TIDMBT.A
RNS Number : 7885Z
BT Group PLC
22 September 2015
September 22, 2015
BT CEO DELIVERS VISION FOR BRITAIN'S DIGITAL FUTURE
-- Aim for a new universal minimum broadband speed of 5-10
Megabits per second (Mbps) for every home and business, subject to
regulatory support
-- Vast majority to get well ahead of minimum speeds - plan to
extend fibre broadband coverage beyond government's 95% of premises
target
-- From superfast to ultrafast: 10m premises to receive
ultrafast broadband with speeds of 300-500Mbps by end of 2020.
1Gbps service also to be provided
-- "Never say no" - BT to build on its record of co-funding 90 community broadband schemes
-- Openreach to increase on-time customer installations beyond
Ofcom regulated levels in new Charter
-- New "View My Engineer" service from Openreach aims to improve
customer experience by giving text progress updates and engineer's
mobile phone number
-- New report values BT pledges as worth GBP20 - GBP30bn contribution to UK economy
BT Chief Executive Gavin Patterson today unveiled the company's
ambition to deliver Britain's digital future, cementing the
nation's future prosperity as the G20's leading digital
economy.
Ninety per cent of UK premises can already access fibre
broadband, putting the UK top of the EU's largest countries,
according to Ofcom.
Speaking at BT's Delivering Britain's Digital Future conference
in London, Patterson announced pledges designed to go further
and:
-- tackle slow speeds in hard-to-reach parts of the country;
-- achieve a step-change in speeds overall, with ultrafast rollout starting next year;
-- improve customer service, through a number of commitments unveiled by Openreach.
Patterson said: "For the past five years, the UK has been the
largest digital economy in the G20, by percentage of GDP. We think
the UK has an even brighter future ahead if we make the right
decisions today. We want to forge an ultrafast future for Britain
and stand ready to help government deliver the broadband speeds
necessary for every property to enjoy modern day internet services,
such as high definition TV streaming and cloud computing. To
achieve this, we need a collaborative effort across industry and
government."
Universal Minimum Speed
Patterson committed BT to supporting government in delivering a
new universal minimum broadband speed of 5-10Mbps, enough for
everyone in the UK to enjoy popular internet services like high
definition video.
Patterson emphasised the need for a supportive regulatory and
government policy environment to bring about a commercially viable
investment. He also cited new technologies developed at BT's
Adastral Park research laboratories, which should help boost slow
speeds for many hard-to-reach premises. Industry-leading research
there includes tests on promising new technologies such as
"wireless to the cabinet" and "long reach VDSL", to help bring
higher speed broadband to hard-to-reach communities.
Patterson also pledged the company would introduce a satellite
broadband service for some of the UK's more remote premises by the
end of the year.
Extend fibre broadband beyond UK's current plans for 95% of
premises
Patterson announced BT's desire to go "further and faster" on
fibre broadband.
He made clear BT would "never say no" to providing faster
broadband to communities, promising the company would instead
explore innovative funding and technical solutions. He said 90
communities were already benefitting from this approach.
The BT chief executive said the UK would go beyond government's
current 95% target for fibre availability, thanks to "success
dividend" clauses in contracts covering rollout co-funded by BT,
Whitehall and local councils.
The clauses mean BT has to reinvest or return money if take-up
exceeds certain levels in areas where public funds have been used.
A sum of GBP130m is already being released and is potentially
available to get the UK towards having fibre available at 96% of
premises. A greater proportion of premises will have access to
fibre broadband than can access mains gas.
He also announced plans to supply fibre broadband for all new
housing developments, either through BT's own efforts or in
cooperation with developers.
From Superfast to Ultrafast speeds, reaching 10m premises by end
of 2020
Patterson stressed the potential benefit to homes and smaller
businesses from ultrafast broadband technology. These services will
sit beside "Ethernet" broadband services which already offer
ultrafast speeds to larger businesses and organisations which can
pay for bespoke dedicated lines.
Patterson went beyond his January statement on ultrafast
broadband, to say BT's new services of 300-500Mbps would reach 10m
homes and smaller businesses by the end of 2020, and the majority
of premises within a decade. A 1Gbps service will be provided for
those that want even faster speeds. The connections on offer would
be a combination of Fibre-to-the-Premises technology, as well as
new G.fast technology, which uses existing Fibre-to-the-Cabinet
technology.
Delivering a step-change in customer service for all: new
Openreach charter
Joe Garner, the Openreach chief executive, said there was more
to do on service. He emphasised his organisation's progress on
service, exceeding all 60 Ofcom service standards in 2014/15, as
well as hiring 3,000 extra engineers, reducing installation waiting
times, fixing faults faster and halving complaints. Garner made
clear his ambition to exceed by 6% Ofcom's 2017 minimum standards
for delivering new connections on-time.
He also cited "View My Engineer" as a key step forward. This is
a new service which gives customers text progress updates plus
their engineer's name and mobile number should they need to make
contact.
He highlighted an issue which arises because customers often
cannot deal direct with Openreach, but can only deal with their
retail broadband provider. Garner declared he is open to having
Openreach deal directly with end-customers, subject to consulting
Ofcom and telecom providers.
New Report from KPMG values impact of BT programme at GBP20 -
GBP30 Billion
At the conference, a new report was also unveiled by consultants
KPMG, valuing the impact of BT's future commitments as worth GBP20
- GBP30 billion to the UK economy over the next decade.
-ends-
For further information
Enquiries about this news release should be made to the BT Group
Newsroom on its 24-hour number: 020 7356 5369. From outside the UK
dial + 44 20 7356 5369. All news releases can be accessed at our
web site: http://www.btplc.com/News
About BT
BT's purpose is to use the power of communications to make a
better world. It is one of the world's leading providers of
communications services and solutions, serving customers in more
than 170 countries. Its principal activities include the provision
of networked IT services globally; local, national and
international telecommunications services to its customers for use
at home, at work and on the move; broadband, TV and internet
products and services; and converged fixed/mobile products and
services. BT consists principally of five customer-facing lines of
business: BT Global Services, BT Business, BT Consumer, BT
Wholesale and Openreach.
For the year ended 31 March 2015, BT Group's reported revenue
was GBP17,979m with reported profit before taxation of
GBP2,645m.
British Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary
of BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets
of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in
London and New York.
For more information, visit www.btplc.com.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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September 22, 2015 04:34 ET (08:34 GMT)
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