcasing how enterprises can effectively deploy generative AI at scale and speed. It’s been a brilliant, pioneering opportunity to collaborate and work backwards from the customer to provide a way to accelerate deployment of generative AI use cases into production with embedded security and compliance. The GenAI Gateway will trigger the flywheel effect in the adoption of generative AI, delivering quicker results for BT Group and its customers.”

Deepika Adusumilli, Managing Director, Data & AI, BT Group’s Digital Unit said: “AI is helping us reimagine the future of our company. We believe that where our data is a constant, we need flexibility with our LLMs. GenAI Gateway allows us to tap into this powerful new set of technologies at scale, in a way that is safe, responsible, flexible and scalable, delivering the ambition we have for AI to unlock the human potential within BT Group, today and in the future.”