• BT Group’s full fibre broadband network now reaches two thirds of the UK’s homes and businesses and its 5G+ mobile network reaches 69% of the population.
• The company has shared plans to extend full fibre to 30 million homes and businesses and bring 5G+ to 99% of the population.
• BT is currently one of the biggest investors into UK infrastructure and will have invested more than £40bn into the country between 2020 and 2030.
• This investment forms part of BT’s existing capital expenditure plans and its financial guidance for the current year, next year and the end of the decade remains unchanged. 

London, UK – 12 February 2026: The Chancellor today welcomed BT Group’s plans to continue to upgrade the UK’s digital infrastructure – as the company celebrated its full fibre broadband and superfast 5G+ networks reaching two thirds of homes and businesses across the country.

Delivered through its infrastructure arm, Openreach, BT Group’s record-breaking full fibre build is the fastest in Europe, now reaching 22 million premises. To mark this milestone, the Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP visited an Openreach training centre in Crawley, meeting some of the engineers and apprentices who make the build happen.

Full fibre is the UK's most reliable broadband technology. BT Group plans to bring full fibre to 30 million UK homes and businesses, beyond the existing target to reach 25 million premises by the end of this year. This includes hard-to-reach rural areas, and runs alongside Government’s Project Gigabit initiative, which expects 99% of premises to have access to a gigabit-capable connection by 2032.

BT Group will also expand the UK’s best mobile network, EE, to bring 5G+ coverage to 99% of the population by Spring 2030 (up from 69% today). EE has been consistently rated the UK’s best mobile network 25 times in a row by the impartial network data experts at RootMetrics.

Combined, these plans are worth £5bn in investment. They will extend full fibre broadband and superfast 5G+ mobile to millions more people and businesses across the country, enabling better connections, faster streaming, more reliable remote working, improved online public services, and fuelling growth, productivity, jobs and skills.

BT is currently one of the biggest investors into UK infrastructure and will have invested more than £40 billion into the country between 2020 and 2030. This next stage of investment is enabled by the greater fiscal and regulatory certainty provided over the past year – including the 2025 Budget and this week’s Mobile Market Review and Statement of Strategic Priorities. The plans assume a regulatory framework that supports fair competition and investment in Ofcom’s forthcoming Telecoms Access Review, expected in March 2026.

Allison Kirkby, BT Group Chief Executive, said: “No one is going further or faster than BT to build the UK’s best networks. Millions of people and businesses rely on us every day to work, learn, stream and stay in touch. We’re investing so our customers and the country can continue to do brilliant things on our networks.

“This investment only happens when the environment is stable and supportive. We welcomed last  year’s Budget and this week’s updates to the UK’s telecoms strategy. We’re urging Government and Ofcom to stay bold and keep supporting investment. The more people, businesses and society connect, the more our networks fuel skills and growth.”

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said: “This investment by BT will boost connectivity, productivity and growth across the UK. It supports our plan to continue to build a stronger and more secure economy, cutting the cost of living, cutting the national debt and creating the conditions for growth and investment in every part of the country.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

• In 2021 BT Group made the investment decision to bring full fibre to 25m premises by the end of 2026.
• BT Group’s mid-term guidance is unchanged by today’s announcement:
  • Sustained growth in adjusted group revenue and adjusted UK service revenue from FY27 and EBITDA growth ahead of revenue, enhanced by cost transformation;
  • Annual capital expenditure excluding spectrum reducing by more than £1bn from FY26 level;
  • Normalised free cash flow of c. £2.0bn in FY27 and c. £3.0bn by the end of the decade.

Katie Milligan, currently Deputy CEO of Openreach, will become CEO, Openreach on 01 April 2026. She succeeds Clive Selley, who will become CEO of BT International. He succeeds Bas Burger who has decided the time is right for him to leave BT after 18 years of service, including nine years on the Executive Committee, also on 01 April 2026.

Allison Kirkby, BT Group Chief Executive, said:

“Openreach is a critical national asset - the digital backbone of the UK - and a key driver of BT Group’s long‑term value. Its talented team, disciplined execution and customer focus continues to strengthen our position as the UK’s most trusted connector. Katie has helped shape that success. Her deep industry experience, strong people leadership and sharp operational instincts make her the right leader to take Openreach forward.”

“Clive’s contribution at the helm of Openreach has been exceptional. His leadership - particularly the scale, pace and quality of the full fibre broadband build, has set new standards for our industry. We are deeply grateful for the commitment, expertise and integrity he has brought to the role. Clive’s lasting legacy is a world-class digital infrastructure that will serve the UK for generations to come.”

“Clive is also the best person to lead BT International forward as a next generation, global telco platform business. No one has more experience building complex modern day infrastructure and supporting customers at scale in their digital transition. I’m delighted he’s staying within BT Group and look forward to working together with him in his new role.”

“I’d like to thank Bas for all that he’s done for us over the past 18 years, including leading Global, BT Business and, most recently, successfully carving out BT International as a standalone unit. He has laid the foundations and strategy for a more focussed, responsive platform business for our customers outside of the UK, ready to scale and grow with the help of next generation technologies.”

“Together these changes strengthen BT Group’s leadership for the next chapter – giving Openreach continued commercial and customer momentum in the UK, and speeding up the transformation of BT International.”

To read Openreach’s announcement on its leadership succession, see here https://www.openreach.com/news/katie-milligan-appointed-next-ceo-of-openreach/

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Katie Milligan biography

Katie Milligan is Deputy Chief Executive of Openreach, the UK’s largest digital infrastructure provider and the engine behind the nation’s Full Fibre upgrade. 

She has been instrumental in Openreach’s return to revenue and EBITDA growth and reshaped the company’s commercial strategy through major product and pricing innovations. This included landmark wholesale pricing agreements such as Equinox and 112 – and she has strengthened long-term partnerships with hundreds of communications providers across the UK. 

Katie joined BT Group in 2004 on its graduate programme, developing deep commercial and operational expertise across a range of senior leadership roles. She then moved to Openreach in 2009 and has held positions including Commercial Director and Chief Commercial Officer.

Clive Selley biography

Clive Selley leads Openreach, the UK’s biggest digital infrastructure provider. He’s responsible for the nationwide full fibre build that’s transforming how people live, work and stay connected. 

Since 2016, Clive has driven one of the fastest broadband upgrades in Europe, taking full fibre past more than 22 million homes and businesses and helping shape the UK’s digital future. His focus on engineering excellence, innovation and skills has helped Openreach create the UK’s first fully fibre city and build one of the largest engineering workforces in the country. 

Clive has spent more than three decades in telecoms, previously leading BT’s technology division and major network transformation programmes. He was awarded a CBE for his leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic and serves as Honorary Colonel of 81 Signal Squadron. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

Notes to editors:

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