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. 

New research into public opinion of digital health in the UK shows that the majority of adults want to see the NHS invest more in technology – as speeding up diagnosis and treatment top the list of patient priorities¹.

The research was commissioned by BT, which recently marked 75 years of collaboration with the NHS and is committed to helping support the next phase of its digital transformation.  It reveals that three in five (61%) patients are frustrated with the time it takes to contact a medical professional, and a similar number (59%) with delays in arranging an appointment. Data from NHS England indicates that 7.6 million people in England are waiting for hospital treatment, including 1.6 million waiting for diagnostic tests or scans, the highest figure since modern records began in 2007.²

One area that promises to cut waiting lists is the use of digital technology to enable faster diagnosis and treatment and allow doctors to clear the patient backlog, quicker. BT’s research suggests the public are ready to embrace innovation if it will help, with two thirds (64%) believing technology is a worthwhile investment for the NHS.

The pandemic has radically changed the perception of digital healthcare in the UK, so much so that three quarters (75%) of UK adults would prefer a digital consultation or diagnosis – and one in five (19%) patients are now frustrated if they are asked to visit a GP or hospital for an appointment that could be done remotely.

Saving time is the most popular draw for digital appointments, with just under half (48%) of those asked saying they would choose digital over face-to-face if it meant they could speak to a medical professional quicker. Two fifths (38%) say they’d prefer if the money that would have been used for an in-person appointment was reinvested elsewhere. A third (32%) would welcome digital appointments if it meant they could be seen outside of traditional working hours, while more than a quarter (27%) like the idea of not having to leave the house.

Improving speed of diagnosis and treatment are the public’s top NHS priorities, with nine in 10 (91%) patients believing them to be the most important; making them as high a priority as the NHS remaining free at the point of entry (87%). This need is one of the key drivers pushing patients to the private sector, with almost two in five (38%) saying they’d look outside the NHS if it meant faster treatment.

Similarly, 58% agree that leveraging data and technology can enhance the NHS's effectiveness in preventing illnesses and identifying risk factors earlier in patients' lives, showing significant support towards using tech to help foster a healthier nation.

More than a third (37%) of the UK public would support the use of AI (Artificial Intelligence) to help improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the NHS. A third (33%) of the population picked video and telephone consultations as one of the top three health technologies they’d like to see the NHS prioritise, alongside one in five (18%) that would like digital diagnosis rolled out widely. These practical choices are a much higher priority for the public than robotics (9%) or Virtual Reality (5%).

Discussing the research, Professor Sultan Mahmud, BT’s Director of Healthcare, said: “The NHS is critically important to all of us, with a 75-year-strong track record of embracing new technology. However, as its challenges mount, we need to do more to make sure it’s equipped to keep up with patient demand. It’s clear from the research that the public recognises the link between technology and health. While technology alone can’t build more hospitals or train doctors and nurses, it can make the day-to-day experience of healthcare better for everyone – speeding up diagnosis and treatment, improving the experience of patients, freeing up time for frontline workers and helping budgets go further.”

BT is today announcing it is working in partnership with specialist technology companies deepc and Axon Diagnostics to boost its digital health programme for the NHS and help tackle wait times. The collaborations promise to help free up doctors’ time using AI and unlock the benefits of faster diagnosis for more patients and clinicians in a safe and responsible way. These new services bolster BT’s existing healthcare solutions, which include Virtual Ward & Care programmes to support the NHS with tech to help manage patient care.

• AXON Diagnostics – provides a digital platform that enables faster diagnosis and image sharing. Using a secure streaming service, it allows specialists across the world to access and report live diagnostic information, e.g. scans, safely in seconds. This helps increase capacity across health services by connecting more clinicians and consultants across different locations. It can also reduce reliance on outsourcing.
   
• deepc is a radiology AI platform that can help medical professionals access the clinical value of multiple AI tools quickly and safely via an AI marketplace. It integrates into any hospital environment, streamlining the curation and onboarding effort, offering access to over 50 third-party best-in-breed AI solutions to enable adoption at scale. deepc can onboard AI tech into NHS hospitals that might otherwise typically be overlooked due to their geographic location. AI allows doctors to see more patients and address the existing backlog. The adoption of AI in radiology and pathology is increasing, helping to address the current skills shortage.

Professor Sultan Mahmud continues: “Offering faster diagnosis and helping reduce waiting times, our new digital diagnostics and AI services are designed to help ease some of the pressures facing doctors and nurses today. It’s part of our commitment to stand alongside the NHS, working with clinicians to help more UK Trusts reap the benefits of the latest technology – helping them do more with digital, without increasing their already heavy workload.”

Dr Paul Bhogal, Consultant Interventional Neuroradiologist and member of BT’s Clinical Advisory Board, added: “When we talk about the need to bring new technology to the NHS, we’re not talking about replacing doctors and nurses. We’re talking about taking tools that are already a part of everyday life elsewhere, and using them to make things quicker and easier for patients. BT’s new digital diagnostics and AI partnerships will not only help connect NHS clinicians with patients faster and more efficiently, but they can also help with knowledge sharing, to plug some of the gaps where healthcare services need it most.”

To find out more about BT’s collaboration with deepc and AXON Diagnostics, or its work with the NHS to build smarter, safer and more efficient healthcare for everyone, please visit here.

ENDS

Notes to editors

¹ Research conducted by Opinium on behalf of BT, polling 2,063 UK adults, weighted to be politically and nationally representative, between the 21st and 23rd June 2023

² NHS waiting list in England hits record 7.5 million | The Independent

The first seven of BT’s Street Hub 2.0 units have been installed in the city bringing free ultra-fast WiFi, free calls, wayfinding information and rapid device charging.

Street Hubs offer a range of benefits including free ultra-fast WiFI, free emergency calls and rapid device charging, and offer a more modern alternative to traditional payphones.

They also provide directions for tourists and have the capacity to be fitted with signal boosting 4G and 5G cells.

The first Street Hubs were switched on today at the sites including streets in Byker, Benton, Heaton and Haymarket. They form part of BT’s rollout of even better mobile and WiFi connections for communities across the UK.

As part of the initiative, BT will also be gifting free advertising to small businesses as they face increased costs during the current economic situation.

The company is donating up to £7.5 million of outdoor advertising space to small businesses across the UK as part of the rollout of the new digital units.

Michael Smy, Head of Street at BT, said: “Street Hubs provide communities with the improved WiFi and mobile connectivity that is now such a central part of everyday life.

“Bringing the Hubs to Newcastle not only allows us to provide the same benefits as traditional payphones, but also offer enhanced and future-proofed technology for the future.

“Gifting free advertising to small businesses in the city also means we are able to play our part in supporting its economy.”

One of the first businesses in the city to benefit from the free advertising space will be Bud Couriers, based in the city. The organisation won a competition to land the free advertising as part of the introduction of hubs in the city.

James Tyer of Bud Couriers said: "The BT Street Hubs have been a blessing for my small business. This month, with the introduction of the clean air zone in Newcastle city centre, these adverts are positioned perfectly to reach those affected by the issue.

“Using these boards, we are able to showcase our role as an authority in Newcastle’s urban sustainable logistics."

BT is rolling out the Street Hub units across a range of major cities in the UK with Sheffield joining places like Birmingham, Nottingham, and Glasgow.

• Study shows social media is now the top sales channel for a quarter of UK small businesses.
• 1 in 3 small business owners feel excited about using social, but over half (58%) want help upskilling.
• 60% of entrepreneurs wish they’d had more digital skills support at school, BT survey finds.
• BT is working with Patricia Bright, online entrepreneur and influencer, to provide small businesses with top tips for success. 
• Stacey Kehoe, Founder of Brandlective Communications, shares how digital upskilling helped her bounce back from multiple redundancies.

A quarter (28%) of small businesses in the UK are now generating more sales from social media than from any other channel, including e-commerce and bricks-and-mortar stores, according to research from BT*.

Yet, despite the widespread uptake of social media as a sales tool, one in five (21%) entrepreneurs are concerned that they lack the digital skills to help them get the best results for their business out of social platforms.

In a bid to help the UK’s smallest enterprises better leverage the business benefits of social media, BT has teamed up with business influencer and YouTube star, Patricia Bright, to offer expert guidance on how to use digital marketing, and tailor strategies to use social media in an impactful way.

The campaign also comes as BT celebrates supporting more than one million entrepreneurs through its Skills for Tomorrow programme, which provides free digital skills training, courses, resources and mentoring for any small business in the UK.

BT’s study investigated social media strategies used by more than 500 small businesses in the UK and found that Meta-owned platforms are the most important for revenue-hunting entrepreneurs. Almost a third (30%) of those asked said Facebook was the primary social media channel they use for sales generation, followed by Instagram (18%), Twitter (10%) and TikTok (9%). 

Social media is also seeing a growth in popularity compared to other marketing tools used to generate sales, with a quarter (25%) using organic/non-paid social media to increase income, and 22% using paid social media posts. These are both being used more widely than other digital tools like direct email marketing (18%) and SEO (15%), and more traditional tactics like partnerships (11%) and leafletting (11%).

Behind the times

While many entrepreneurs have turned their expertise in social media into a competitive advantage, some admit to feeling overwhelmed by changes to rules, algorithms, and consumer habits. One in five (21%) feel "behind the times", 16% feel "stressed", and others feel "anxious" and "confused" when they think about how to best use social for their business.

These feelings often come from the frequent changes to advertising rules, the complexity of paid social performance and making the most of customer data. Facebook Marketplace, TikTok and Instagram shops all help businesses reach new audiences and convert sales within social media sites, yet guidelines and algorithms vary across platforms – which is leaving many business owners feeling left in the dark.

Digital skills plea

More than half (58%) of small business owners say they would benefit from digital skills training, and even more (60%) wish this support had been offered to them while at school.

When discussing which skills they need most help with, almost a quarter (24%) would welcome support in targeting the right audience online, one in five (21%) would like a hand understanding social media and creating a brand online, while a 19% are calling for more advice on wrapping their head around cyber security – something that can have a catastrophic impact if not implemented correctly.

Teaming up with Patricia Bright 

Digital creator, Patricia Bright, knows only too well how social media can create more opportunities for business owners and supercharge growth. Having launched her own YouTube channel while studying at university, Patricia harnessed the brand-building benefits of social media and grew her following organically, using her platforms to earn revenue through partnerships. Now Patricia has 1.2 million followers on Instagram, she encourages business owners to make the most of free online courses, like those offered by BT, to equip themselves with the skills that will enable them to create better online content and use social media to attract new customers.

Patricia Bright, Entrepreneur and Influencer, said: “Digital marketing skills are now a ‘must-have’ for small business owners so that they can grow awareness and build stronger relationships with potential customers. Getting started with social media for your business might seem daunting at first but there’s now more support available to entrepreneurs than ever before. I learned first-hand that investing time to foster a strong social media following can put you in touch with new customers directly and showcase your services and products more clearly, building a powerful brand image and reputation.”

Chris Sims, Managing Director of Small and Medium Enterprise at BT, said: "Some of today’s most successful businesses were built on social media. Over three quarters (76%) of today’s business owners rely on social media platforms or an online presence to drive sales. At a time when business owners face rising costs, social channels can offer small businesses a competitive advantage: helping them reach, and engage with, new audiences – and ultimately drive sales. As well as providing the digital foundation to help them grow, our role at BT is to help the nation’s small business owners keep.”

Maria who runs a popular hair salon, Maison Style, in Southwest London, spoke about her own journey with Digital Marketing “When I first considered using digital marketing to advertise Maison Style, I didn’t know where to start. There’s just so much to cover and learn, which can be a bit overwhelming – our Instagram channel is one way in which we promote our salon, but it’s difficult to find the time to focus on finding new customers when you’re running a salon. Patricia has inspired me to get better at using social media to grow my business and use the powers of social media to find new customers.”

Stacey Kehoe, Founder of Brandlective Communications, a BT customer who has benefitted from the free digital skills courses, explains: "With so much uncertainty around the economy, it can be hard to feel like you have control over your business. However, preparing yourself through training is a great way to stay ahead, ensuring you have the necessary skills to move forwards. Get out there and learn new skills – who knows where it could take your business."

ENDS

Notes to editors

* Research conducted by Opinium of 2,000 UK Adults, including 500 people who run their own business or side hustle, between 30 December 2022 – 05 January 2023

Patricia Bright’s 5 Top Social Media Marketing Tips

1. Be yourself! Having an original and authentic tone of voice will help to naturally engage a wider audience and communicate your brand values.  
2. Ensure your content can reach across all social platforms – don’t be afraid to edit your style so it’s appropriate for different audiences. Vary tone across Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.  
3. Be receptive to community feedback – try to nurture relationships and better understand your target audience.
4. User-Generated Content is great – encourage your true fans or customers to make their own content that shares what you do. This also helps foster a greater sense of community.
5. Get organised. Schedule and put systems in place to ensure you’re posting regularly. Being consistent will help to ensure your following grows organically. 

 BT today announced it has launched a new all-in-one networking and security service backed by industry leading Fortinet technology to transform how businesses manage their connectivity across multiple sites.

The launch enables BT’s UK business and public sector customers to bring together SD-WAN, SD-Branch and security into one place, fully managed by BT’s expert team – as well as reducing cyber risk and supporting customers moving data and applications into the cloud. It is ideal for supporting digital transformation, such as businesses embracing hybrid working and providing better experiences for staff, including clearer video calling. The service is purpose-built to support retailers better meet customer demand, whether online with greater website reliability during peak trading events like Black Friday, or in person through services such as click-and-collect or technology infrastructure for pop up stores.

It’s a move that sees BT build on its existing long-term agreement with global cybersecurity leader Fortinet, expanding its managed wide and local network portfolio for businesses by building in Fortinet’s Secure SD Branch technology. 

BT’s new managed secure networking service is designed to address large-scale, complex networking requirements, and enables BT to expertly manage networks on a customer’s behalf 24 hours a day. This service also includes reporting dashboards that give security teams full visibility over their network. 

As more businesses embrace the benefits of digital working, the Government’s latest Cyber Security Breaches Survey revealed that 32% of businesses had identified a cyberattack in the previous 12 months*. BT’s expanded partnership with Fortinet will strengthen its wide-area networks and in-building connectivity, making them even more resilient as the transition towards Software-as-a-Service cloud applications continues. 

The technology allows UK-based organisations of all sizes to improve the performance of business applications, including Microsoft Teams, SAP or Salesforce. It ensures a quality user experience, even across multiple sites, while delivering the flexibility and cost benefits of a hybrid network. Customers can also connect any combination of physical and virtual devices to their network – and so extend the network to be closer to the applications and data that are important to them.

Ashish Gupta, MD Corporate and Public Sector at BT, said: “At BT, we know that complex network requirements shouldn’t mean compromising on security or flexibility. Our new collaboration with Fortinet on software-defined Branch networks shows that you can combine both – enabling reliable, secure connectivity within and across multiple sites, all safely managed by BT. We’re already seeing strong interest from customers with a number of contracts won and being deployed. 

“Fortinet continues to be a key cybersecurity partner, providing secure, flexible and highly reliable services which enable our customers to deliver brilliant outcomes."

Paul Anderson, Vice-President UK & Ireland at Fortinet, added: “We’ve been working with BT for over a decade and as a highly accredited Expert level Fortinet partner, we are delighted that BT is providing solutions which combine our award-winning integrated branch technology with their award-winning managed network and security services expertise.

“In a post-pandemic world with relentless pressures on workforces, budgets and an increasingly complex threat landscape, customers are looking for help to evolve their organisations securely and address rapidly changing business challenges. By choosing BT and Fortinet, they can be reassured that they are in safe hands on all fronts.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

* Statistics from the Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2023 Cyber security breaches survey 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

BT Group today announces the launch of its virtual wards programme aimed at healthcare customers across the UK. The move is part of BT’s ambition to work together with the NHS to build smarter, safer, more efficient services for everyone.

Virtual wards give patients access to the healthcare services they need remotely, safely and conveniently, outside of a hospital setting. This follows BT research that found 74% of NHS staff agree that technology helps to deliver better quality care, while the current standard of technology at work is a source of stress for 49%*

BT’s virtual wards programme is delivered in partnership with pioneering healthcare technology companies, such as Feebris, alongside the creation of its own solutions.

From smart devices that monitor health conditions like COPD and heart disease, to AI-backed software that enables clinicians to perform virtual ward rounds, the new solutions are now available for BT’s customers in the healthcare sector.

One of BT’s new digital health partners, Feebris, will help deliver virtual ward and virtual care solutions through its virtual care platform, using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enable community healthcare professionals and patients to capture reliable health information in real time and assess the risk of conditions worsening quickly. The technology is used across care homes, community nursing and virtual wards.

Today’s launch marks an important milestone for BT in its commitment to working alongside healthcare providers to unlock the power of technology and improve health services across the UK. Its ‘clinically led, digitally enabled’ strategy sees BT work closely with the NHS and other healthcare providers from the first conversation, right through to tests and trials and rolling transformative technology out across the front line.

NHS research** has cited the benefits of virtual ward care, including a 50% reduction in re-admission rate, £1,047 in estimated savings per patient when using a virtual ward, while 94% of patients felt more confident about being able to manage their condition from home.

The new partnerships with health tech leaders like Feebris were set up by Etc., BT Group’s incubation hub, as it works to develop a portfolio of remote monitoring services to support both primary and secondary care providers.

In addition, through Etc., BT Group is developing a broader virtual ward solution, designed to enhance and accelerate the impact of these types of service for health providers. Having recently been awarded the IoT Breakthrough Award for Digital Health Innovation, the new product aims to solve some of the biggest challenges in healthcare settings, drawing on new partnerships as well as new technology to support clinicians and patients directly. It will be launched later this year.

Further extending its support in the healthcare market, BT is also forging other partnerships with leading technology companies outside of virtual wards, such as my mhealth. The my mhealth digital therapeutic platform provides personalised, evidenced-based, digital interventions for patients across four long-term conditions; asthma, COPD, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Accessible via the app or online, patients are provided with the digital tools they need to self-manage their condition effectively with confidence i.e. rehabilitation, accredited education courses, care plans, medication management and much more. Additionally, clinical teams can use the clinical dashboard to facilitate self-management, empowering patients to regain control over their condition.   

The roll-out of the new virtual wards, virtual care and digital health programme, is delivered by BT’s dedicated healthcare team, led by in-house healthcare professionals and guided by an external Clinical Advisory Board.

Professor Sultan Mahmud, BT’s Director of Healthcare, said: “With health services facing exceptional demand – as thousands of patients await discharge and pressure on clinicians grows – we are launching our virtual ward and virtual care programme at a critical time for the NHS.

“These new virtual healthcare partnerships will help deliver a better service for everyone – enabling clinicians to safely monitor patients at home or via community care, freeing up hospital beds for those who really need them, and relieving the pressure on our frontline services.”

Feebris and my mHealth are available now at BT. For more information please visit: business.bt.com/virtualward.

 ENDS

Notes to editors

*BT’s Healthcare team commissioned an independent survey of 197 staff at 136 different NHS and Integrated Care System organisations within the NHS. The survey was carried out online between the 8th - 30th November 2022.

 **NHS research:
NHS England - https://transform.england.nhs.uk/covid-19-response/technology-nhs/remote-monitoring-for-patients-with-chronic-conditions-in-the-midlands/
British Journal of Healthcare Management - https://www.magonlinelibrary.com/doi/full/10.12968/bjhc.2021.0073

BT today announced a multi-million-pound investment to bring 5G and 4G mobile edge computing services to its UK business customers in collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS).

The work combines AWS's cloud expertise with BT’s market-leading 5G and 4G infrastructure. EE’s national mobile network with AWS Wavelength will bring the power of AWS to the network edge for more business and public sector customers across the UK – opening up faster, secure and high-bandwidth connectivity on the move for use cases like policing, crowd management, healthcare and security.

The effort is part of BT’s investment in its existing mobile networks, to enable 5G-connected infrastructure as a service via AWS Wavelength. This includes switching on a new AWS Wavelength Zone in Manchester, which will service trials for eligible businesses and public sector organisations within a 100-kilometre radius (including cities such as Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield and Blackpool). BT’s ambition is to roll out AWS Wavelength to business customers across the UK more broadly in the coming years. 

AWS Wavelength embeds AWS compute and storage services within 5G and 4G networks, providing mobile edge computing infrastructure for ultra-low-latency applications. Hosting services directly at the edge of EE’s UK network reduces lag, as application traffic can reach application servers running in the AWS Wavelength Zone without leaving BT’s network. This opens up mobile edge computing infrastructure for businesses to develop, deploy, and scale mobile Internet of Things (IoT) applications over BT’s existing 5G network securely.

The collaboration aims to enable high-speed, latency-sensitive and intensive 5G connectivity for BT customers looking to benefit from high-bandwidth IoT use cases in the field. This includes autonomous vehicles, cameras for policing and other public services to help protect communities, live media production for outside broadcast, smart industrial robots, and use in community healthcare (such as in care homes to monitor for falls and accidents).

BT’s Wholesale unit has worked with AWS on the initial trials in Manchester. After the planned national rollout, the service will be available to all BT business customers in the UK – from small businesses to large enterprise and public sector organisations.

Alex Tempest, Managing Director for BT Wholesale said: “As we continue to build best-in-class 5G infrastructure for the UK, launching the AWS Wavelength service for our business and wholesale customers is a hugely important step on our journey – bringing the power of the cloud to the UK’s best network*. It’s set to unlock use cases like IoT cameras to help first responders keep communities safe: a real-life example of using tech to connect for good.

“By building cloud edge services into our 5G and 4G EE network, we can accelerate innovation across industries, and bring fast, secure data processing closer to where our customers need it most. Ultimately, we want to give businesses and public sector organisations all the power of edge computing, wherever they are.”

For more information and to enquire about customer trials please visit:  btwholesale.com/wavelength.

ENDS 

Nearly three quarters of NHS staff believe technology could help transform patient care in England, with more than 80% claiming it could attract more ’digital natives’ into the workforce, according to a new study by BT.

The research, which polled respondents at 136 different NHS and integrated care organisations within the NHS, indicates that NHS staff view technology as a key aspect of healthcare, but the intended benefits are not always felt where they are most needed.

BT is committed to working together with the NHS to build smarter, safer, more efficient services for everyone. It says the study proves the need for new technology but also notes the challenges reported by NHS staff on how health services are adopting this tech on the frontline. 77% of respondents cited lack of funding as a major hurdle, while a lack of existing skills and resources (75%) and areas with no connectivity (58%) are also issues.

The research suggests that greater communication around technology adoption will help overcome these barriers, with half agreeing that regular feedback sessions (50%), evidence of benefits (51%) and having a clear roadmap (55%) will improve technology adoption and enhance their own role. There are also strong calls for more co-creation during the development of solutions. 79% cite the benefits of PPI groups (patient, public involvement) as part of any technology design or deployment project within the NHS.

Staff are the enablers, and tech can help boost recruitment

The study shows that healthcare professionals view technology as having an important role to play in addressing one of the biggest issues facing the NHS today: staff shortages. 74% want their organisation to invest more in new technological solutions and software to help attract new staff, and 83% think it can help to attract a younger workforce from digitally native generations.

Despite recognising the benefits digital technology can bring for healthcare services, the study also shines a light on some of the challenges to progress. The current standard of technology remains a source of stress for nearly half (49%) of NHS staff. They are under considerable pressure, and staffing levels and burnout (42%) are seen as the biggest barriers (outside of funding) to digital transformation. This is followed by cultural resistance to change (37%) and workforce availability and capability (37%). 75% feel that team capacity (e.g. lack of relevant skills and / or resources) is slowing innovation.

Evolving infrastructure through collaboration

While healthcare professionals say the approach to technology adoption needs to evolve, so too does the infrastructure required to support the latest innovation. However, fully connected, interoperable systems, which enable staff to seamlessly connect to apps and solutions are seemingly a little way off.

Nearly all respondents (98%) agree that network, Wi-Fi infrastructure and mobile technology are critical to future innovations in the delivery of healthcare, but 58% suffer from building not-spots (areas that receive little or no connectivity) and 51% have to switch between devices to carry out tasks. Consequently, 59% cite difficulties implementing new technology with existing systems and almost one in four (24%) have reverted to older processes due to connectivity issues.

Professor Sultan Mahmud, BT’s Director of Healthcare, said: “It’s clear from this research that NHS staff have a real belief in technology and its potential for delivering greater healthcare for everyone. However, it’s also clear that we need to work together to evolve the approach to adoption and infrastructure. This is about making sure technology is a driver: easing staff stresses, supporting recruitment, unlocking digital transformation, and delivering better patient outcomes. The NHS needs partners that will stand alongside it shoulder-to-shoulder, and BT is proud to be on that journey.”

To support NHS Trusts with this ongoing challenge, BT has launched its Vanguard Programme. The ‘clinically led, digitally enabled’ programme sees BT partner with NHS Trusts to co-create technology that is specifically developed for the challenges healthcare providers face. The programme focuses on the needs of patients, clinical staff, administrators, or the many others who are critical to delivering care.

Dr Tim Ringrose, President, Digital Health, Royal Society of Medicine, added: “The NHS finds itself under immense pressure and it needs partners that are able to really listen and co-create solutions that have a positive impact on workloads and patient experience. We can all see the potential technology can have, but right now it’s not always deployed in the right ways. Our mission is to share healthcare learning and support innovation, and the future of our healthcare system is dependent on working with partners that have similar commitments.”.

Further data and analysis can be found in BT’s new 2023 report, ‘Mind the Gap! Delivering digitally enabled change to the NHS’.

Methodology  

BT’s Healthcare team commissioned an independent survey of 197 staff at 136 different NHS and Integrated Care System organisations within the NHS. The survey was carried out online between the 8th - 30th November 2022.

BT and Digital 3&4 (D3&4) have today announced that ITV and Channel 4’s terrestrial Freeview channels have moved to cloud-based processing, in a major step forward for the television industry.

The multi-million-pound contract between BT and D3&4 (a joint venture company established by ITV and Channel 4) has seen BT switch on start-to-finish cloud processing for regionalised TV content across all of D3&4’s Freeview channels – ready for distribution to 28 regions across the UK. The development marks a landmark move away from legacy hardware to a smart broadcast network. 

The benefits of processing digital terrestrial TV via the cloud include improving overall operational efficiency, cutting costs, lowering energy consumption, and enhancing flexibility for both production and distribution. This is the first time that cloud processing of digital terrestrial TV channels has been completed on this scale.

The project has been made possible through BT Media and Broadcast’s new smart broadcast network, Vena – which enables broadcasters to benefit from applications that sit on top of a high-grade software-defined media network. Dubbed the “future of broadcasting”, processing Freeview channels through Vena simplifies content production and distribution for the broadcast industry.

D3&4 is now using Vena to deliver digital coding and multiplexing, essentially combining multiple content streams into one before distribution regionally. This means taking content from six playout centres and distributing it to nations and regions across the UK securely and reliably, via two of BT’s resilient datacentres. In addition, BT is providing a full end-to-end, round-the-clock monitoring service from its International Media Operations Centre.

The new network also leverages Ateme’s virtualised software video processing and delivery solutions, which bring a new level of flexibility, evolving to meet future needs and offering built-in resilience. It’s a partnership that Ateme and BT will continue to strengthen.

Faisal Mahomed, Director of BT Media and Broadcast & Portfolio Businesses, said: “This launch marks a major development for the TV industry as a whole. It will offer more possibilities for broadcasters to connect and interact with their audiences. We have seen remarkable innovation and collaboration across BT, D3&4 and our partner Ateme to get to this point.

“The service, built on Vena, is only the start of what’s possible on BT’s smart broadcast network – as we continue to drive digitisation, and to innovate solutions to support TV delivery in the UK and across the globe.”

Greg Bensberg MBE, Managing Director at Digital 3&4 Limited, said: “Our partnership with BT has enabled us to take a giant leap forward in delivering Freeview TV for 18 million regular viewers across the UK. This was a challenging project that required meticulous planning and execution, and we're proud to have worked with a company that shares our passion for innovation and excellence. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with BT and driving the future of broadcasting in the UK.”

ENDS

Cruyff once said: “Quality without results is pointless. Results without quality is boring.” It’s a lesson I’ve applied to business.

BT prides itself on the excellence of its managed services. We work with partners such as Microsoft to offer services that not only deliver the results customers expect but give quality experiences to ensure they are well used and easily adopted across their organisation.  

Around 18 months ago, we renewed and deepened our strategic partnership with Microsoft. Together, we committed to ensuring Microsoft solutions work “best on BT” delivering both quality and results. Here’s an update on our successes so far:

• Innovation

We’re innovating not only in the development of products and services, but in a digital experience. We have a digital quotation journey for Operator Connect and five solutions now available on Microsoft’s commercial Marketplace. On AppSource, we have: Operator Connect for Microsoft Teams with BT; Microsoft Teams Voice with BT; BT Virtual Events for Microsoft Teams Live Events.

And on Azure Marketplace we have: Managed Microsoft Sentinel and Extended Detection and Response (XDR) with BT; and 5G Private Network with Microsoft Azure Multi Edge Computing (MEC).

• Enterprise voice

We said we were migrating our Global Managed Voice platform to run on Microsoft Azure as part of Microsoft’s Azure for Operators programme. This is now live.

We’re offering our Global Managed Voice services directly through Microsoft Teams. And we’ll be launching Microsoft Teams Phone Mobile too.

• Cyber security

We’ve expanded our security portfolio from Managed Sentinel (Cloud SIEM) to include Microsoft Defender and XDR.  We've enabled Microsoft Sentinel onto the UK Government G-Cloud framework for Public Sector. We’re seeing an increasing number of customers buying Microsoft security plus other Microsoft services from BT in a true multi-cloud approach. 

• Industry-focused services

We’re working with Microsoft to develop a new private 5G and edge technology service designed to unlock safety, sustainability, productivity and security for a range of UK industries, from transport and logistics to manufacturing. It will bring together private mobile networks from BT with Microsoft’s Azure private multi-edge computing, which includes Azure Private 5G Core, cloud-managed edge computing and an ecosystem of application partners in robotics, video analytics and IoT.

• Consumer

Over in our Consumer division across both our EE and BT brands, we’ve been highly successful in integrating Microsoft services into a variety of our tariffs and plans. We were the first partner globally to offer M365 as an integrated solution and the integration of Game Pass Ultimate has made us the go-to fixed and mobile network for Xbox and gaming in the UK.

When I last met Omar Abbosh, president of Industry Solutions at Microsoft, he said the world is still at an early stage in its digital journey. “Partnerships are key to progress. Our Microsoft-BT partnership is built on a culture of teamwork, innovation and co-creation. By delivering high-quality digital services to end-users, we motivate customers to adopt digital technology to drive market impact and results,” he said.  

You can find out more about our Group-wide partnership with Microsoft at Mobile World Congress. We’ll have a pod on Microsoft’s stand (Hall 3, Booth #3H30) where you’ll be able to see what we’ve been delivering. This will also feature EE’s successful integration of Microsoft capabilities into market-leading services for XBox, Game Pass Ultimate and Microsoft 365. 

At BT, we aim to be the world’s most trusted connector of people, devices and machines. To earn trust, we must deliver repeatable, predictable results for our innovative managed services. As Cruyff said: “Winning is just one day, a reputation can last a lifetime.”

BT today switched on its IoT National Roaming SIMs for businesses across the UK, allowing them to keep smart devices connected wherever they are.

IoT national roaming SIMs allow smart devices to connect to mobile networks ensuring they stay connected while on the move or in remote locations. BT’s IoT national roaming SIMs will connect devices to the UK’s best and largest network, EE, meaning data is quickly and reliably relayed where it’s needed most. As well as a primary connection to EE, part of BT Group, the SIM can connect to multiple other major UK networks, helping to keep smart devices online.

The rollout of BT’s new service is set to benefit courier and delivery companies in particular by giving them reliable, fast network access no matter where they are - whether in cities, rural areas, or by the coast. Just last week EE announced the arrival of 5G to over 500 new, predominantly rural locations, bringing the total number of UK cities, towns and villages where customers can access the service to over 1,000. At the same time, EE’s leading 4G network coverage is on track to reach 90% of the UK’s geographic landmass by the mid-2020s.

The new IoT service will help end users such as drivers and delivery workers improve accuracy and efficiency by giving them access to important information in real-time. An example of this would be providing visibility of fuel efficiency, changes to a delivery schedule and cold chain management so temperatures can be constantly monitored on a refrigerated vehicle.

IoT national roaming ensures that devices can continue performing to a high standard even in the harshest remote conditions thanks to the enterprise-grade IoT sims, offering reliable, fast connectivity. BT is also offering the product at the same competitive price as its existing pay-as-you-use IoT SIM service, meaning businesses only pay for the data they use rather than risking underutilising data on a fixed rate.

Marc Overton, Managing Director, Division X at BT, said: “Businesses across the UK are increasingly understanding the benefits of using IoT devices in running their operations. And now, with the unveiling of our IoT national roaming SIMs, we're making sure those connections stay strong no matter where business takes you. Whether in the heart of a bustling city or out in the countryside, our solution ensures data is transmitted quickly and reliably. We're excited to help both our existing and new customers fully harness the power of their smart devices with lightning-fast mobile connectivity.”

In addition to the improved connectivity, BT's IoT national roaming service will offer a secure management portal with full security measures to protect important data and help businesses keep track of all their smart devices. The added security helps to ensure the safe and efficient use of devices, allowing companies to focus on their core operations without worrying about data breaches or device mismanagement.

The launch of BT’s IoT offering is poised to shake up the B2B IoT market thanks to its connectivity capabilities, powered by the UK's largest and most reliable network, EE. The added benefit of being able to switch to other operator networks, when necessary, also offers greater simplicity for businesses with many currently negotiating separate deals with mobile network operators depending on where they have operations in the country.

To find out more about how you can utilise BT’s IoT national roaming SIMs, please visit here.

ENDS

Notes to editors

*EE is the UK’s best network as shown by RootMetrics, offering the best coverage, fastest speeds and most reliable connection – as well as 5G in more cities than any other network

*The IoT National Roaming SIM can operate via 2G, 3G (EE’s 3G network will be retired in early 2024), 4G, 5G as well as LPWAN

Research unveiled by BT Business today demonstrates the UK’s entrepreneurial spirit stands strong in 2023, with more than four in ten (44%) of the workforce revealing that they would like to start a business or side hustle in 2023. And with technology and improved connectivity making things easier than ever, almost one in three (30%) UK workers are looking to start up online. 

The survey found that almost three quarters (73%) of those already running a business or side hustle feel they couldn’t do so without reliable broadband and mobile connectivity. Mobile phones are now rated the number one device for managing a business – with 59% choosing their phone as the top tech tool to run their operations – outstripping laptops and desktop computers*.

The research uncovered the critical importance of reliable connectivity for today’s small businesses, as 41% of entrepreneurs now run their business solely online, with no in-person presence. The study also highlighted the economic benefits of being a digital entrepreneur, finding that social media, their own website and e-commerce platforms are all now more important than bricks-and-mortar locations for driving sales**.

The new data from BT Business highlighted that the cost-of-living crisis is driving UK-based entrepreneurs to take the plunge – with making extra cash the top motivation for those who have already started a business (28% of respondents agreed).

Flexibility is another motivator for current entrepreneurs, with breaking free from the “traditional 9 to 5” (26%) and being able to work from anywhere in the world (22%) cited as other top reasons for having launched a business in the digital age.

Choosing when and where they work is also key for those in the UK workforce still thinking about starting their own business this year. 38% say that the benefit of launching their own online business or side hustle would be fitting it around other priorities, such as family. 34% would like to do it around their current day job, and the same proportion (34%) are drawn to being able to run their business from anywhere in the world.

 Improvements in connectivity have helped to spread the economic benefit of digital entrepreneurship across the UK, with over two thirds (69%) of those surveyed saying technology has empowered them to run their businesses in more rural areas of the country, away from cities.

Social media in particular is playing an important role. Almost a third (30%) of entrepreneurs feel excited about the role that social media plays in running their business. While over three quarters (76%) of today’s business owners rely on social media platforms or an online presence to drive sales.

However, as with all fast-paced advancements, many can be left feeling lost and confused – highlighting the importance of digital skills for today’s “techpreneurs”. The survey data highlighted a proportion of business owners do not feel positive about the role of social media. A fifth (20%) feel “behind the times”, 16% feel “stressed”, and others are feeling “anxious” and “confused”.

“From side hustles at the kitchen table to start-ups and scale-ups, at BT Business we recognise that reliable and fast connectivity is the backbone of small and medium businesses up and down the UK,” explains Chris Sims, Managing Director – Small and Medium Enterprise, BT.

“As digital entrepreneurialism goes from strength to strength, our networks are processing more data than ever. That’s why we’re committed to providing the very best broadband availability, speeds, and mobile connectivity for all of our customers – and investing in upskilling more small businesses to help them unlock their digital earning potential.”

Mobile data usage amongst BT business customers has grown 16% year-on-year in the last three years. The network reported its highest volume of data processed ever on Boxing Day 2022.

As the reliance on digital tools grows, the BT Business team investigated how prepared entrepreneurs feel when it comes to using tech to boost their business. Of those surveyed, 76% expressed a desire to improve their digital skills. Out of this group, 24% want to focus on targeting the right audience online, 21% want to improve their understanding of social media, and another 19% want to strengthen their cyber security skills.

Business owners also recognise the positive impact these improved digital skills can have on their profits – with 35% agreeing it will help them boost sales and reach new audiences. Other benefits cited include saving money (26%) and time (25%).

To help bridge the gap, and support small business owners in improving their digital skills, BT offers a range of courses specifically targeted to work life as part of its Digital Skills initiative. These courses are free to access, and cover a wide variety of topics including digital marketing and social media, helping to address the challenges faced by entrepreneurs navigating the modern SME landscape.

To date, more than 750,000 businesses have benefited from digital skills training support from BT – against a wider backdrop of 5.47 million small businesses across the UK, contributing £2.1 trillion to the economy***.

Stacey Kehoe, founder of Brandlective Communications, is a BT Business customer who has benefitted from the free digital skills courses. She explains: “With so much uncertainty around the economy, it can be hard to feel like you have control over your business. However, preparing yourself through training is a great way to stay ahead, ensuring you have the necessary skills to move forwards. Get out there and learn new skills, who knows where it could take your business.” 

ENDS

Research conducted by Opinium of 2,000 UK Adults, including 500 people who run their own business or side hustle, between 30 December 2022 – 05 January 2023

*The devices most used by Brits to manage their businesses are phones (59%) and laptops (53%).

**Websites are the channel which sees the most sales for those with a business or side hustle (30%), closely followed by social media (28%). Ecommerce marketplaces (18%) and bricks and mortar locations (16%) are also key for generating income.

*** National small business data taken from: ‘BUSINESS POPULATION ESTIMATES FOR THE UK AND THE REGIONS 2022’, Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, October 2022

BT has unveiled Leeds as one of the first cities to trial new technology known as C-RAN, which in the future could be installed as individual street works or fitted in existing street-furniture, such as lampposts or CCTV, to deliver a 5G signal.

C-RAN uses cloud computing technology to support 5G connectivity, meaning it can be fitted into a range of different units.

The pilot scheme led by BT Wholesale, part of the company’s Enterprise unit, will enhance coverage and connectivity for those visiting, working or living in Leeds and serve as a proof of concept for future developments.

The project has seen the first units installed at key locations in Leeds city centre and will allow BT to track how the infrastructure improves access in the area. The infrastructure is currently being used by the EE and Three networks for the trial.

C-RAN technology uses specialist software which has the potential to be used in smaller, more compact units including existing street furniture.  

Alex Tempest, Managing Director, BT Wholesale, said: “The introduction of this new technology highlights BT’s commitment to delivering innovative solutions that benefit residents, businesses, and visitors, whilst also supporting economic growth across Leeds and the wider UK.

“This trial represents another step in transforming connectivity for the future and will help us better understand how 5G can best be delivered to meet the demands of the country.”

As well as enabling local customers to access faster, more reliable speeds on their mobile devices, introducing improved 5G connectivity can in the long-term be used to provide a platform for the city to access other community and business developments.

This could include the creation of virtual classrooms, air quality and pollution monitoring, and improved support for assisted living. 

• Leveraging the full scale and capabilities of BT Group to develop and deliver market-leading products and services for all our B2B customers, including next generation connectivity and unified communications, multi-cloud networking, and advanced security solutions.
• Creating a single interface to BT Group for our corporate customers and public sector institutions, combining our vertical sectoral expertise and capabilities, and removing the current duplication between Enterprise and Global.
• Driving significant and rapid gross annualised cost savings of at least £100m by the end of FY25 through consolidation and rationalisation of management teams, support functions, product portfolios and systems.

BT Business will be led by Bas Burger the current CEO of BT’s Global unit. Bas joined BT Group in 2008 and prior to the Global role was responsible for BT Americas. Before joining BT Group, Bas was executive president and a member of the management committee of Getronics NV, where he ran global sales, channels and partnerships, developing the company’s international business. He was also CEO and managing director of KPN Entercom Solutions.

This will create a simpler BT Group with three Customer Facing Units: Consumer supporting UK consumers; BT Business supporting business and public sector customers; and Openreach delivering UK nationwide fixed access infrastructure.

BT Business will create a B2B focused telecoms and technology business which in FY22 generated pro-forma revenues of approximately £8.5 billion and EBITDA of over £2 billion.

The formation of BT Business is expected to deliver at least £100m of gross annualised savings by the end of FY25. These will contribute to BT Group’s previously announced target to deliver £3bn in gross annualised savings across the same timeframe. 

BT Business will continue to invest in the skills, technology and partnerships required to achieve its ambition of returning to growth and become the leading provider of secure multi-cloud connectivity. 

Bas will lead the new unit from 1st January 2023 and it will commence reporting as a single unit from 1st April 2023. 

The CEO of BT Enterprise, Rob Shuter, will support Bas with the integration over the next few months and will then be leaving BT to step down from executive life and spend more time with family and on his personal interests. 

Philip Jansen commented: 

“Throughout the past two very challenging years, Bas and Rob have provided outstanding leadership. Covid accelerated a shift in the market as people and businesses changed the way they worked, whilst macro-economic factors have disrupted supply chains and put pressure on businesses and the public sector globally. Despite this, we’ve made progress and our customer satisfaction scores have improved, in some cases to an all time high. I am grateful to Bas and Rob for laying the foundations that enable us to take this next step in BT Group’s transformation.” 

“Bas and the Global and Enterprise teams will now work out the details of the integration over the next few months. I would like to reiterate my thanks to Rob for his contribution to BT over the last two years and wish him well for the future.”

_{¹ Small and Medium Enterprises  
² Small Office/Home Office}

BT today announces phase two of its Green Tech Innovation Platform (TIP), to fast-track cutting-edge new digital solutions to help manufacturers cut their carbon emissions and progress towards a circular world.

Following the initial scouting phase supported by Plug and Play, the second phase sees  rising stars of the start-up world RIIICO, Sensorfact and Circularise joining the platform. In partnership with BT and the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), they will begin proof of concept (PoC) activities to prove their impact for UK manufacturers.

A joint report by BT and Accenture has forecast that tech, including 5G, can help reduce carbon emissions from the manufacturing sector by 13% by 2030 (the equivalent of 1.3 Gt CO2e). The three start-ups have been selected to solve some of the sustainability challenges with the biggest impact on the carbon-intensive manufacturing sector, applying digital solutions to:

• Redesign legacy manufacturing processes with a sustainability lens
• Deliver energy efficiency on the shop floor
• Drive circularity and transparency in supply chains

The chosen start-ups will help develop solutions based on their expertise in the following technologies:

• RIIICO helps manufacturers create resilient and transparent digital factory designs; ensuring they’re prepared for the future. It does this by using a combination of 3D scanning to inform Digital Twins (digital versions of physical environments) augmented by artificial intelligence (AI) to enable people and computers to remodel and enhance that environment. This approach reduces modelling time by 95% and is also reducing data maintenance costs by 25%.
• Sensorfact work with small manufacturers to reduce their energy bill and carbon footprint by eliminating energy waste in a smart and easy way through sensors. Sensorfact have already helped over 1,000 manufacturing companies across north-western Europe save an average of 5-10% on their electricity bill.
• Circularise  helps suppliers to trace materials, share sensitive data without risking privacy, and automate mass reporting using blockchain software. This helps businesses and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to get visibility into their own Scope 3 emissions, preparing them for upcoming supply chain sustainability regulations, and enabling a circular economy at scale.

David Wrout, Principal – Digital Supply Chain, Enterprise Digital Solutions at BT, said: “We have set a target to help customers avoid 60million tonnes of CO2e by 2030 through our products and services, and Green TIP phase two allows us to do this. By using the power of digital, we can drive sustainability impact throughout the value chain and help our customers with the transition to net zero. We are really excited about the opportunities we can explore with the three innovative start-ups we’ve selected in phase two for our manufacturing customers.”

Alejandra Matamoros, Technology Manager at Manufacturing Technology Centre adds: “The MTC is pleased to be working with BT on the Green TIP to support manufacturers in trialling the selected technologies, proving their potential to help them reach their sustainability targets and show other businesses alike how to make progress towards a greener manufacturing industry”.

The next phase of Green TIP sees BT, MTC and the three start-ups collaborating on PoCs to see how different solutions and applications can support the UK based manufacturing sector. Manufacturing companies interested in taking part should complete an online form here stating which solution they’d like to hear more about and why. 

About BT Group’s climate commitment

BT Group has led on climate action for 30 years and was one of the first companies in the world to adopt science-based targets, directly linking its own goals to the overall level of reductions in emissions needed to limit the most harmful impacts of the climate crisis.

As part of the transition to a low carbon business model, BT Group uses 100% renewable electricity worldwide and aims to transition its commercial fleet to electric or zero-emission vehicles by 2030. Since 2016/17, BT Group has reduced the carbon emissions intensity of its operations by 55% and has reduced carbon emissions by 28% in its supply chain over the same timeframe.

In 2021, BT Group accelerated its climate commitments and pledged to be net zero by March 2031 for its operational emissions and March 2041 for its supply chain and customer emissions. The target is part of BT Group's mission to build a bright, sustainable future through technology which is responsible, inclusive, and sustainable.

For more information please visit: Sustainable - Responsible business | BT Plc

Street Hubs offer a range of benefits including free ultra-fast WiFI, free emergency calls and rapid device charging.

They also provide wayfinding information for tourists and have the capacity to be fitted with signal boosting 4G and 5G cells.

The first Street Hubs were switched on  today at the sites in Arundel Gate, Brook Hill, Wicker and Bradfield Road, and form part of BT’s rollout of even better mobile and WiFi connections for communities across the UK.

As part of the initiative, BT will also be gifting free advertising to small businesses as they face increased costs during the current economic situation.

The company is donating up to £7.5 million of outdoor advertising space to small businesses across the UK as part of the rollout of the new digital units.

Michael Smy, Head of Street at BT, said: “Street Hubs bring improved and enhanced digital infrastructure and ensure that we are providing communities with the facilities that are fit for the future.

“As one of the biggest cities in the UK, Sheffield is the ideal location for these units which will benefit those living, working and visiting the city. 

“Gifting free advertising to small businesses in the area also means we are able to play our part in supporting the city’s economy.”

One of the first businesses in the city to benefit from the free advertising space will be Harrison Cameras, based in London Road. The organisation won a competition to land the free advertising space which will be on display on hubs across the city.

Darren O’Brien of Harrison Cameras said: "We are a photographic retailer and our store has been a fixture on London Road for 50 years.

“We have become an important part of the community over that time and through support, sponsorships and charitable endeavours we aim to give back as much as we can.

“Winning this competition will give us a wonderful opportunity to re-engage with that community and reach a new generation of customers after a difficult couple of years."

BT is rolling out the Street Hub units across a range of major cities in the UK with Sheffield joining places like Birmingham, Nottingham, and Glasgow.

Earlier this year BT Group also announced plans to open a flagship new office in the city for up to 1,000 colleagues. The organisation is expected to take up residence at the landmark Endeavour building, based at Sheffield Digital Campus, by the end of 2023.

Two technology trends have emerged — the move to hybrid working and the relentless shift of business applications and services to the cloud, both of which fall under the umbrella of digital transformation.

For many businesses and employees, collaboration platforms such as Webex have been the face of their company’s digital transformation. Adoption of the technology has grown sharply since 2020 and is revolutionising not only ways of working but what’s considered to be a workplace. 

With offices re-opened, businesses and employees are presented with a new question: do we want to “return” to pre-pandemic ways of working or do we invest and push ahead with digital transformation and put those platforms onto a firmer technological footing?

Cloud-enabled collaboration is fundamental to sustaining productivity. But so too is the need for consistency across the business. This means giving everyone, everywhere, at any time — and on any device — full access to the apps and services they need to collaborate effectively and securely. It involves investing in platforms and connectivity to support all workplaces, whether on-site or remote. 

It’s with these drivers in mind that we have expanded our broad collaboration portfolio with the full power of Webex. We’ve enriched our existing Webex Meetings offering to include the new Webex Events, Webinar and polling capabilities. And this year we launched Webex Calling and Webex Contact Centre for both UK and international customers, providing them with scalable, unified cloud-based platforms.

Our Webex Calling and Webex Contact Centre solutions leverage the reach of our voice network and the comprehensive support of our managed service to provide feature rich, scalable cloud-based voice and contact centre offerings. Moving voice to the cloud gives organisations the flexibility to enable true hybrid working for their people, whilst eliminating the cost and complexity of legacy infrastructure.

Brian Stout, vice president of global collaboration sales, Cisco, commented: “These launches form the latest chapter of our three-decade long partnership with BT. BT’s new portfolio of Webex services give our joint customers everything they need to collaborate. Together we can now provide customers with a range of scalable enterprise-grade managed cloud collaboration and customer experience services, which have been purpose-built for hybrid work.”

As businesses try to find a balance between ‘everyone and everything from home’ and ‘everyone back in the office’, in true Goldilocks fashion, the middle path feels ‘just right’. Hybrid working is here to stay.    

At the heart of our strategy is to be a better, more modern BT and we are on a charge to evolve from traditional telco to a technology company, while also enabling businesses and the public sector to make the same leap.

And that’s what is front and centre for us in Division X – to be the best digital transformation partner, helping our business and public sector customers take advantage of a digitally enabled future. That includes delivering quantifiable business outcomes for customers, and leading end-point solutions to improve productivity, optimise operations and drive cost savings, such as asset tracking, predictive maintenance, connected sensors, real-time data processing, automation, and robotics.

Managing these transformations is increasingly complex, and sometimes quite niche, and so the need to ‘collaborate to innovate’ has never been greater.

But choosing the right partners is critical. You must look for complementary skills and assets that add value. It’s not simply a question of working well together, you have to collectively drive better business outcomes than any one of you could achieve alone.

So, for us to be the best for our customers, we need to have the best-in-class partnerships to meet, deliver and exceed their expectations. 

And it’s something we are taking seriously at BT. We already have world class research and development functions and rich network experience and are actively engaged with many businesses today who are grappling with making the shift to a digital future. An example of this is reflected in our work with Belfast Harbour and the Port of Tyne, where we are deploying private 5G networks to help them revolutionise their processes, track assets, and understand how sustainable and productive their operations can be. Also, our partnership with Hyperbat in developing the world’s first 5G Virtual Reality Digital Twin solution is helping to accelerate the manufacturing process for electric vehicle batteries; and our innovative 5G trial with the BBC at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham this summer also demonstrated the potential for a portable 5G network to transform broadcasting for live events.

None of the above would have been possible without the support of multiple partners, and so we made the decision earlier this year, as part of our BT Means Business Enterprise Customer Charter to create a more structured partnership engagement that would allow us to accelerate our ambitions and co-innovate in a more coordinated way.

Over the past number of months we have been talking to partners about the form this engagement should take and I’m delighted that this month, we launched our Partner Advisory Board (PAB), with the first wave of many partners joining the new collaboration.

The purpose of the PAB is for industry leading companies of all sizes to come together to discuss and share insights and best practices, to examine innovative propositions, and to debate potential solutions to current and future challenges that business leaders are encountering.

We held our first meeting this week where I was joined by Katherine Ainley (CEO UK & Ireland, Ericsson), Clay Van Doren (CEO Northern and Central Europe, Atos), Mike Grogan (Director Media & Communications Industry, Microsoft) and Warren Tucker (Partner and Head of Cloud & Digital, PwC) to set out the future roadmap.

Our aim as a group is to team up and accelerate the co-creation of digital solutions alongside our customers. This ranges from health, to logistics, transport and manufacturing.

BT has already launched a number of propositions in partnership with the founding members of the Board:

• Our Digital Vision partnership with Atos to provide customers with a powerful AI-based analytics tool to extract value from their digital images and videos,
• Our strategic alliance agreement with Microsoft to accelerate innovation across enterprise voice, cyber security and industry-focused services in sectors from digital manufacturing to health, setting businesses in the UK and around the world back to growth
• The first commercial 5G Private Network ‘off the shelf’ product with Ericsson offering the next generation mobile network technology products to businesses and organisations to enable new innovative applications and IoT capabilities.

And our partnership with PwC to inject deep industry insights – with an initial focus on transport and logistics and healthcare – together with cloud and digital transformation expertise to help organisations solve important problems such as productivity, asset tracking and sustainability.

But it’s not just about the UK’s large businesses and titans of the industry. Going forward, we’ll also champion the growth of UK tech start-ups and scale ups through this process, working with ETC, BT’s Digital Incubator team, to identify and nurture the best tech companies. Our ambition is to help increase digital technology adoption across multiple sectors and improve and increase the number of solutions we can offer to customers.

Over the coming months we plan to welcome even more business partners to the PAB. We’re looking forward to the exciting joint value this can bring, and, in turn, the opportunity we have to build and sustain partners of choice for our 5G, IoT, AI, infrastructure, security and future solutions.

At BT our purpose is to connect for good, and to do so in a way that is inclusive, responsible, and sustainable - our new Partner Advisory Board is no better example of this in action.

BT has officially opened a brand new state-of-the-art cyber Security Operations Centre (SOC) in its flagship Riverside Tower building in Belfast.

With the scale and complexity of cyber attacks constantly increasing, organisations of all types are looking to ensure they have the right protections in place. The SOC will leverage BT’s global security expertise and leading cyber technologies to defend public and private sector bodies against the latest threats.

The significant investment by BT into the 40 seat centre of excellence, follows the award of a £6.3 million contract from the Department of Finance for the provision of a Security Information Event Management (SIEM) and SOC managed services. The SOC will provide 24/7 management 365 days a year for ICT assets across the Northern Ireland Civil Service.

The new specialist centre, which is the first of its kind in Northern Ireland, is designed to support growth in the company’s UK customer base providing up to the highest levels of security classification. The SOC in Riverside Tower forms part of a wider multi-million pound investment by BT in the building. Currently all 11 floors are undergoing significant refurbishment to create a fantastic future-fit workplace for approximately 1800 colleagues, with the final floors being complete in early 2023.

Paul Murnaghan, Regional Director for BT’s Enterprise business in Northern Ireland, said: “Each day, millions of people around the world rely on BT’s expertise in cyber security to ensure they can go about their lives and run their businesses safely.

“Our investment in the opening of BT’s Security Operations Centre in Belfast is significant and we look forward to working with the Northern Ireland Civil Service in this partnership to deliver the most effective cyber support for the public sector here.

“Using a wealth of talent from local cyber experts, the SOC will help to tackle the unprecedented challenges of sophisticated cyber threats. As an increasing number of public services are delivered online, our partnership with central government will help to ensure that the public can trust the services that they access and that the data they provide is secure and protected.”

Paul Duffy, Director of Enterprise Shared Services added: “Protecting the cyber security of government IT and infrastructure is vital. The service provided by BT plays an important role in gathering intelligence on cyber threats and enables the Civil Service to enhance its capacity to help defend and protect our IT systems and essential public services we deliver.”

BT operates an international network of SOCs. They include more than 3,000 cyber security professionals, who use their expertise to watch, learn, predict and respond to the latest cyber threats for a range of both public and private sector clients across the globe.

-Ends-

A pilot scheme launched by BT and Home Group, has seen the apartments of 12 residents at Scarborough’s Webb Ellis Court site, equipped with a range of smart sensors providing data on activities to provide improved safety support. 

Webb Ellis Court is a community wellbeing scheme specifically designed to maximise independence for people over the age of 55. 

Residents who volunteered to take part in the trial have given their consent for specialists to fit the sensors in their homes, which allow staff on site to better tailor the support they are offered. 

The sensors are linked to electrical appliances like TVs, kettles and fridges using smart plugs, as well as fitted to key access points across homes including doors.

The technology is supporting residents’ safety by logging each time equipment is used, or when parts of the home have been accessed - allowing unusual patterns to be noticed by on site staff in real-time.

Data is used to help map the routines of residents and automatically identify changes which could indicate illness or injury and allow for carers to make early interventions to allow residents to live more comfortably and remain independent for longer.  

Devices forming part of the suite include motion sensors, smart plugs and door sensors. The system will link to a specialised app to display the data directly to authorised carers or loved ones. 

The developments could ease pressure on key services like the NHS by allowing residents to live independently for longer, providing medical support before health issues escalate and reducing hospital admissions.

Webb Ellis Court customer, Joe Bracchi, said: “This is a really interesting pilot, and I’m looking forward to the assistance it can offer.

“It’s strange that I won’t see it working as it’s not something you can watch, but I know it is there working for me. It will be reassuring that it can monitor my activity, or lack of it, and offer support if I need it. 

“I take real comfort knowing that if I strayed from my routine staff on site would know and could support me if needed.”

Professor Sultan Mahmud, Healthcare Director for BT’s Enterprise unit, said: “Technology has the power to make independent living easier for people, whilst also allowing loved ones to know their nearest and dearest are safe.

“This trial allows us to demonstrate just how much impact some small interventions can make on the lives of those living in supported accommodation, and the potential reductions in the costs of care and the pressure on the NHS.

“Technology has already transformed the way we live our lives and the deployment of new technology like this can help take how we care for people to the next level.”

The technology trial is running for six months with the aim of identifying how proactive interventions can cut risk and improve comfort for those living in supported accommodation.

The trial with Home Group is closely linked to BT’s development of Connected Health solutions - a key commitment outlined in its Charter for customers, including health and social care organisations, and designed to lead to more positive outcomes for both patients and staff working in the industry.

25th October 2022 – BT has today announced Just Eat and Checkatrade as the latest businesses to join its partnership network, aimed at helping the UK’s smallest and fledgling firms grow.

Specifically designed for micro-businesses with up to five employees, BT’s partnership network delivers perks to customers across broadband, mobile, connected devices, and digital marketing, plus other forms of support aimed at helping businesses grow.

BT has partnered with Just Eat to provide high-speed business Wi-Fi and access to a 4G network, designed to suit every restaurant’s business needs. The Checkatrade partnership focuses on business mobile plans, tailored to help businesses operate on the move. While the offers will change regularly, initially they include:

Just Eat

• Just Eat’s partners can enjoy unique deals with plans providing game changing speed options of up to 900Mbps with no set up fees.
• Halo for Business, recommended for Just Eat’s partners, includes BT’s Hybrid back up ‘always connected guarantee’ which switches broadband to 4G if there’s a problem, keeping Just Eat restaurants running smoothly.
• Businesses can enjoy savings of up to £115.95 on broadband¹, all plans are complete with guest WiFi and access to 24/7 enhanced IT support as standard.
• Just Eat’s partners can make and take landline calls on the go from a business number, allowing restaurants to stay connected to their customers from anywhere.
• Partners can also get discounts on mobile business plans.

Checkatrade

• Checkatrade members can get discounts on mobile business plans, complete with uncapped speeds across all mobile business plans, plus benefits such as roaming abroad and easy to claim VAT through invoicing direct to your business.
• Checkatrade members will have access to EE’s range of exclusive Smart Benefits to boost their business. EE’s Roam Abroad Smart Benefit lets members use their EE plan in Europe and more destinations like the US and Australia with no extra charges.
• Other benefits include Apple Music, Video Data Pass, BT Sport Ultimate, Microsoft 365 Personal or 500 international minutes to call Europe and Business Zone countries from the UK.

In addition to the offers announced today, Barclaycard business customers can also claim cashback when they use their card to pay for BT and EE products, as part of a joint commitment to give the UK’s smallest firms the benefits and boosts they need to grow.

Caroline Southall, Director of SoHo (Small office/Home office) at BT said: “As businesses look to navigate the cost-of-living crisis, we are delighted to announce the addition of Just Eat and Checkatrade to our partnership network. Both these companies share our passion for supporting the smallest businesses in the UK to grow, which is why we have partnered with them to give broadband, mobile and connected devices to the enterprises that need them the most.”

Mark Finch, UK Director of Account Management at Just Eat, said: “With an increasingly tough economic climate, it’s important for us that we continue to do what we can to support small businesses. At Just Eat, we’re committed to adding value to our partners’ businesses, so we are delighted to be partnering with BT to provide a variety of deals and discounts to restaurants and grocers using our platform across the UK.”

Andy Harper, Chief Growth Officer at Checkatrade, said: “We’re pleased to provide this benefit from BT to our Checkatrade members. Phone and broadband connectivity are so important, and we know this partnership will make staying connected even easier for tradespeople and their customers.”

The launch of the new partnership network forms part of BT’s recently announced Enterprise Customer Charter. The new Charter is made up of a range of new initiatives from BT aimed at boosting the growth of UK businesses and the public sector and includes a pledge around delivering standout customer experiences.

To find out more about BT’s partnership offers with Just Eat and Checkatrade, contact the BT Sales Team on 0800 012 1245.

-          Ends    -

¹ Savings calculation uses standard prices on 1 September 2022. Savings may vary depending on which broadband package the customer chooses. Standard prices may vary. Prices exclude VAT of 20%. 

Combining the latest devices with the UK’s best mobile network and an array of new digital tools, EE’s new Connected Laptop for small businesses product is packed with features to help firms which are just starting out or which are looking to grow.

Available now, EE’s Connected Laptop for small businesses combines the best of both EE and BT’s industry leading products and services and includes the following in one easy-to-use, great value package:

• Extensive choice of laptops from Samsung, Lenovo and Acer, complete with a built-in 4G/5G SIM and flexible mobile data plan to keep small firms connected when on-the-go.
• A choice of Smart Benefits for work and play. Customers can choose from one additional Smart Benefit when taking a Business Smart plan, such as access to the Microsoft Office 365 business collaboration tool; entertainment benefits like Apple Music and BT Sport; or EE’s Roam Abroad Pass.
• Free Digital Marketing Hub campaign for first time customers – an exclusive offer on the new all-in-one advertising platform which gives small firms all the tools and support they need to reach potential new customers.¹
• A free Square digital payment reader – a simple and affordable way for small firms to accept contactless payments, with the first £1000 worth of card transactions provided free from fees.²

Caroline Southall, Director of SoHo (Small office/Home office) said: “EE Connected Laptop combines the best of EE and BT – the UK’s fastest and most reliable mobile network, the best business devices, new digital tools, and entertainment services.

“It’s the latest example of how we’re going the extra mile for sole traders and micro-businesses, by constantly innovating to launch new feature-rich products which are great value, easy to use and save our customers’ time.

“The last few years have shown us that people can work from anywhere. This neat package gives the UK’s smallest firms the speed, reliability, and flexibility they need to get up and running fast, wherever their location. What’s more, they can boost their sales and reach by gaining access to smart business tools like digital marketing and contactless payments.”

EE’s Connected Laptop range offers small businesses a device for any budget and includes the Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro 5G which is available from £42 per month, available on 24 month and 36 month plans.

Customers also benefit from a Stay Connected Guarantee, Next Day Device Replacement and an Annual Device MOT – all underpinned by access to the UK’s most reliable mobile network.

The launch of EE’s new range of Connected Laptop’s for small businesses sees BT’s Enterprise business follow through on the latest commitment contained within its recently launched Enterprise Customer Charter. This is a new set of initiatives aimed at boosting the growth of UK businesses and public sector bodies, with the company committing to pioneering a new suite of smart business tools for small firms. These will combine the best of both BT and EE’s industry leading capabilities to help the UK’s smallest businesses thrive and free up time.

Ends

¹ Please refer to Digital Marketing Hub | Your first digital marketing campaign is free (bt.com) for more information and offer T&Cs.

² Please refer to page 59 in the EE Price Guide for Small Business for Square offer T&Cs

BT today announced a new programme aimed at reducing business customers’ e-waste by recycling end-of-life equipment and helping them achieve their targets for a circular economy.

It is the latest step in BT Group’s Manifesto pledge to move to circular products, networks and operations by 2030, and then extend this across its supply chain by 2040.

The new programme comes as organisations around the world are transforming their network and IT infrastructure to support the latest multi-cloud deployments. As part of this transformation, BT environmental specialists will work with customers to better understand and map the role of sustainability in a digital world.

Replaced or decommissioned electronic equipment from a customer’s network will be shipped back to Cisco to be responsibly re-used or recycled through its takeback and reuse programme. Up to 99.9 per cent of what is returned will be re-used or recycled.

BT has Cisco-certified environmental specialists in the UK, US, Italy, Ireland, Switzerland and Singapore to manage the process. Further countries will be added by end of 2022.

The programme adds to BT’s existing take-back and reuse services for smartphones providing an easy way to upgrade, securely dispose and recycle the devices using a single, complete solution that handles everything.

According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), 57.4 million tonnes of e-waste was generated during 2021 with only 20 per cent recycled. If left unchecked, this could rise to 120 million tonnes each year. WEF also reported that 70 per cent of hazardous waste deposited in landfills is from e-waste. 

“E-waste is a growing concern and according to WEF now the fastest-growing waste stream in the world. Our customers and partners have made commitments to report on and improve performance in this critical area,” said Hriday Ravindranath, chief product & digital officer at BT’s Global unit. “Creating a more sustainable, circular economy, where we prioritise dematerialisation and avoid equipment going to landfill, is vital. It builds on our leadership in sustainability and will help deliver on our BT Group Manifesto commitments and ambition to connect for good.”

As part of a multi-million pound partnership, BT and Atos today launch Digital Vision — a new computer vision solution that will help revolutionise industries, including manufacturing and logistics among others.

Computer vision is a field of artificial intelligence (AI) that enables computers and systems to interpret information from digital images, videos and other visual feeds (including live video streams from a fixed camera or a moving drone) and take automated actions or make recommendations based on the information.

It will combine BT’s leading digital connectivity with Atos’s Computer Vision Platform, a scalable end-to-end solution, providing pre-trained & customizable AI models developed by more than 300 computer vision experts in labs around the world.​

AI video and image analysis is used industry-wide in applications such as transport safety and traffic monitoring, quality control in manufacturing, and location tracking. The joint BT-Atos solution will improve security and monitoring for customers by enabling effective, real-time use of video and image data.

Digital Vision will use BT’s 5G/FTTx multi-access connectivity and edge computing. This ensures business customers receive a scalable, ready-to-deploy service with round-the-clock support and expertise.

The partnership comes after BT recently announced it was investing almost £100 million over the next three years in its ‘Division X’ unit to accelerate the development of customer solutions which integrate emerging technologies like 5G, IoT, Edge Compute, Cloud and AI.

Marc Overton, Managing Director for Division X, part of BT’s Enterprise unit, said: “This partnership with Atos gives us access to the Computer Vision market for the first time, providing us the opportunity to play an even bigger role in the digital transformation of businesses around the world.

“Working together, we have been able to combine our skillsets to create an innovative platform that provides a host of potential use cases for facilities such as smart ports and transport hubs, to retail and fuel forecourts, to manufacturers. Utilising cutting edge technologies such as 5G, AI and edge computing, this new platform is linked to our wide partnership with Atos and we see huge potential for growth in this space over the next few years. 

“Not only will businesses be able to better leverage their video stream data, improve their operational efficiency and enhance their monitoring, but they will also be able to mitigate risk, increase revenue through data monetisation, unlock new applications and open new channels to market.”

Jean-Claude Geha, Global Head of Telecom, Media & Technology at Atos commented: “As our clients are going through their digital transformation, they need the right and best digital services to accelerate the next step of their journey. As a global leader in digital transformation, Atos plays an essential role in co-developing innovative use cases with CSP (Communications Services Provider) for real-time businesses, thanks to its extensive knowledge of Edge and AI technologies and its deep expertise in system integration. We are excited to work, once again, with BT to unlock new capabilities for the Enterprise market where BT is seeking to offer much needed Vertical Digital use cases to increase efficiency, boost productivity, and to improve business opportunities and customer experience.”

BT and Atos have a long-standing relationship with a major outsourcing agreement signed in 2013 and extended in March 2022 until 2026. BT provides Atos with network and communication services to connect its own operations as well as network infrastructure and service to support its customers. Earlier this year, the companies expanded their relationship to co-develop solutions with a focus on sustainability that will combine BT’s capabilities in secure connectivity and infrastructure, including private 5G and edge computing, with Atos’ digital expertise in sectors such as manufacturing.

BT has today announced that it has been awarded a multi-million pound contract by ScottishPower, world leaders in wind energy, to strengthen the connectivity throughout their network of windfarms and offices.

The partnership will see BT, the leading provider of critical national services in Scotland, deliver a wide range of robust connectivity solutions to ScottishPower, by securely connecting their hard-to-reach rural green energy sites.

The contract, which will provide integrated and bespoke telecommunications services to approximately 100 locations across the UK, France, and Germany, will enable ScottishPower to future-proof their IT network. This will help them to increase their capacity to provide clean, green energy to facilitate the UK’s progress to net zero.

BT’s connectivity will aid ScottishPower’s operational technology on its windfarms allowing controllers to monitor areas like turbine temperature, operating efficiency and the amount of electricity being produced by the site, helping manage the windfarm and the assets on it more efficiently. The company’s ambitious growth plans include expansion of its existing onshore wind portfolio, investment in new, large-scale solar projects and innovative battery storage systems. This strategic partnership between BT and ScottishPower will facilitate that growth in capacity.

BT Group buys 100% of its energy from renewable resources including Scottish wind farms. It also plans to accelerate responsible, inclusive and sustainable growth over the next decade as part of its Manifesto to achieve net zero carbon emissions from its operations by 2030.

Alan Lees, Director for BT’s Enterprise business in Scotland, said: “As a critical enabler and as one of the largest employers in Scotland, BT offers unparalleled networks for people, businesses and public services here.

“We understand critical national services and like ScottishPower, we also want to power Scotland’s green economic growth. We are therefore delighted that ScottishPower has trusted and awarded us with this multi-million pound contract as the provider of choice to run its national infrastructure.

“At BT, we pride ourselves on offering unrivalled, robust and reliable network solutions for our customers including ubiquitous connectivity in hard to reach rural sites.  We look forward to providing integrated solutions to meet the needs of ScottishPower and its customers as we work together to help to support the growth of renewable energy.”  

Allan Ferguson, UK Director of Infrastructure, Operations and Communications at ScottishPower, said: “ScottishPower is at the forefront of the delivery of the UK’s Net Zero targets and the transition to a more sustainable future. As we grow our renewable energy generation, investing in more windfarms, battery storage and green hydrogen production facilities, IT needs to ensure it supports the business growth and BT is helping us achieve that by helping to future-proof the IT network. I look forward to working with BT in delivering this strategic award.”

BT today announced Barclaycard Payments as the latest business to join its new partnership network, aimed at helping the UK’s smallest firms to grow.

Barclaycard has signed up to BT’s partnership network, following The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), with the aim of delivering a host of benefits for small firms over the next year. While the offers will change regularly, benefits include:

• Barclaycard business customers to benefit from up to £100 off the upfront cost of their EE business handset
• 2% Cashback for BT business customers who use their Barclaycard business card to pay for any BT or EE Services. That’s on top of any existing Barclaycard cashback rewards, such as 1% cashback on all business spend with the Barclaycard Select Cashback credit card* (Terms and conditions apply)

The new partnership network – specifically designed for micro-businesses with 0-5 employees – aims to deliver a host of extra perks to customers across broadband, mobile, connected devices, and digital marketing, plus other forms of support aimed at helping businesses grow. In addition to the new Barclaycard offers, FSB members can now claim up to £250 towards running their own social media and digital advertising campaigns through BT’s Digital Marketing Hub, This new digital platform allows businesses to quickly create, send and measure digital marketing campaigns across social media platforms, using built in AI tech to drive the best results for their business.

To help its customers create new opportunities and make the running of their business easier, BT is also offering its smallest business customers a 15 per cent discount on FSB membership for 12 months when they join before 30 September.  This will give them access to a wide range of vital support services, including legal and HR advice, financial products and health and wellbeing support.

Chris Sims, BT’s MD for SoHo (Small Office/Home Office unit) said: “We’re delighted to be welcoming Barclaycard as the latest partner to our partnership network, as they support us on our mission to give the UK’s smallest firms the benefits and boosts they need to grow. We want technology, skills and expertise to be as accessible as possible for small businesses, and our partnerships with Barclaycard and FSB will provide our customers with exclusive offers and benefits across broadband, mobile, digital marketing and connected devices over the coming year. We look forward to adding more partners to our partnership network over the coming weeks to offer an even broader range of benefits to our customers.”

Colin O’Flaherty, Head of SME at Barclaycard Payments, said: “As they continue to brace themselves for what is an increasingly difficult trading environment, we want to give the nation’s smallest businesses the boost they may need to help them grow. This is why we’re excited to be partnering with BT, who share in our common mission to support the UK’s small business community, the driving force of our economy.

BT’s partnership network for the UK’s smallest firms will expand over the coming weeks and months. The scheme will see BT forging mutually beneficial partnerships with a number of like-minded organisations across a range of sectors, including retail, hospitality, banking, finance and membership bodies, to bring value-added benefits to its smallest customers.

The launch of the new partnership network forms part of BT’s recently announced Enterprise Customer Charter. The new Charter is made up of a range of new initiatives from BT aimed at boosting the growth of UK businesses and the public sector and includes a pledge around delivering standout customer experiences.

To find out more about how BT is driving and supporting UK business growth through partnerships visit here or call 0800 012 1245.

To benefit from the 15% discount on FSB membership please  use code BT15

BT has secured a major £32 million network services contract with Sellafield Ltd.

The deal between the technology and telecoms firm and Sellafield Ltd, operator of the UK’s largest nuclear site, will cover the running and maintaining of the company’s entire network services, as well as upgrades and updates to current equipment.

The contract will include wide and local area network services, core and gateway services, as well as audio and conferencing, telephony and cyber security. Upgrades to the network will also enable Sellafield Ltd to take advantage of new technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G in the future.

The contract is one of a number that Sellafield Ltd is letting as part of its multi-supplier model for ICT delivery. The model improves the flexibility and agility of the company’s IT services, and will see new tools, technologies and capabilities brought to Sellafield.

As part of the five-year contract BT has also agreed to provide £2 million of funding for local social value initiatives in the West Cumbria area which will be distributed using the expertise of the Sellafield Ltd social impact team to activities that align with their ‘social impact multiplied’ strategy.

Ashish Gupta, MD Corporate and Public Sector for BT’s Enterprise unit, said: “We are really pleased to have secured this major contract with Sellafield Ltd and look forward to working in partnership with them to create a network that is secure, fast, reliable and future-proofed, with the added capability to overlay new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), 5G and IoT in the future.

“In a major boost for the local area, not only will we deliver digital transformation for Sellafield as part of the contract, but we’ll also provide a significant boost to the local community too. Over the life of the partnership, we will be investing £2 million into West Cumbria to help tackle the causes of inequality among the area’s most vulnerable people.”

Tracey West, Social Impact Manager at Sellafield Ltd said: “It is really positive to see such a significant commitment from BT as part of this contract to support the delivery of our Social Impact Multiplied programme. I am looking forward to working with BT to maximise the local impact from their financial contribution.”

Sellafield Ltd employs around 11,000 people who work at the West Cumbrian nuclear site and a number of off-site offices in Cumbria and Warrington.

The BT network will incorporate Wi-Fi, a unified communications programme to consolidate conferencing solutions such as Teams and Skype, and in-built security to enable the handling and processing of sensitive data.

Excitement around drones has taken off as the media spotlight turned to Farnborough Air Show and the projects which have received the backing of the Government, thanks to major new funding via research agency UKRI and an ambitious vision for the UK’s future drone economy.

The project to capture headlines was undoubtedly Skyway – the world’s longest automated drone ‘superhighway’ that will connect the Midlands to the South East of England and cover a total of 165 miles.

Altitude Angel is leading the project, and BT is one of the key partners, along with several UK tech start-ups. We’re excited about Skyway’s potential because it will enable us to explore the many use cases for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV’s) in a safe and responsible way and help us to develop the products and services that could have a transformative effect for the country.

A world where medical supplies are routinely delivered to NHS hospitals via drone, or roads and railways that can be inspected remotely without having to place people’s lives at risk, are just an example of what could be commonplace in the future thanks to this project.

Our EE mobile network, the largest and most reliable in the UK, will be the backbone for Skyway and I’m proud that we can bring expertise and knowledge from across the business to contribute to the partnership.

BT research has found that over two thirds (68%) of the British public believe drones will have a positive impact on their life in the future. But we can’t be complacent about public acceptance of drones. We want to prove that not only can we live safely alongside drones, but we also want to demonstrate the positive impact they can have on our economy – creating jobs and making businesses more efficient to relieve the pressure on escalating costs of living. 

While Skyway is the biggest project we’re involved in, it’s by no means the only one. It’s also important to reference the other partnerships that have received the Government’s backing, and where BT has a key role.

Atypical Airspace BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) Solution (AABS) is a project led by sees.ai and uses its advanced drone system to allow safe and efficient drone flight in even the most complex and space constrained areas. They will be deploying the technology for critical national infrastructure in the first instance to demonstrate its safety to regulators and the Government. 

BT’s team will support by providing mobile connectivity through our EE 4G and 5G network, enabling a data feed to go from the local environment through to the sees.ai control room. During the project we will also explore how satellite backhaul could be used to provide further resiliency for sees.ai. 

The AABS project will help us understand more around the requirements organisations have for providing high bandwidth, low latency data feeds over our 4G and 5G network. This will play a critical role in the drones use case and its ability to operate safely. In the case of sees.ai’s solution, the data feed enables remote operators based in a control room to supervise drones on sites nationwide as they execute safe and efficient autonomous flight and data capture. In time this approach will enable a single remote operator to supervise multiple drones – and indeed in this project we are aiming to simultaneously fly two drones with one remote operator supervising.

Another exciting project where BT is adding expertise is InDepth where our Applied Research team based at Adastral Park in Suffolk - BT’s global R&D centre - will be working with the Association of British Ports (ABP), Kier and a number of start-ups to expand on some previous research and trials.

InDepth will involve the use of drones to carry out automatic BVLOS missions to monitor and control critical national infrastructure such as highways and ports.

For example, our Applied Research team will use technology to create a high-fidelity 3D digital twin of a port and use this to combine backend operational data with real-time data from drones to give a rich picture of current port operations. AI will be used to analyse the drone imagery in several use cases, including infrastructure inspection and management of assets, including vehicles.

These are exciting times for BT and the drone industry more widely. The government has recognised the potential of UAVs and its public backing and financial support for these projects will help us advance this technology.

However, for drones to have the kind of impact we know they can, we need the support of stakeholders across Government, devolved administrations and local government, and industry to safely modernise the UK’s legacy regulation and planning policies.  After all, the EU, India, Switzerland, and U.S. are all moving at pace to ensure drones in their countries can take to the skies quickly.  If the UK accelerates its efforts, there is still time to be a leader in the effective regulation of drones in a way that attracts more innovation, talent, and capital to our shores.

We are at the dawn of a new era. One that could help us revolutionise everything from how we receive deliveries to the advancement of smart cities, improved security, enhanced search and rescue capabilities and safer remote inspection of critical infrastructure. Drones can be the catalyst for all this and more, and BT is excited to be part of this future.

It’s fair to say that BT is a brand best known for the legacy it has built on solid ground - trusted as an institution to keep customers in the UK, and 180 countries worldwide, connected.

But our aspirations are limitless, and perhaps less well known is BT’s role in the space industry – 60 years of experience that have played a major part in a number of satellite communications achievements.

Our journey first began in 1962 with the launch of the communications satellite Telstar 1 by NASA, which enabled the first live broadcast of television images between the United States and Europe, landing in the UK at the satellite ground station Goonhill Downs in Cornwall in BT’s previous guise as the General Post Office.,

Since then, we’ve been continuously bold with our ambitions. We’ve set global standards for open parabolic satellite dish design, we relayed the historic pictures of the first moon landing to television screens in the UK, we’ve beamed television signals for Europe’s first satellite transmission service, and launched the world’s first satellite telephone system on a British Airways 747. And since the 2000s, we’ve continued to innovate with an increasing focus on integrating satellite with ground-based communications, such as the development of the European ‘Next Generation EGNOS wide area network’, used to support global satellite navigation systems, which involved creating a highly resilient service across fibre and satellite, certified as suitable for Safety-Critical Systems.

Today, both as a service provider to the space industry and as an integrator of space components in the delivery of services to customers, BT has a significant role to play in supporting both the growth and innovation of the UK’s space industry - helping the government achieve its ambition of putting the nation “firmly in the front rank of the global space industry”, as outlined in its recently announced National Space Strategy.

The space industry itself is significant - according to the 2020 ‘Size and Health of the UK Space Industry’ survey, total UK space industry income grew to £16.4 billion in 2018-19, which is estimated to be 5.1% of the global space economy. And the impact of this is considerable – wider industrial activities representing over £360bn of the UK’s non-financial business economy GDP are now supported by satellite services.

So, to help the UK in its mission, we’ve developed a six-pillar space strategy that is built around the belief that terrestrial and non-terrestrial convergence will be a key factor in unlocking its value. Innovation sits at the heart of this strategy, and focuses on collaborating across the space ecosystem, providing ubiquitous connectivity, flexible and ultra-resilient services, and enabling the creation of new applications, services, and business models. 

Some of the commitments of our six-fold strategy include becoming an active participant in forthcoming discussions and decisions, having recently re-joined UK Space - the UK trade association for the space industry, and we now chair the Satellite Telecommunications Committee. We’re continuing to work with start-ups, scale-ups, established companies and research and innovation bodies to collaborate on relevant research and commercial opportunities. We’re already working on collaborative space related projects with the UK and European Space Agencies as well as academic institutions, including the Universities of Surrey and Stirling, which we’ll continue to build on.

There’s exploration to be done on the role of emerging space technologies on the delivery of services to our customers too, and we’ll be leading the charge on the disruptive thinking and solutions that are needed to promote the UK as a global thought leader in space. The UK has a strong base in Quantum Computing upon which to build, and we are playing our part here, collaborating with the UK’s first space unicorn - satellite quantum key distribution company Arqit, and on the ground too with Toshiba in creating a metro quantum network.  We also recently signed an industry-first global partnership with OneWeb to provide Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite communication services. We are testing OneWeb’s capabilities in our labs in Bristol, Madley and Adastral to understand how they integrate and work with our existing services and we will soon move to carrying out early adopter trials with customers.

Our relationship with OneWeb is part of a multi-orbit constellation strategy supporting global coverage utilising different satellite systems. It also forms a vital part of BT’s vision to enable a coverage solution anywhere in the UK by 2028, by offering opportunities to connect beyond the reach of 5G and fibre networks. The integration of satellite into the EE network is a critical enabler of the Emergency Services Network in helping BT provide high levels of availability and resilience to the country’s critical national infrastructure. The list of future use cases that can be addressed with satellite will also widen thanks to the lower latency that LEO satellites provide, removing a critical technical barrier to adoption.  The emergence of small satellite IoT providers, offering direct to sensor connectivity over satellite expands the reach of Internet of Things (IoT) services to rural and remote locations

These are exciting times for the UK space industry. And as a significant contributor to the UK space economy and one of the world’s leading communication companies, we have an important role to play in cementing the UK’s position as a space industry leader.

Our ambition is to become the world’s most trusted connector of people, devices, and machines. And as a British institution on a mission to connect for good, we believe the sky really is the limit.

 You can read more about our full BT Space Strategy here

BT today announced a new partnership network for the UK’s smallest firms, with the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) the first to sign up as launch partner. The new partnership network – specifically designed for micro-businesses with 0-5 employees – will deliver a host of extra benefits to customers across broadband, mobile, connected devices, and digital marketing, plus other forms of support aimed at helping businesses grow.

BT has partnered with FSB - the UK’s largest organisation dedicated to championing the needs of small firms - to give its members access to an extended promotional offer around its Digital Marketing Hub. From today, FSB members can claim up to £250 towards running their own social media and digital advertising campaigns through BT’s Digital Marketing Hub, an easy-to-use tool which enables small firms to advertise their products and services online.[1]

This new digital platform allows businesses to quickly create, send and measure digital marketing campaigns across social media platforms, using built in AI tech to drive the best results for their business.

To help its customers create new opportunities and make the running of their business easier, BT is also offering its smallest business customers a 15 per cent discount on FSB membership for 12 months when they join before 30 September.[2] This will give them access to a wide range of vital support services, including legal and HR advice, financial products and health and wellbeing support.

Chris Sims, BT’s MD for SoHo (Small Office/Home Office) said: “Today’s launch of our new partnership network for the UK’s smallest firms marks the latest phase in our ongoing mission to support the growth of small businesses. We share this vision with FSB, so we’re excited to partner together to spearhead the launch of our new network to deliver reciprocal benefits to their members and BT customers. Our new partnership network will make our technology, skills and expertise even more accessible for small businesses, while making it easier for them do business and grow in an increasingly sophisticated world. We look forward to adding more partners to our network over the coming weeks.”

Caroline Lavelle, FSB’s Chief Commercial Officer, said: “We’re delighted to partner with BT on this initiative to give our members an opportunity to further their digital marketing reach. FSB has said before that it is important that big tech companies play a role in supporting our smaller businesses in improving their digital capabilities and it’s good that BT is taking a lead in this. The partnership will also encourage more small businesses to reap the benefits of FSB membership.”

BT’s new partnership network for the UK’s smallest firms will expand over the coming weeks and months. Starting with FSB, the new scheme will see BT forging mutually beneficial partnerships with a number of like-minded organisations across a range of sectors, including retail, banking, finance and membership bodies, to bring value-added benefits to its smallest customers.

The launch of the new partnership network forms part of BT’s recently announced  Enterprise Customer Charter. The new charter is made up of a range of new initiatives from BT aimed at boosting the growth of UK businesses and the public sector and includes a pledge around delivering standout customer experiences.

Notes to editors:

·         To access the BT Digital Marketing Hub offer, FSB members should quote code FSB150 when setting up their online account for BT’s Digital Marketing Hub or by calling 0800 916 0882

·         BT business customers wanting to access the FSB membership offer should quote code BT15 when applying for their membership online, or by calling the FSB team on 0808 164 2799

[1] Available until 30 September 2022 to FSB members who are new BT Digital Marketing Hub customers. To be eligible for the offer, they must also create a Digital Marketing Hub Account; create and book a campaign by 30 September 2022;

and have been provided with a voucher. The offer is only applicable to the customer’s first campaign booked on the BT Digital Marketing Hub. The campaign must run for no longer than 30 days in total.

[2] FSB Membership starts from £147 per annum with a £30 registration fee in the first year. This rate is applicable to businesses

with no employees. Rates increase depending on your number of employees. Full rates payable for future years’ membership.

BT and Ericsson today announced a multi-million-pound new joint partnership to provide commercial 5G Private Networks for the UK market – the first agreement of its kind in the country.

The telecommunications and technology firms have signed a multi-year contract that will enable BT to sell the next generation mobile network technology products to businesses and organisations in sectors such as manufacturing, defence, education, retail, healthcare, transport and logistics.

The deal also comes just after BT announced it was investing almost £100 million over the next three years in its ‘Division X’ unit to accelerate the development of customer solutions which integrate emerging technologies like 5G, IoT, Edge Compute, Cloud and AI.

Private Networks are wireless solutions that provide secure indoor and outdoor 5G cellular coverage, making them suitable for a range of uses - particularly in environments such as factories, education campuses and other large sites where security and ultra-low latency connectivity are important.

New innovative applications and IoT capabilities can be enabled through a private 5G network to improve productivity, optimise operations and drive cost savings, such as asset tracking, predictive maintenance, connected sensors, real-time data processing, automation and robotics.

According to a forecast from MarketResearch.com, 5G Private Networks are predicted to grow at an average rate of 40 per cent a year between 2021 and 2028, by which time the market will be worth $14bn (£10.7bn).  Both BT and Ericsson believe there is significant demand from UK businesses looking to take advantage of the benefits the new technology can provide.

Marc Overton, BT’s Managing Director for Division X, Enterprise, said: “This UK-first we have signed with Ericsson is a huge milestone and will play a major role in enabling businesses’ transformation, ushering in a new era of hyper-connected spaces.

“We have combined our skill and expertise at building converged fixed and mobile networks with Ericsson’s leading, sustainable and secure 5G network equipment, to offer a pioneering new proposition that will be attractive to many industries. 5G private networks will also support smart factory processes and the advancement of Industry 4.0 which can realise significant cost savings and efficiencies for manufacturers.

“Unlike a public network, a private 5G network can be configured to a specific business’s needs, as well as by individual site or location. They also provide the foundation to overlay other innovative technologies such as IoT, AI, VR and AR, opening up a multitude of possibilities.”

Katherine Ainley, CEO Ericsson UK & Ireland said: “This ground-breaking agreement with BT means we are together taking a leading role in ensuring 5G has a transformative impact for the UK. The high quality, fast and secure connectivity provided by Ericsson Private 5G can help organisations make all-important efficiency gains that can create safer, more productive, and sustainable business operations and help the country build global leaders in the industries and technologies of the future.”

Case study

BT and Ericsson have already worked together on several major projects incorporating private 5G networks, including Belfast Harbour in Northern Ireland, as they accelerate its ambition to become the world’s best regional smart port.

The partners have installed a 5G private network across 35 acres of operational port. This is helping to drive operational efficiencies and accelerate its digital transformation through optimising processes across transport, logistics, supply chain and shipping, as well as boosting productivity through the smooth-running of the Port’s operations.

Every year more than 1.75 million people and over half a million freight vehicles arrive and depart through the Port every year. While 24 million tonnes of goods are managed and carried by ferries, container ships and cargo vessels.

“With activity on that scale you need smart technology that can really make a difference. And that’s what our standalone private 5G network is enabling at the Port,” added Marc Overton.

 “We’re now into phase two of the project and this includes various use cases such as teleoperation of heavy plant machinery, artificial reality (AR) for remote maintenance, as well as enhanced video AI analytics and the use of drones for surveillance and inspections.”

The partnership is also exploring how 5G and other emerging technologies such as AI, IoT and Connected Autonomous Vehicles can be used together to enhance public safety, physical security, and address climate change across the Port and other parts of Belfast City.

Mike Dawson, Corporate Services Director, Belfast Harbour Commissioners, said: “Throughout 2021 and to the end of 2022, we will have completed the implementation of both Public and Private 5G Networks. These are the foundation for several Smart and Green port initiatives, including CCTV cameras, Air Quality Monitors, Drones, MiFi units to maximise operational efficiencies and a Digital Twin. The technologies have supported our data collection on the movement of people and things through our Road Traffic Screens, Wayfinding App and a Community App for Traffic.”

As part of the launch, local businesses in Birmingham are being given the chance to advertise for free on the new Street Hub units.

BT is donating up to £7.5 million of outdoor advertising space to small businesses across the UK, as it continues its nationwide roll out of its new Street Hub 2.0 units – which help build the UK’s digital infrastructure and include services such as ultrafast Wi-Fi, an emergency call button and rapid mobile device charging.

The launch comes as a recent BT study found that more than 60 per cent of small businesses agree that local advertising would help to increase awareness of their business, with 40 per cent saying it would encourage more people to shop at their local high street. However, almost half (49 per cent) said that cost was a major obstacle to them investing in local Out Of Home (OOH) advertising. BT is now taking action to remove one of the biggest barriers to adoption, with the Street Hub’s digital advertising screens designed to help small firms attract more customers to high streets.

The new digital units can also help local councils achieve their social and economic improvement and sustainability goals. With Birmingham City Council aiming to be carbon neutral by 2030, each Street Hub 2.0 unit is to be fitted with air quality and CO2 sensors.

Birmingham participated in the first trials of air quality data monitoring with BT in 2019, with data collected from modular sensors installed on first generation Street Hubs units. The sensors provided insight to a group of researchers and scientists, led by the University of Birmingham, to help monitor air pollution in the area.

With the next generation Street Hubs, Birmingham City Council can benefit from real-time, actionable data on Carbon Monoxide (CO), Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Nitrogen Oxide (NO), Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) and Particulate Matter (PM1, 2.5 and 10). Expanding air quality monitoring across the city will provide Birmingham City Council with the insight needed to take action to improve air quality, contributing to the health and wellbeing of local people.

Street Hubs can also help to enhance digital connectivity and services for communities through features such as ultrafast Wi-Fi, access to  charity helplines, and local wayfinding via an integrated tablet.

Deputy Leader of Birmingham City Council, Brigid Jones, said: “The last couple of years has seen a devastating impact on many of our local businesses, charities and community organisations. I hope our communities and voluntary sector organisations use this opportunity to raise awareness of the fantastic work they are doing to support our communities and local centres.  We welcome this digital investment by BT, enhancing Birmingham’s growing reputation as a welcoming place for digital innovation and investment.”

Rebecca Hambleton, Street Manager at BT, said: “We hope that, by gifting free digital advertising space via our new Street Hub units, we can give small businesses in Birmingham an extra boost. Our new Street Hub units can play a vital role in rejuvenating local high streets – whether that’s through building greater awareness of small businesses through free advertising, boosting local digital infrastructure or helping cities to reach their sustainability goals.

“It's great to see the new units will shortly be providing valuable 'real time' data on air quality for the local council, helping to keep Birmingham a clean city to live and visit.”

Andy Thompson, Owner of Live @ Level One, a 200-plus capacity live music venue in Sutton Coldfield benefiting from free advertising on the new units, said: “I’m already a relentless marketer, promoter, and advertiser but I’m limited to the avenues that we can afford as a small business. Local advertising opportunities, like those provided by BT’s new Street Hub 2.0 units, offer more exposure, and give new local businesses like mine a greater chance of survival and success.”

BT’s latest study also revealed that around two thirds (66 per cent) of local businesses think that mobile connectivity could be improved in their local community, to help them work faster and smarter. BT’s new Street Hub 2.0 units will enhance local digital infrastructure by including the option to install mini mobile masts or ‘small cells’ on the structure to further boost 4G and 5G coverage in the local area.

Subject to local planning processes, BT is aiming to roll out around 300 of its new Street Hub 2.0 units across the UK in the next 12 months, working closely with local councils and communities.

BT today announced the launch of a new product that will boost fixed broadband speeds for thousands of UK small businesses which are yet to be upgraded to fibre broadband.

BT’s Hybrid Speed Boost product is the first in the UK to combine a copper broadband line with EE’s leading 4G network to provide an automatic uplift in speeds, by bonding connections from broadband and mobile networks together. Businesses can benefit from an average download speed boost of 20Mbps - more than twice the average download speed for copper broadband connections. Average upload speeds can be uplifted to 10Mbps – which is ten times the average upload speed for copper lines.[1]

Hybrid Speed Boost is included at no extra cost for new BT business broadband customers taking ADSL broadband plans. Existing customers can also benefit when they renew their plan.[2]

BT’s Enterprise business is launching the new product as an interim solution for small firms in those parts of the country which are yet to be upgraded to fibre broadband, as BT Group continues to extend its full fibre network across the country. BT Group is aiming to reach 25 million homes and businesses with full fibre by the end of 2026, working with its infrastructure partner, Openreach, which has already brought the technology to 7.2 million premises. Openreach is currently building full fibre to around 50,000 premises a week, putting it on target to reach 10 million premises by the end of March, 2023.

Chris Sims, BT’s MD for its SoHo (Single/Small Office, Home Office) unit, said: “Using cutting-edge technology, we’re launching the first product in the UK to fuse fixed and mobile connections together to bring faster speeds to small firms which might be struggling on slower copper lines. While the Openreach full fibre network is expanding at pace, week on week, we understand the frustration of small firms who risk being stuck behind as they wait to hear when ultrafast full fibre broadband will come to them. Fast, reliable broadband is vital for the smooth, day to day running of a business, so we’ve taken action today to boost speeds for business taking copper broadband – at no extra cost.

“Hybrid Speed Boost could revolutionise operations for small businesses that may currently be struggling with the required bandwidth to process large files, access cloud services or use HD video.”

Benjy Levey, Director at Eat Me Events based in London, said: “I’m really impressed at the speeds we’re now getting using the new Hybrid Speed Boost solution. On average we’re now getting 30-40Mbps download speeds and 14-15Mbps upload – the uplift in speed is transformative for our business for when we’re meeting with clients and suppliers via video calls. There's no more buffering or dropped connections! Customer data downloads have got so much quicker too.”

The launch of BT’s new Hybrid Speed Boost product sees BT deliver on its first commitment contained within its recently announced  Enterprise Customer Charter. The new charter is made up of a range of new initiatives from BT aimed at boosting the growth of UK businesses and the public sector and includes a pledge to develop inclusive tech to assist those small businesses which are struggling on slower, copper lines.

BT is also introducing a new ‘no-frills’ fibre broadband package for cost-conscious small firms in fibre enabled areas. Fibre 38 is a new landline free fibre broadband package which uses Fibre-to-the-Cabinet (FTTC) technology and offers BT’s lowest prices for fibre-based business broadband. BT’s Fibre 38 package delivers guaranteed minimum speeds of up to 38Mbps, unlimited data, built-in business-grade security tools - all without the need for businesses to add a phone line.  

Ends

Notes to Editors

• Customers can find out more about Hybrid Speed Boost here: Help with Hybrid Speed Boost | Help | BT Business (custhelp.com)
• Hybrid Speed Boost from BT is underpinned by MultiPath TCP (MPTCP) technology from Tessares. MultiPath TCP is an enhancement to TCP, and enables the efficient, selective combining of existing network assets. It takes TCP based traffic and is able to split the traffic over multiple paths (such as fixed and mobile networks) to deliver increased speeds to customers.
• Find out more about Tessares here: www.tessares.net/
• Hybrid Speed Boost boosts TCP web traffic, which covers the vast majority of web traffic. Other types of traffic such as UDP are not boosted. This is typically VPN traffic and online gaming.[3]
• Speed boost based on tests showing median uplift of 20Mbps in download speeds (rounded to the nearest whole Mbps) over a 24-hour period.

[1] Average speed boost based on tests showing median uplift of 20Mbps download speed and 10Mbps upload, rounded to the nearest whole Mbps. Uplift in speed is not guaranteed and any uplift will vary depending on your indoor EE 4G Network coverage, the time of day and the number of people using the network. The average download speed on ADSL without Hybrid Speed Boost is significantly lower than 20Mbps, so when adding the average Hybrid Speed Boost uplift of 20Mbps, on average, this is more than double the original speed. The average upload speed on ADSL without Hybrid Speed Boost is below 1Mbps, while the average uplift with Hybrid Speed Boost is 10Mbps. On average this is more than 10 times faster than the original download speed.

[2] Hybrid Speed Boost add-on available to new or re-signing BT Business Broadband customers on ADSL (copper) access lines only. Not available on fibre. Suitable EE 4G network coverage (as advised by BT), Smart Hub 2 router and Hybrid Connect device required.

[3] Through MPTCP, only TCP based traffic will be boosted. UDP or other protocols such as QUIC will not be boosted.

BT delivered the broadcast innovations on Saturday at the Gallagher Premiership Rugby match between Saracens v Northampton Saints where it demonstrated the power of Media & Broadcast’s new Vena network, and its ability to neatly combine private 5G to provide secure broadcast-grade infrastructure.

BT collaborated to enable a number of the matchday cameras to be connected via a standalone private 5G network it had installed at the ground. These cameras’ output then formed part of the live BT Sport coverage of the match in a UK first - never before have key matchday cameras, as part of a customer broadcast, been enabled in this way. Traditionally, broadcast cameras connect to the Outside Broadcast solely using radio (RF) signals which rely on proprietary equipment. 5G-enables potentially a range of camera devices, in a wider range of locations, to be used, opening up new creative and operational benefits to broadcasters.  

In addition, BT Media & Broadcast, showcased at Saracens’ StoneX Stadium a cloud production demonstration, highlighting to customers and partners some of the innovative workflows enabled by this approach to production.

Through the innovative trial, BT Media & Broadcast, highlighted how its smart broadcast network, Vena, can bring together high-performance networking, private 5G and cloud to deliver live sport in the highest possible quality, and with the greatest efficiency. It represents a key milestone within BT’s development of its 5G private network strategy.

Faisal Mahomed, Director of BT Media & Broadcast, said: “These pioneering collaborations demonstrate how our new smart broadcast network, Vena, along with private 5G and cloud technology, can make a huge difference to the way broadcasters produce coverage of rugby, football and other sports, and can provide a number of creative, sustainable and operational benefits. BT continues to innovate and harness the power of 5G and cloud production to introduce new products and services for our customers and partners.”

Jamie Hindhaugh, Head of BT Sport, said: “We are proud of our role in the track record of recent broadcast innovations across BT. This weekend’s innovations at Saracens continue to highlight the key role 5G will play in the future of sports television.”

This weekend’s innovations are the latest industry-first collaboration around 5G and cloud technologies between BT Media & Broadcast, BT Sport, EE and BT Applied Research and:

• In March this year, BT unveiled pioneering uses of 5G which re-imagine the experience of watching and performing sports, dance, music and theatre through virtual, augmented and mixed reality applications.
• In 2019, BT Sport collaborated with BT’s Media & Broadcast arm to broadcast the world’s first live 8K test broadcast, into the IBC exhibition in Amsterdam.
• In 2018 BT Sport and EE carried out the world’s first live broadcast over 5G using remote production, delivering a two-way transmission from Wembley Stadium to London’s ExCeL exhibition centre.

Watch a video of the  event visit 

We are in the midst of the fourth Industrial revolution, where connected devices, data analytics and artificial intelligence are changing the way all businesses operate and how they serve their customers.

Keeping pace with the demands of this increasingly complex world and making the leap to fully digital ways of working will determine which businesses will survive and thrive.

Which is why it’s a really brilliant time to be in BT, helping our customers take on that challenge and win.

And at BT, we are entering a truly exciting new chapter, too. Establishing BT as the flagship brand for our Enterprise and Global units enables us to build on the legacy we’re already renowned for – a business that puts our customers’ needs at the heart of everything we do.

Today we officially launch our brilliant new advertising campaign to show our customers that we really mean business. Featuring the BT Digital Marketing Hub – the new all-in-one advertising platform which helps small firms reach millions of potential new customers – our latest ads show our customers how BT can make running their business easier, so they can focus on what they do best. It’s going live across TV, Out of Home, Radio, Digital and Social platforms from today and signals a more confident, contemporary BT using a fresh look and feel.

In Enterprise, we serve more than a million customers here in the UK, from the smallest businesses right through to major corporates, the public sector and other communication providers - so we know a thing or two about what’s keeping our customers awake at night.

But complacency is the enemy of progress, and the environment all of us are operating in is changing all the time, so we’re constantly looking ahead to prepare ourselves and support our customers for the future and all it has to offer.

That’s why I’m delighted that this week we unveiled our first Enterprise Customer Charter, to complement our latest advertising campaign.  It’s a new set of commitments to help UK businesses and the public sector prosper and grow through our technology innovation, expertise, customer-first focus and purpose-driven approach.

o   BT will fast track technology innovation across the UK – so that businesses, communities and the UK economy can flourish

o   BT will use its expertise to take businesses into the digital fast lane and soup up security – like no other provider

o   BT will deliver standout customer experiences – making it easier to do business with

o   BT will continue to Connect for Good – through responsible, inclusive and sustainable tech – and will help its customers do the same

We know these commitments are important for our customers - because we asked hundreds of them to tell us what they need. They want to know that we’ll keep them ahead of the game on innovation and digital services, while delivering brilliant customer experiences and programmes which put purpose at the heart of our business. But beyond that, they also want an expert guide who helps them navigate the ever-changing world of technology, and who understands that it’s not better technology that that they want, it’s better outcomes for their business.

This deep understanding of our customers’ needs has driven the thinking behind this Charter, which includes bold targets and pledges for us to deliver on over the next few months and years. For example, we’ll be investing almost £100 million over the next three years in our Division-X unit to accelerate the development of new digital customer solutions; launching ground-breaking cyber defence and assessment tools to keep our customers’ businesses safe; and driving new circular and carbon abatement initiatives to support our customers’ Net Zero journeys.

I’m so proud of what BT is continuing to achieve as a brand that is truly part of the UK’s national fabric. Our Charter marks the start of a new chapter and we stand ready to help the amazing sole traders, start-ups, SMEs, corporates, the public sector and communication providers that we serve achieve their full potential and build a brighter future. That’s a pretty powerful legacy that everyone at BT can be proud of.

Construction has officially begun on BT Group’s brand new multi-million pound contact centre in Dundee as Kate Forbes, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Economy, and Rob Shuter, CEO of BT Enterprise, today (19 May) participated in the ground-breaking ceremony.

The new office, which will be home to around 1,000 colleagues forms part of Dundee’s £1bn regeneration area, and will be located at West Marketgait, in the heart of the city centre, close to the waterfront.

The building is expected to be completed in 2024 and will be one of BT Group’s 30 locations in the UK, developed as part of its ‘Better Workplace Programme’ – the largest workplace improvement and consolidation scheme of its type ever undertaken in the UK. The group is also undertaking a multi-million pound refurbishment of its flagship Glasgow office, situated on the Clydeside.

The investment will help transform the way BT Group works, create efficiencies and enable it to better serve its customers in Scotland and across the UK. The company’s current office in Dundee, which is based on Ward Road and is home to around 1,000 colleagues, first opened in 1976. BT Group employs more than 7,000 colleagues across Scotland, ensuring homes, businesses, schools, GPs and hospitals, from Shetland to Stranraer, stay connected wherever they are and whatever the weather.

Teams based in Dundee include those providing customer service support to consumer and small business customers. BT Group has recruited hundreds of people in Dundee in the past four years.

Kate Forbes, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Economy, said: “It was great to visit BT’s new ‘Better Workplaces’ site, which represents another key milestone in Dundee’s £1 billion economic regeneration.

“Our recently published National Strategy for Economic Transformation contains bold and ambitious actions - within the powers currently available to us - to deliver economic prosperity for all Scotland’s people and places.

“The state-of-the-art facility will provide nearly 1,000 quality jobs that will support individuals, communities and businesses to be better connected, whilst benefitting from technological innovation. This latest investment reinforces Dundee’s standing as a centre of technological excellence with a highly skilled workforce.”

Rob Shuter, CEO of BT Enterprise, said: “BT is one of the largest employers in the Tayside area and we’re excited to be able to continue investing in the area, and across Scotland. It’s a positive time of regeneration in Dundee and we’re thrilled to be part of that story by building our new state-of-the-art office which will become home to nearly 1,000 of our colleagues, securing vital jobs within the economy.

“Right now, our key industries are on the cusp of a technological revolution as Scotland prepares to make the switch from analogue to digital ways of working. Only businesses which make the leap will succeed and stay competitive - our role is to help them navigate that journey and our new Charter reflects the priorities that our business and public customers expect to see from BT. Our teams based at our Scottish offices, including Dundee, will be key to Scotland’s economic success.”

BT Group plays an important role in the Scottish economy and is responsible for generating £1 in every £115 produced in the country, according to an independent report. It also generated £1.2 billion to the economy of Scotland in “Gross Value Added” GVA, during the 2019/20 financial year.* BT Group supports more than 12,400 jobs across the nation.

The new building will include what its designers have described as a ‘street landscape,’ with areas for colleagues to socialise while enjoying great views over Dundee and the River Tay. Being developed by Crucible Developments and built by Ogilvie Construction with the help of its young apprentices.

Today’s announcement closely follows the publication of a new Customer Charter for BT’s 1.2 million UK business and public sector customers. The Charter consists of a new set of commitments from BT to provide its Enterprise customers with a springboard for growth - delivered through a greater focus on innovation, world-class cyber security, a new suite of digital services, customer service improvements and purpose-driven goals.

-Ends-

Notes to editors

Background:

Under the five-year ‘Better Workplace Programme’, first announced in 2018, BT will consolidate its UK footprint of more than 300 locations to around 30. The company has already announced several other locations including Glasgow, Edinburgh, Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Ipswich and Manchester, with more to follow. It has also moved into a brand new HQ in London last year.

Dundee is a dynamic, modern city, leading one of the largest regeneration projects in the UK. It is one of the principal tech centres in the country, which as well as being selected by industry group Tech Nation as one of the three cities most likely to become a UK tech hub this year, was also named alongside major world cities such as Toronto, São Paulo and Atlanta by multinational tech company Cognizant as one of the world’s top “places of the future”, in a report examining how new technologies will create jobs.

Working with Scottish Enterprise and property company Camlin, part-owned by Dundee property entrepreneur Bruce Linton, Crucible Developments have assembled the site and designed Dundee’s first ever ‘Platinum Wired Scored’ building. This means the building will be the most resilient building in Dundee from an IT and connectivity perspective. The building will also have sustainable credentials, such as a BREEAM Excellent rating, ensuring its impact on the environment will be minimal. The Greenmarket development comprise two buildings providing 76,500sq.ft (7,108sq.m) of offices, prelet to BT; 6,500sq.ft (602sq.m) of café/retail amenities and 16 flats.

Dundee Waterfront is an award-winning £1 billion regeneration project that is transforming 240 acres of land along 8km of the River Tay. Split into five distinct zones, the project has secured more than £750m of committed investment including a £40m investment by Dundee Port to secure offshore wind and decommissioning work. Most infrastructure works have been completed and the build phase is well underway, with a growing community of businesses and residents moving into the Waterfront area.  Major projects already completed include the construction of a new railway station, V&A Dundee and Agnes Husband House, the new HQ for Social Security Scotland.

Dundee is home to two universities, is the UK's only UNESCO City of Design and world-class computer games developers, life sciences research and the emerging sectors of cyber security and low carbon industries are driving its economic growth. Dundee is also at the heart of the £700m Tay Cities Deal which will boost economic prosperity in the city and surrounding areas. 

*Gross Value Added (GVA) measures the value of all goods and services produced in an economy. GVA combines wages and operating profits from companies and other organisations. Growing GVA can reflect improvements in workforce skills, productivity, R&D and innovation. The figures for BT show the value added directly through BT's services and additional value generated through BT's suppliers across the nations and regions.

The full BT Economic Impact Report is available at: www.bt.com/reports

About Crucible Developments

Crucible Developments is a property development company based in Ayr, Scotland, focusing on commercial property developments projects throughout Scotland and the North of England.    Further information can be found at www.cruciblealbagroup.com

About Ogilvie Construction

Ogilvie Construction is part of the Ogilvie Group, one of Scotland’s most consistently successful family-owned businesses.  The company is over 65 years old and employs more than 600 people across its various business operations in the UK.

BT today unveiled a new Charter for its 1.2 million UK business and public sector customers, providing a blueprint for BT to accelerate a range of initiatives aimed at boosting  the growth of UKplc.

The Charter consists of a new set of commitments from BT to provide its Enterprise customers with a springboard for growth - delivered through a greater focus on innovation, world-class cyber security, a new suite of digital services, customer service improvements and purpose-driven goals. The new commitments outlined today include the following highlights, with the full details of the Charter available here.

• Investing almost £100 million over the next three years in BT’s ‘Division X’ unit within Enterprise - to accelerate the development of customer solutions which integrate emerging technologies like 5G, IoT, Edge Compute, Cloud and AI. These new solutions will transform and modernise key industries like manufacturing, health, port operations, transport and logistics, driving positive business outcomes and fuelling the UK economy.
• Launching sophisticated cyber defence and assessment tools which are not currently offered by other UK network providers - starting with its Safe Security cyber health check tool which is available to larger UK corporate and public sector customers today, with smaller customers set to benefit over time. 
• Developing inclusive tech to boost broadband speeds for small firms not yet served by fibre broadband. BT will launch the first service in the UK which fuses fixed and 4G speeds together to uplift broadband speeds for thousands of small firms currently using copper lines.
• Delivering the fastest installation and repair times in the industry for ultrafast business (or Ethernet) connections - which underpin the operations of mid to large corporates and public sector bodies.
• Forming a new partnership network for small firms - giving customers access to exclusive offers across broadband, mobile, digital marketing and connected devices, plus other benefits, with the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) confirmed as BT’s first launch partner.
• Pioneering a new suite of smart business tools which combine the best of BT and EE to make it easier for small businesses to run and grow their business. This new portfolio will build on the recent launch of BT’s Digital Marketing Hub – the new all-in-one advertising platform which gives small firms all the tools and support they need to reach millions of potential new customers.
• Stepping up its free digital skills programme to reach a further 350,000 small business and their employees by the end of March 2023.
• Accelerating sustainable initiatives to support customers’ Net Zero journeys – including the removal of all single use plastics and using recycled materials for new BT business product packaging and devices by the end of March 2023.

Rob Shuter, CEO of Enterprise, BT Group, said: “Right now, our key industries are on the cusp of a technological revolution as the UK prepares to make the large-scale switch from analogue to fully digital ways of working. Only businesses which make the leap will succeed and stay competitive - our role is to help them navigate that journey.

“It’s an ideal time for us to set out why BT really means business. Our new Charter reflects the priorities that our 1.2m business and public customers expect to see from BT. We’ve listened to their feedback and based our Charter on four key promises – that we’ll lead the way in innovation; we’ll be trusted experts in our fields; we’ll be easier to do business with; and we’ll continue to put purpose at the heart of our business.”

The Charter reflects four key priorities for BT over the next financial year and beyond, to better serve the needs of its UK customers - spanning sole-traders, start-ups, SMEs, corporates, public sector bodies and communications providers:

Innovation: BT will fast track technology innovation across the UK – so that businesses, communities and the UK economy can flourish.

Expertise: BT will use its expertise to take businesses into the digital fast lane and soup up security – like no other provider.

Easy to do business with: BT will deliver standout customer experiences – making it easier to do business with.

Purpose-driven: BT will use its responsible, inclusive and sustainable tech to Connect for Good – and will help its customers do the same.

The launch of today’s Charter coincides with a fresh chapter in the evolution of BT’s Group’s brand strategy, with BT being positioned as the Group’s flagship brand for business and public sector customers in the UK and globally. A multi-million pound UK TV and out-of-home advertising campaign kickstarts this week to signal the beginning of this transformation, using the creative strapline, ‘BT Means Business.’

BT unveiled the details of its new Charter at an event today to mark the opening of its new ‘Aurora’ customer innovation showcase at its global headquarters in London. The new facility spotlights BT’s latest R&D around Enterprise solutions incorporating digital components like 5G, IoT, robotics, and AI – and how these can be applied across key industries like Healthcare, Manufacturing and Smart Cities.

For British businesses, it’s a brand that our customers know they can rely on 24/7; a brand which is trusted by the NHS and emergency services, local councils the length and breadth of the country and small businesses on our high streets. The strength and value of the BT brand amongst business and public sector customers allows us to stand out from the crowd. And we intend to make the most of that advantage as competition continues to heat up in the market. But in a fast-changing world, we need to make sure that BT stays relevant as technology shifts continue to disrupt the way that people live, work and play.

The same challenge applies to the rest of BT Group’s market leading brands, so today, we’re sharing how we’re evolving our brand portfolio to make sure our offering stays bang up to date. While BT Group will remain the home to all our brands – BT, EE, Plusnet, Openreach – over time, you’ll see some changes to the way we leverage the strength of BT and EE in particular.

So, I’m really excited to share that BT will become the flagship brand for our Enterprise and Global units – allowing it to shine through as a dedicated brand for business and public sector customers across the UK and globally. Meanwhile, EE will over time become the flagship brand for our consumer customers: the go to brand for converged broadband and mobile plans, and in time, exciting services that go beyond connectivity. You can read more about the changes in our Consumer business here.

These changes allow the wider Group to maximise the strength of our respective brands across our different segments, so that we can better connect with customers and deliver brilliant, converged experiences which make a difference to their lives. In the business segment, the BT brand stands head and shoulders above other brands – with BT comfortably outpacing its competitors for first choice purchase intent, trust and reliability. That’s an incredible position for us to build from.

Everything we do starts with the customer, so we recently asked hundreds of our business and public sector customers about what they need from BT. Their message was loud and clear; they want an expert guide who can help them navigate the ever-changing world of technology. A trusted partner who can knit complementary but often complex technologies together and give them the confidence to transform their business for the better.

For customers, it’s not the technology that matters, it’s what it can do to help them build stronger, smarter, more secure businesses.

At our Enterprise Live annual sales kick off a few weeks ago, we revealed our new brand platform which tells our customers just that: BT Means Business. It’s a fresh new look and strapline for the BT brand, which our Enterprise and Global units will be rolling out over the coming weeks. It has a wonderful duality about it – showing our customers that BT is a brand that stands for business and is serious about getting the job done.

Showing our customers and the world that BT Means Business will see us dial up the visibility and impact of the BT brand across the UK and globally, allowing us to better harness the power of our brand in the markets where it performs best.

I learnt many years ago that a brand is what a brand does, and action speaks louder than words, so over the coming months you will see us step up our plans on digital skills, security, sustainability, state of the art tech and savvy solutions. And we’ll back our brilliant product launches with more marketing and support so that our competitors will see we mean business too.

And while BT will be the lead brand for our business customers, we’ll continue to bundle in our fantastic EE business mobile solutions, giving our customers access to EE, the best mobile network in the UK.

The BT brand has always and will continue to be a critical national enabler for the UK and a strong challenger brand in global markets. These changes to our brand portfolio will put us in an even stronger position to succeed in the future, and we can’t wait to show you why no other provider means business like we do!

BT estimates thousands of the UK’s smallest firms could be leaving themselves open to cyber-attack because they have little or no business-grade cyber security measures in place, according to new research it has commissioned.

The survey of 1,000 decision makers at UK businesses has found that many thousands of small firms may be at risk – despite having security measures in place – because they are relying on security products which are not designed for business use.

With the majority of small firms moving online during the pandemic, opportunistic cyber criminals have also stepped up their efforts to target them. The Government’s recent Cyber Security Breaches survey found that almost half of all UK small businesses suffered a cyber security breach or attack last year.

However, despite the increased threat, BT’s latest research reveals more than half (51%) of the micro business sector, which make up the bulk of the UK’s 5.5 million SMEs, do not have the right level of cyber protection in place and are relying on security products which are designed to protect consumers rather than businesses.

The research also found 4% of SME businesses aren’t using any cyber protection at all, with this figure being even higher (17%) for micro businesses, i.e. those with 1-5 employees. From this data, BT estimates thousands of businesses across the UK do not have any cyber protection in place and require more support to help keep them safe online[2].

BT, a leader in cyber security with 3,000 experts across the globe, has enhanced its cyber protection for small businesses by introducing new online tools and advice led resources to help small businesses better protect themselves from online attacks. The development comes as its research found that over half (55%) of SMEs which lack cyber protection believe their business isn’t big enough to be targeted by cyber criminals, revealing that many remain complacent around the risk of attack.

Chris Sims, Managing Director for BT’s SoHo (Single Office/Home Office, unit, said): “There has been a huge shift over the past two years in the number of small firms moving their business online. Whilst that’s a really encouraging trend, being an online business can also bring its challenges, particularly around cyber security.

“Any digital business – large or small – can be a target for cyber criminals, and this is something we’ve seen during the pandemic. And whilst consumer-grade products are great for protecting you while surfing the web, accessing emails and other personal use, they’re not designed for running a business which requires more robust protection and safeguards.

“It’s clear that the UK’s smallest firms need more support in this area, so today we’re launching new free cyber security tools for our BT business broadband customers, together with free online advice to help upskill small businesses on how to stay safe online.”

Small businesses can now benefit from free BT Content Control and BT Web Protect included as standard with their BT business broadband, providing built-in protection to keep their business safe online. BT Content Control works by allowing the customer to configure their web traffic according to the categories they wish to block or allow, while BT Web Protect warns the customer if they are trying to access suspicious URLs which could carry harmful malware.

BT is also offering business antivirus protection, provided by McAfee, giving small firms business-grade device security to protect multiple devices from the latest online threats using email, web, and firewall protection.  This can be purchased by BT customers placing orders for business broadband, mobile, or as stand-alone from just £4.99 per month, which covers up to five desktop devices plus unlimited mobile devices, including tablets.

Alongside the new online tools, BT has launched the next phase of its ‘The Future is Now’ campaign with a focus on helping businesses to stay safe online, featuring advice-led content from partners such as the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). A new interactive tool developed by BT is also available online to help small businesses spot cyber threats in workplace scenarios and learn how to combat them.

Small businesses can also gain access to cyber security guidance from BT’s Skills for Tomorrow programme, with free webinars on topics such as how to spot attacks and how to avoid opening risky files or visiting phishing sites.

Ends

Notes to Editors

*Methodology: The research commissioned by BT and conducted by Opinion Matters, among a sample of 1,000 Decision Makers in UK based businesses with 1-500 Employees. Minimum 100 in Wales; 100 in Northern Ireland and 100 in Scotland - including 827 respondents from SMEs. The data was collected between 11.03.22 - 16.03.22. Opinion Matters abides by and employs members of the Market Research Society and follows the MRS code of conduct which is based on the ESOMAR principles.

• Business Antivirus Protection (powered by McAfee) Business Antivirus Protection offers business grade anti-malware and anti-phishing protection, alongside a vulnerability scanner, firewall protection and anti-spam functionality to block junk email. Businesses can purchase one license from just £4.99, which covers up to five desktop devices – plus unlimited mobile devices including tablets. Access to one dashboard means businesses can manage multiple devices at ease across IOS, Android, Windows and Mac OS, with the flexibility to add up to 25 devices.
• BT Web Protect helps to prevent infection from viruses, scams and phishing attacks by warning the user if they're about to visit a harmful website, whenever they're browsing online using their BT Business Broadband connection. In effect, should customers try to access a potentially harmful site they will be presented with a ‘splash page’ warning them that the site could be harmful and presenting them with a “yes / no” decision for whether they wish to proceed to the website or not.
• Content Control is a configurable service, allowing business customers to choose the categories of web traffic, they would wish to block, or allow. The service also comes with pre-set filter levels: light, medium, and strict; for those customers who might want to want to customise the service.

The new tools form part of BT’s wider cyber security portfolio, with other solutions on offer including Secure Business Backup by Acronis, which securely backs up and encrypts files up to 10 workstations with a single easy-to-use interface – all while actively protecting a business, with built-in cybersecurity and AI-learning.

To find out more businesses can visit: business.bt.com/cyberSME

[1] According to the UK Government’s Cyber Security Breaches Survey

[2] BT estimation based on 827 Decision Makers from SMEs – with 3.9% of SME businesses not having cyber protection at all, and UK SME population size is 5.5m according to latest figures from FSB UK Small Business Statistics | FSB, The Federation of Small Businesses

5G Wales Unlocked is the innovation project behind the new immersive 360-degree classroom in Ebbw Vale, just one of several trials demonstrating how ultrafast technology like 5G could transform rural communities, from powering tech innovations in agriculture, to improving rural transport and education and bolstering the tourism industry. 

Using a localised 5G network provided by BT as one of the project partners, the classroom uses the high-speed connectivity to project inspiring and educational video content onto all four walls in a 360-degree format, providing an immersive experience.

Lessons can be delivered across a variety of curriculum-related themes, taking children and young people on a journey of the senses as they ‘dive’ into the detail of a plant cell or explore the surface of a planet.

Thanks to the ultrafast 5G connection, live link-ups have also been established, allowing learners to discover the fascinating history of heritage sites such as Raglan Castle, with a live virtual tour from a Cadw custodian located at the site.

The live link-ups can also be used to connect classrooms across the country, meaning pupils can work collaboratively with other learners, and educators can enhance their own lessons in partnership with other schools.

Welsh Government Minister for Education and Welsh Language Jeremy Miles MS said: “It’s fantastic to see learners in Ebbw Vale benefitting from next-generation technology, thanks to this innovative project.

“It’s our ambition to see Wales leading the way in using digital technology to deliver high-quality education, and to raise attainment and skills of all learners, regardless of background. This trial will help learners in rural areas engage with the curriculum in an exciting, immersive environment.”

Nick Speed, BT Group Director in Wales, said: “We’re excited to be part of this pioneering project looking at the potential of 5G in rural areas.

“The immersive classroom is a brilliant example of how 5G’s greater bandwidth can help deliver rich, high quality content to inspire school pupils about the world, wherever they’re located. It has the potential to reduce the education gap between areas and make sure that all pupils have access to this kind of innovative learning material.”

Notes

5G Wales Unlocked has been made possible by funding from the Welsh Government’s Tech Valleys Programme and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

About 5G Wales Unlocked

5G Wales Unlocked is an innovation project demonstrating the commercial value of improved connectivity in rural Wales to accelerate the deployment of 5G and digital services across the region.

The project is led by the Welsh Government and involving a consortium of partners comprised of BT, Cisco, Cardiff University, Jam Creative Studios, Monmouthshire CC, Blaenau Gwent CBC, UtterBerry and AppyWay.  The project has received grant funding from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

 For more information, please visit 5gwalesunlocked.co.uk or follow 5G Wales Unlocked on Twitter and LinkedIn. 

Emergency service personnel are rightly regarded as national heroes and they play a vital role in our country, responding to critical incidents and helping to keep us safe.

To support this crucial work, our police, fire and rescue, ambulance services and other first responders, need ultra-reliable connectivity to provide secure and mission-critical communications that they can also trust to keep them safe too.  Whether it’s ambulances sending vital patient data to hospitals so staff can prepare for a patient’s arrival; police officers controlling a volatile crowd calling for urgent back-up; or fire and rescue crews assessing burning buildings, based on digital blueprints on tablets and live helicopter camera footage; all these scenarios depend on a network that’s fast, safe, and reliable.

It’s a major reason why, as the UK’s biggest 4G network, EE was entrusted by the Home Office to build the new critical Emergency Services Network (ESN).  We continue to make our network bigger and increase its performance and reliability.

So far, we’ve:

• Completed upgrades to all our EE network estate to be ESN-capable. This includes over 19,500 masts across England, Scotland, and Wales, including many thousands of sites that provide unique road coverage for ESN.
• Installed coverage on challenging road and rail tunnels and stations for more than 71 upgrade and development schemes, including operational areas specifically required for the emergency services, such as the Glasgow SPT Subway and Nexus Metro, major road tunnels across Wales and the South of England like the Severn Tunnel, and high-speed rail routes including HS1 tunnels.
• Delivered ESN connectivity across more than 540,000km of roads.
• Delivered upgrades and system improvements to ensure high availability service levels are met.
• Built over 650 brand new 4G sites: also delivering vital broadband connectivity to many communities for the very first time.
• Established our fleet of Rapid Response Vehicles, including trailer-based versions, known as cells-on-wheels, to provide emergency and temporary coverage within hours. Indeed, they have been used to support many incidents such as fires and floods.

In addition to these key milestones, a full suite of ESN-certified Coverage-as-a-Service solutions are now available from EE to support the Home Office and ESN users to expand and enhance coverage into their critical areas such as operational headquarters, training centres and strategic buildings. This also includes supporting them through surveys and site assessments right through to design, build and operation.

As an added benefit to the public, the network we’re building enables us to offer neutral host solutions where required, or, in other words, opening up the connectivity for any major mobile network operator. This includes locations such as rail stations and public buildings, and these services are also available to potential customers such as property developers and landowners who need to ensure there is ESN coverage in their facilities.

I’m proud of the work our teams have achieved on delivering coverage for ESN. It’s a vital project that will transform our emergency services for the better and giving them cutting-edge communication technology to respond quickly to incidents, even in the most rural and remote areas and help to improve public safety.

But, as pleased as I am with our progress, it’s important to stress that our work continues to keep delivering more resilient coverage for, and in partnership with, our emergency services.

For more information about ESN visit EE 4G & ESN | Emergency Services Network | EE Business

The technology and telecoms firm is also using its own assets, including phone boxes and its Street Hub 2.0 digital units, so its mobile arm EE can house hundreds of small cells to boost capacity in high demand areas. Small cells are mobile radio cells that help to provide better coverage for customers at street level, where it’s often impractical to install larger mobile masts or where an offloading capability is required.

The programme will allow EE customers to experience uninterrupted data speeds of up to 300Mbps in areas including Croydon, Leeds, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Nottingham. The infrastructure will be delivered over the next 18 months and can also support 5G network coverage in the future. In addition to enabling small cell deployment by EE, BT is also working with other UK mobile network operators to deploy small cells around the UK to help extend and densify their high-speed mobile network coverage.

Brian More O’Ferrall, Director, Mobile Operators in BT’s Enterprise business, said: “Around 200 of the small cells are already live and are helping to boost 4G coverage for EE customers in towns and cities across the UK.

“We have worked closely with our local authority partners to utilise their street furniture, as well as our own assets, to improve connectivity in these areas.

“Ensuring good digital infrastructure is a priority for many councils, especially with the rise in mobile device ownership and growth in demand for data and connectivity, and they have seen the benefits that such partnerships can provide.

“Not only does it mean that average download speeds can often double in some areas, but it’s also more efficient and means there is a reduced need for new cell masts in the localities.

“We’re pleased to be working with EE and other mobile network operators to deliver this coverage boost.”

The small cells will be deployed across the UK including the following areas:

• Birmingham
• Croydon
• Edinburgh
• Glasgow
• Leeds
• Greater London (including numerous London boroughs)
• Greater Manchester
• Newcastle
• Nottingham
• Leicester
• Cardiff

Councillor Muhammad Ali, Croydon Council’s cabinet member for sustainable Croydon, said: “Demands for digital connectivity are set to grow even more over the next few years and this partnership with BT means we are able to ensure better mobile coverage for our residents, visitors and businesses.

“With 12 EE small cells already installed and an additional 20 to follow over the next 18 months, it’s fantastic that our existing street furniture, together with BT assets, can provide a simple and efficient solution to fast-track mobile network infrastructure in our borough.”

BT is using its new Street Hub 2.0 units to site small cells and further boost connectivity, which comes after a recent survey by the company found that two thirds of small firms agree that mobile connectivity could be improved in their area. The new units have already been rolled out in Glasgow, Nottingham and London. Subject to local planning processes, BT is aiming to roll out around 300 Street Hub 2.0 units across the UK this year, working closely with local councils and communities.

Today’s announcement also comes after the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport recently launched its new Digital Connectivity Infrastructure Accelerator (DCIA) scheme to enable telecoms firms to get easier access to public buildings and street lights, bus shelters and traffic lights to mount small cell equipment for 4G and 5G networks.

Through the pilots managed by DCIA, BT will be working closely with DCMS and local authority partners to further accelerate small cell deployment across the UK.

The Green Tech Innovation Platform, launched in 2020, was awarded the Responsible Business Alliance Innovation Award at COP26 last year and has already fostered a series of successful green innovation partnerships. These are focused on developing solutions to help public sector organisations in reaching their net zero carbon emissions targets.

BT is already supporting Glasgow based scale-up iOpt on using its Internet of Things (IoT) platform which enables real-time information and alerts on the condition of properties for social housing providers like housing associations and local councils. BT is also working with scale-up Everimpact to deploy environment monitoring solutions for local authorities to help reach their sustainability goals, with a proof of concept to be rolled out via BT’s new digital Street Hub units this spring.  

The second phase will develop new digital solutions to support Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) manufacturing businesses as they seek to adopt more sustainable manufacturing processes. The Manufacturing Technology Centre is collaborating with BT on the new phase of the project, bringing its sector experience and expertise to the ongoing development of the Green Tech Innovation Platform. BT is also continuing its work with Plug and Play, the world’s leading innovation platform headquartered in Silicon Valley, to support the selection of scale-ups.

The FMCG sector is currently the largest manufacturing market in the UK, accounting for 14% of all goods manufactured in the country. A recent report commissioned by BT and developed by Accenture has forecast that ICT, including 5G, can help reduce global carbon emissions from the manufacturing sector by 13% by 2030 which is equivalent to1.3 gigatons of CO2e. The Green Tech Innovation Platform aims to explore how advanced digital technologies such as IoT, Edge, Data, AI and 5G can play a critical role in helping manufacturing customers in their transition to Net Zero.

The platform will focus on addressing three main areas within FMCG manufacturing:

• Circularity and supply chain: Uncovering new digital solutions to help track the flow of products, components, and materials to provide improved resource management and decision making across all stages of the production cycle, and empowering consumers to make better choices. This will support the sector to address the depletion of finite resources and how to embed circularity into production processes.
• Production Resource Optimisation: Exploring digital solutions that either modify existing production processes or introduce completely new breakthrough methods in order to become more energy and resource efficient. This could be through supporting waste reduction in production processes or harnessing additional outputs from the shop floor such as water, heat, energy.
•  Operation Design and Planning: Developing solutions that use data and digital technology to improve modelling, visualisation, scenario analyses and planning, with the aim to make it simpler to redesign legacy manufacturing processes with a sustainability focus.

Dean Terry, MD Corporate and Public Sector at BT, said: “Through expanding our innovative approach to green technology we’re accelerating action to address climate change, while supporting start-ups and scale-ups as they look to take their new solutions to market.

“In line with the BT Group Manifesto announced last year, this further demonstrates how we’re committed to creating  future digital services that will support our customers in driving quicker progress towards a circular world with net zero emissions.”

Joseph Darlington, Director of Technology Sectors at Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), said: “We recognise manufacturing has a vital role in driving down carbon emissions. Being part of BT’s Green Tech Innovation Platform initiative is an excellent opportunity for the MTC to contribute to the development of digital green technology and the technology supply chain we believe will be transformational to the manufacturing sector.  We invite the FMCG industry to engage with us and become part of this mission of delivering smarter factories and positive impact on the environment.”

 Kieran Borrett, Director UK at Plug and Play, said: “We are proud to partner with BT Group, helping them to engage and partner with the start-ups and scale-ups that are crucial to the transition to Net Zero. As a partner of Plug and Play Sustainability, BT Group will combine their knowledge and scale with the most promising technologies and business models to build a more sustainable future.”  

Successful scale-ups will have the opportunity to partner and work collaboratively with BT and its customers. The scope of the partnerships will range from BT using its expertise to find a cheaper, faster initial route to market through to new revenue share models. BT aims to announce the successful scale-up partners in late spring and start developing proof of concepts with customers in the summer.  

The Green Tech Innovation Platform aligns with BT’s wider commitment to accelerate responsible, inclusive, and sustainable growth over the next decade. As part of the BT Group Manifesto, the company has outlined plans to drive faster progress towards a circular world with net zero emissions.

To support tech start-ups and small businesses, BT is an active member of the SME Climate Hub which aims to motivate SMEs to halve their greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and reach net zero emissions by 2050.

From today, scale-ups can apply to participate in the Green Tech Innovation Platform.

Ends

About BT’s climate commitment

• BT has led on climate action for more than 30 years and in September 2021 the company announced plans to curb its carbon emissions sooner than planned, by bringing forward its net zero target from 2045 to 2030 for its own operational emissions and 2040 for its supply chain and customer emissions.
• Since 2016 BT has reduced the carbon emissions intensity of its operations by 57% and has reduced supply chain emissions by 19% over the same timeframe.
• In 2020, BT announced that it had completed the switch to 100% renewable electricity worldwide and pledged to transition the majority of its 33,000 strong commercial fleet to electric or zero carbon emissions vehicles by 2030.
• As part of BT’s Manifesto for responsible, inclusive, and sustainable growth, the company announced new goals to help its customers reduce their own carbon emissions by 60m tonnes by 2030, helping build towards a circular BT by 2030
• The full BT Group Manifesto, can be found here: www.bt.com/btmanifesto
• To find out more about what BT is doing to help fight climate change, visit: https://www.bt.com/about/digital-impact-and-sustainability 
• Green Tech Innovation Platform launched, June 2020: BT pledges support for a green recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic
• BT announces partnerships with first scale-ups, January 2021: BT partners with scale-ups on breakthrough green tech

BAI has been awarded a 20-year concession with TfL to deliver a backbone of full mobile and digital connectivity across London, giving customers uninterrupted coverage whilst on the Tube and within stations. It will also deliver a new full-fibre network to provide London’s homes and businesses with faster internet and better connectivity.

Today’s deal closely follows BAI’s announcement that Three and  EE, BT Group’s mobile arm, are the first to join its ‘neutral host’ network.[i] This will be available for use by all mobile operators and will provide 4G and 5G-ready mobile infrastructure, allowing for seamless upgrades in the future. The infrastructure will also be made available to the Emergency Services Network (ESN), which uses EE’s award winning 4G network.

To help BAI deliver this neutral host infrastructure for mobile operators, BT Wholesale will provide the company with premium data centre space in London, along with high-bandwidth connectivity, whilst using 100 per cent renewable power for all sites. As part of the solution that BAI is building, all UK mobile operators will be able to co-locate their equipment within these data centres, with BT Wholesale operating and managing these sites as a neutral party on behalf of EE and all other UK mobile operators.

BT’s data centres and network are powered by 100 per cent renewable electricity, with the Group bringing its Net Zero target forward by 15 years to 2030 for its own emissions and 2040 for its supply chain and customer emissions. This will help BAI contribute to meeting the UK Government’s objective of Net Zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Alex Tempest, Managing Director for BT Wholesale, said: “Today’s deal is further evidence of BT’s commitment to boost the capital’s digital infrastructure - helping London maintain its status as a great place to live, work, and do business. We’re busy doing that through the expansion of the Openreach fibre and EE mobile networks, together with our leading wholesale capabilities.

“We’re really proud to be playing a key role in enabling the delivery of this critical digital infrastructure project for BAI and look forward to our relationship building further from here.”

Billy D’Arcy, CEO of BAI Communications UK, said: “This deal marks a significant step in our progress towards delivering high-speed mobile coverage across the London Underground network, with BT’s data centres playing an essential role in helping London leapfrog other major cities in terms of connectivity. BT Wholesale’s services will support our neutral host infrastructure in transforming the experience of customers with all UK mobile operators, providing seamless, 5G-ready coverage that will allow passengers to move around the capital more smartly, safely, and securely.”

The deal forms part of BT Wholesale’s wider Edge Computing strategy, which is focused on bringing new customer experiences to market by harnessing the power of edge compute, BT’s leading 5G network and its innovation and partnering capabilities.

Ends

[i] Starting with the Elizabeth Line, opening late summer, as well as some of the capital’s busiest stations, EE’s network will grow across the system, promising continuous, reliable coverage for customers throughout the underground by the end of 2024, and building on the pilot of coverage in some Jubilee Line tunnels, first launched in 2019.

This unit has been established to scale up and commercialise the development of unique customer solutions incorporating components such as 5G Private Networks, IoT, and Edge Computing, amongst others. These technologies will provide the foundations to fuel the digital transformation of high growth industries such as healthcare, transport and logistics, putting BT at the heart of building the UK’s economic recovery. Division X will also manage BT’s portfolio of specialised businesses.

Marc brings substantial global senior management and business development experience, as well as extensive knowledge across mobile, IoT, cloud, software-as-a-service and managed services – all of which are strategic growth areas for BT’s Enterprise division.

Marc joins BT from Sierra Wireless, a global provider of IoT and enterprise networking solutions. Here he rose to the position of Chief Solutions Officer & Senior Vice President for EMEA & APAC, where he grew the global solutions and service business sevenfold between 2017 and 2020. Prior to that he was Managing Director, Global Innovation and Sales for West Coast start-up, Cisco Jasper, the world’s largest IoT platform. Earlier in his career, Marc ran EMEA for First Data (now Fiserv) helping it transform from the world’s largest payment processing company into a merchant solutions business. He also held a variety of roles at EE and Orange UK, where he built their MVNO and IoT businesses.

Commenting on his appointment, Marc said: “Division X is set to be a key growth engine for BT’s Enterprise business, moving it from a telco to a tech co by expanding into adjacent services which go beyond traditional calls and lines. I’m really excited to be leading a unit which will act as an innovation hub for our Enterprise customers. We’ll be focused on turning emerging tech like 5G, IoT, Edge and AI into solutions that we can scale, sell, and which will drive sustainable growth.”

Rob Shuter, CEO of BT’s Enterprise business, said: “Marc’s breadth of global experience across mobile and digital platforms, together with his proven ability to transform the latest tech innovations into scalable customer solutions, made him the ideal candidate to lead Division X.

“As the most trusted business communications provider in the UK, BT is uniquely placed to help customers in key industries with their digital transformation. Through Division X we’ll co-create and productise solutions working directly with them so they can get the most out of the latest tech.”

Marc is also proud to be a senior British Army Reservist and is due to take over as the Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Reserves and Cadets), the senior Reservist appointment in UK Defence, later this year.

Marc holds an undergraduate degree in Politics from the University of Exeter, an MPhil in International Relations from the University of Cambridge, and a Master of Business Administration from Henley Management College.

BT today announced the creation of a Clinical Advisory Board, comprised of experienced healthcare professionals, to drive the growth of new connected healthcare solutions which will deliver better outcomes and experiences for the NHS and patients. BT’s new Clinical Advisory Board will include eight leading NHS clinicians who will work hand-in-hand with BT to ensure its healthcare products and solutions are created to better meet the needs of NHS colleagues and which are linked to better patient and system outcomes.

With decades of experience between them, Dr Peter Ingham, Dr Michael Quinn, Professor Ann-Marie Cannaby, Dr Sandeep Bhansal and Dr Mateen Jiwani will bring deep insight and understanding to ensure that BT’s connected healthcare solutions are fully trialled, tested and embedded with direct feedback from NHS colleagues before they are deployed into a hospital environment. This will help to ensure that the NHS’ strategic ambitions around digital transformation are rooted in clinician and operational utility and have the support and endorsement of world-class NHS clinicians before they are used in healthcare settings.

In its first few months, the Clinical Advisory Board will support BT’s Enterprise unit on its health strategy, execution plans and tech solutions to ensure they are hardwired with the clinical and data governance necessary and can successfully be scaled at NHS locations right across the country. Whilst this is the first tranche of clinicians, further specialists will be onboarded in the new year.

Professor Sultan Mahmud, Healthcare Director, BT’s Enterprise unit, said: “I am delighted that BT has secured a group of top-class clinicians from the NHS with hands on experience of change management, technology and new care models. This demonstrates BT's commitment in supporting the digital transformation of the NHS, which is critical for its future sustainability. As a national enabler for the UK, it’s vital that we have experts on board who can advocate for our working heroes of the NHS as well as the health and wellbeing of our citizens who rely on the NHS day in, day out.”

Nottingham is one of the first places in the UK to benefit from BT’s new digital street units, with the first one in the city unveiled in Canal Street today.

BT is donating up to £7.5 million of outdoor advertising space to small businesses across the UK, as part of its roll-out of new Street Hub 2.0 units – which help build the UK’s digital infrastructure and include services such as an emergency call button, rapid mobile device charging and ultrafast Wi-Fi.

Local businesses in Nottingham are also being given the chance to advertise for free on the new Street Hub units, with nominations open now. BT is calling on local businesses and the public to nominate local firms who could benefit from the offer.

The launch comes as a recent BT study found that more than 60 per cent of small businesses agree that local advertising would help to increase awareness of their business, with 40 per cent saying it would encourage more people to shop at their local high street. However, almost half (49 per cent) said that cost was a major obstacle to them investing in local Out Of Home (OOH) advertising. BT is now taking action to remove one of the biggest barriers to adoption, with the Street Hub’s digital advertising screens designed to help small firms attract more customers following the local and national lockdowns.

Street Hubs can also help to enhance digital connectivity and services for communities through features including charity helplines, and local wayfinding via an integrated tablet.

A further three of the new Street Hub units will be rolled out in the first phase of the rollout across Nottingham in the coming months.

Councillor Rebecca Langton, Portfolio Holder for Skills, Growth and Economic Development at Nottingham City Council, said:  "We're excited to see BT investing in these new Street Hubs and providing small businesses with an opportunity to raise their profiles in Nottingham city centre. The hubs, which contribute to Wi-Fi coverage in the city centre and offer information and mobile charging points, will benefit residents and visitors to Nottingham, and this will further support small and independent businesses who play such an important role in making Nottingham city centre a great place to socialise safely." 

Sarah Walker, Director for BT’s Enterprise business in the Midlands, said: “BT has been supporting the recovery and growth of small businesses throughout the pandemic - and we’re moving up a gear as many prepare for one of the busiest times of the year. We hope that, by gifting free digital advertising space via our new Street Hub units, we can give small businesses in Nottingham an extra boost as high streets spring back to life. Our new Street Hub units can play a vital role in helping small firms to bounce back – whether that’s through building greater awareness of their business through free advertising, or by rejuvenating the high street by boosting local digital infrastructure.”

Kirsty Hole, Director of 101 Vintage, an independent vintage and used clothing store in Nottingham, said: “We’re a small independent shop, founded by two women, that opened our doors in September in the heart of Nottingham. One of our biggest challenges right now is connecting with customers and letting them know that we’re here. The power of local advertising is so important for us as a new small business, but Out-of-Home advertising felt completely out of reach at this early stage of our journey. The opportunity to have our name in lights on the new BT Street Hubs to let the local community know that we’re here, and open, is the perfect solution.”

The new digital units can also help local councils achieve their social and economic improvement and sustainability goals. With Nottingham City Council aiming to be carbon neutral by 2028, each Street Hub 2.0 unit can be fitted with air quality and CO2 sensors. This will provide local councils with the insight needed to help them take action to improve air quality, contributing to the health and wellbeing of local people.

BT’s latest study also revealed that around two thirds (66 per cent) of local businesses think that mobile connectivity could be improved in their local community, to help them work faster and smarter. BT’s new Street Hub 2.0 units will enhance local digital infrastructure by including the option to install mini mobile masts or ‘small cells’ on the structure to further boost 4G and 5G coverage in the local area.

Subject to local planning processes, BT is aiming to roll out around 300 of its new Street Hub 2.0 units across the UK in the next 12 months, working closely with local councils and communities.

Glasgow is the second city across the UK to benefit from the new Street Hub 2.0 units, with the first unit in Scotland unveiled in Sauchiehall Street today, one of the main shopping streets in the centre of the city.

BT is donating up to £7.5 million of outdoor advertising space to small businesses across the UK, as part of its roll-out of new Street Hub 2.0 units – which help build the UK’s digital infrastructure and include services such as digital advertising screens and ultrafast Wi-Fi. The announcement of enhanced connectivity in Glasgow comes shortly after BT’s EE network enabled 4G at Glasgow’s subway stations.

The rollout of the new Street Hubs will help support the wider regeneration of the area led by Glasgow City Council and will help support local businesses following the Covid-19 pandemic. A further nine new Street Hub units will be rolled out across Glasgow in the coming weeks, with additional sites to follow in the coming months.

Local businesses in Glasgow are being given the chance to advertise for free on the new Street Hub units, with nominations open now. BT is calling local businesses and the public to encourage them to nominate local firms who could benefit from the offer.

The launch comes as a new BT study found that more than 60 per cent of small businesses agree that local advertising would help to increase awareness of their business, with 40 per cent saying it would encourage more people to shop at their local high street. However, almost half (49 per cent) said that cost was a major obstacle to them investing in local Out Of Home (OOH) advertising. BT is now taking action to remove one of the biggest barriers to adoption, with the Street Hub’s digital advertising screens designed to help small firms attract more customers following the local and national lockdowns.

Street Hubs can also help to enhance digital connectivity and services for communities through features such as free mobile device charging, access to an emergency call button, charity helplines, and local wayfinding via an integrated tablet.

Councillor Angus Millar, Depute Convener for Inclusive Economic Growth at Glasgow City Council and Chair of the Digital Glasgow Board, said: “We are working with our partners to renew the city’s economy in response to the pandemic, and initiatives such as these Street Hubs can promote and support local businesses. I would encourage anyone who thinks a local business would benefit from free advertising on the hubs to nominate them.”

Alan Lees, Scotland director for BT’s enterprise unit, said: “BT has been supporting the recovery and growth of small businesses throughout the pandemic - and we’re moving up a gear now that lockdown restrictions have lifted. We hope that, by gifting free digital advertising space via our new Street Hub units, we can give small businesses in Glasgow an extra boost as high streets spring back to life. Our new Street Hub units can play a vital role in helping small firms to bounce back – whether that’s through building greater awareness of their business through free advertising, or by rejuvenating the high street by boosting local digital infrastructure.”

The new digital units can also help local councils achieve their social and economic improvement and sustainability goals. For example, around COP26, Glasgow City Council used their free screen time on the Street Hub units to raise awareness of key messages and events.

With nearly two thirds of all local authorities aiming to become carbon neutral by 2030, each Street Hub 2.0 unit can be fitted with air quality and CO2 sensors. This will provide local councils with the insight needed to help them take action to improve air quality, contributing to the health and wellbeing of local people. At the COP 26 'Tech for Climate Action' event in Glasgow, BT showcased the Street Hub Air Quality Monitoring (AQM) technology to attendees, raising awareness of how the technology can be used to support cities in reaching their sustainability goals.

BT’s latest study also revealed that around two thirds (66 per cent) of local businesses think that mobile connectivity could be improved in their local community, to help them work faster and smarter. BT’s new Street Hub 2.0 units will enhance local digital infrastructure by including the option to install mini mobile masts or ‘small cells’ on the structure to further boost 4G and 5G coverage in the local area.

Subject to local planning processes, BT is aiming to roll out around 50 of its new Street Hub 2.0 units across Scotland the next 12 months, working closely with local councils and communities.

Coverage of the recent COP26 climate summit in Glasgow brought concerns around climate change to the forefront of many peoples’ minds, with the event being an opportunity for global leaders to meet and discuss ways to tackle climate change. While it didn’t give us all the answers, it is clear we need to work together to take collective action. This applies to us as individuals, as well as the pressing responsibility that businesses have, both large and small.

At BT, we’ve set our own target to become Net Zero by 2030 for our own operational emissions, and by 2040 for our supply chain and customer emissions. We’re proactively sharing knowledge with our partners so that the entire ecosystem can work together to achieve the Government’s Net Zero emissions target. BT is an active member of the SME Climate Hub which aims to share best practice and motivate SMEs to halve their greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and reach Net Zero emissions by 2050.

Supporting initiatives to help drive sustainable outcomes is something we have been working on with local authorities and our public sector customers for some time. Most recently, we’re delighted to have won the Responsible Business Alliance Innovation Award at a COP 26 event hosted by DEFRA, recognising the work of our Green Tech Innovation Platform which has been designed to help develop innovative technology to help support our public sector customers in their transition to Net Zero.

Smarter streets

I was fortunate enough to attend the COP26 'Tech for Climate Action' event in Glasgow to showcase some of the innovative technology we’re developing to help local authorities across the country to meet their climate targets.

For example, we recently launched our Street Hub 2.0 units which can incorporate air quality and CO2 sensors to provide local councils with the insight needed to help them take action to improve air quality, contributing to the health and wellbeing of local people and helping local councils to meet their sustainability goals. To date, around 300 councils have declared a climate emergency, and are taking steps to reduce carbon emissions in their local areas, with two thirds declaring an ambition to be carbon neutral by 2030.

Working with start-up Everimpact through our Green Tech Innovation Platform, the solution combines Everimpact’s satellite data and AI technology with air quality and CO2 data collated via sensors on BT’s street furniture, including our Street Hub 2.0 units. Local councils will then be able to access the data via a ‘Smart City Dashboard’ where they will be able to track emissions, and receive certified carbon offsetting information, enabling local councils to generate funds for their decarbonisation efforts. Street Hub 2.0 units also feature a sustainable design and are powered by renewable electricity.

In addition to helping local authorities to meet their sustainability goals, our new Street Hub 2.0 units can also help councils to reach their economic and social improvement goals. Street Hubs provide ultrafast Wi-Fi connectivity and free calls to anyone in the UK and an emergency call button. The new units can also help improve mobile network coverage and capacity with the option to incorporate 4G and 5G small cells, allowing councils to meet the demands of their increasingly digitally connected local residents, businesses and visitors to the high street.

A boost for local businesses

Each unit also includes two digital screens that can be updated in real-time to share important public health and safety messages – a feature which was used during the recent national lockdowns - as well as sharing updates on council services. They also offer local businesses and brands the opportunity to invest in digital street advertising to better promote their products and services. To celebrate the roll-out of the new Street Hub 2.0 units and to support local businesses following the Covid-19 pandemic, I’m really proud of the fact that BT is donating up to £7.5 million of outdoor advertising space on the screens to small businesses across those cities where our new units are being rolled out.

Glasgow is the second city in the country to benefit from the new Street Hub 2.0 units, with the first unit in Scotland unveiled today in Sauchiehall Street, one of the main shopping streets city centre. With nominations open now, we’re calling on local businesses and the public to nominate local firms who could benefit from the free advertising offer.

Subject to local planning processes, we’re aiming to roll out around 300 of our new Street Hub 2.0 units across the UK over the next 12 months, working closely with local councils and communities.

Building a bright, sustainable future

It’s clear that local authorities have an important role to play in building better connected and more sustainable towns and cities, however, we know it’s not an easy undertaking. Working in partnership, BT can support local authorities by providing future-ready infrastructure and environment monitoring solutions as they look to build a more sustainable future for both the public and local businesses.

To find out more about BT’s Street Hubs visit: https://business.bt.com/public-sector/street-hubs/

New research from the BT and Altitude Angel-led “Project XCelerate” Consortium[1] has found over two thirds (68%) of the British public believe drones will have a positive impact on their life in the future, with almost half (49%) saying they are optimistic or excited about the potential drone technology holds.

The public is most positive about the impact drones can have on society for the greater good. Research found that 49% want to see drones used for risky jobs in place of people, such as firefighting (76%) and inspecting infrastructure (70%), while two in five were keen to see drones extending human capabilities and reaching otherwise inaccessible areas (42%), such as tracking criminals (65%) or investigating crime scenes (73%).

Human safety was particularly important to the over 65s, who agreed it was the biggest benefit of drone use, while the environmental benefits of drones were deemed equally important to human safety by the under 30s (36%) to support reduction in air pollution.

Despite this positivity surrounding this emerging technology, 38% of people still have concerns about drone use in the UK. Almost half of all adults said drone misuse (46%) and public safety, along with privacy (48%) around personal data and private property, were their main worries. Much of this concern could stem from some public misconceptions, with 47% of Brits believing drone usage remains unregulated, when in fact, strict regulations for drone operating are in place across the UK and continue to be developed and implemented by the Civil Aviation Authority as usage expands.

The report comes as part of Project XCelerate’s wider work on the UK Government’s Future Flight Programme and will be used to identify how the consortium will work to overcome some of the challenges around the public acceptance of drones.

Dave Pankhurst, Head of drone solutions at BT, said: “It’s encouraging to see that broadly the public recognise the future opportunities of drone technology, and the positive impact drones can have on society through providing potentially life-saving services. But the findings also highlight the need to better inform the public to help address any concerns they might have around the acceleration of drones in our everyday lives.

“To unlock the potential of drones, close collaboration with a number of key stakeholders, from the public, government, regulators, and the industry is needed. Through Project XCelerate we aim to help contribute to safely opening up the skies, creating new opportunities for the future of drone flight.”

Richard Parker, Altitude Angel CEO and founder, added: “We’re seeing drones save lives and change the way we live and work on an almost daily basis. The technology we’re developing and deploying with partners, like BT, will be the foundation on which the UK builds and enables its drone economy.”

Project XCelerate will demonstrate how drones can support ground-breaking use cases such as search and rescue missions, infrastructure inspection, and even the delivery of medical supplies to help improve access to healthcare in remote communities. By demonstrating the positive impact of drones through real world use cases, the project aims to help influence existing airspace restrictions to safely unlock the potential of drone technology.

ENDS

Note to editors

Research conducted on behalf of BT and Project XCelerate by Strive Insight during 2021 of 2000 UK nationally representative respondents. The full report, The Future of Flight: Public attitudes towards the increasing use of drone technology in the UK, can be found here.  

About Project XCelerate

BT, together with Altitude Angel and a number of UK tech start-ups, have been selected by UK Research and Innovation to deliver a Future Flight Challenge project called Project XCelerate. The consortium plans to establish a commercial drone zone in open and unrestricted airspace, located south of Reading, Berkshire. Joining BT, the consortium includes drone technology experts from Altitude Angel, Dronecloud, HEROTECH8 and Skyports, cyber-security provider Angoka, and end user experts SkyBound Rescuer and DroneStream. For more information, visit: www.bt.com/business/drone-solutions