SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
FORM
6-K
Report
of Foreign Private Issuer
Pursuant
to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16 of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of
Announcement:
29 November
2016
BT
Group plc
(Translation of
registrant's name into English)
BT
Group plc
81 Newgate Street
London
EC1A
7AJ
England
(Address of
principal executive offices)
Indicate by check
mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under
cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F.
Form
20-F..X...
Form 40-F.....
Indicate by check
mark whether the registrant by furnishing the information contained
in this Form is also thereby furnishing the information to the
Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934.
Yes
.....
No ..X..
If "Yes" is
marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the registrant
in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b): 82- ________
November
29, 2016
MIKE
McTIGHE TO BE FIRST OPENREACH CHAIRMAN
Brings extensive regulatory experience from his eight years on
Ofcom's Board
Will help appoint further independent members to the new Openreach
Board
Mike
McTighe has been appointed the first Chairman of Openreach, BT's
local fixed network business. McTighe, who takes up his role from
January, is an experienced telecoms executive and regulator who
spent eight years on the Board of Ofcom. He will oversee the new
Openreach Board - which will operate from early 2017 - and be
instrumental in selecting further independent members to join that
Board.
BT announced in July 2016 it would implement governance changes to
make Openreach more independent and transparent. Central to these
was the creation of an Openreach Board with an independent chairman
and a majority of independent members. This Board will be
accountable for setting the strategy and overseeing and managing
the performance of Openreach, working with CEO Clive Selley and his
management team. It will ensure that Openreach treats all customers
equally whilst investing in better service, broader coverage and
faster speed broadband.
Speaking today, BT
Chairman Sir Michael Rake said: "I am delighted that Mike has
agreed to be the first Chairman of Openreach. He has extensive
experience and I am sure Openreach will benefit from his detailed
industry and regulatory knowledge.
"We
promised in July to create an Openreach Board and we are delivering
on that promise. I remain hopeful this significant move by BT can
help to underpin a sustainable, proportionate and fair regulatory
settlement that is in the interests of the whole
country."
McTighe
added: "Openreach is at the heart of the digital economy and I am
thrilled to take up this important role. A great deal has been
achieved over the past decade but it is clear that Openreach needs
to up its game on service and regain the trust of the people we
serve in the industry and across the UK. Clive is making great
progress on both fronts and I look forward to working with him to
ensure the UK has the best possible digital infrastructure. I also
look forward to meeting with the many service providers who rely on
Openreach services or who are keen to use its ducts and poles to
build their own networks".
McTighe
brings extensive regulatory experience to the role, having spent
eight years on the Board of Ofcom from 2007 to 2015. He has also
held a variety of non-executive roles following an executive career
spent largely with Cable and Wireless, Philips, Motorola, and GE.
Importantly, he has recent first-hand experience from financial
services company Jerrold Holdings (trading as Together) of working
in a regulated environment, in a parent/subsidiary structure where
both entities have their own Boards.
Notes
to Editors
Openreach is
responsible for the tens of millions of copper and fibre lines that
connect homes and businesses to local telephone exchanges across
the UK. It provides an extensive range of wholesale broadband and
telephony services to more than five hundred service providers, all
of whom can access the network on equal terms. It is a highly
regulated business with more than ninety per cent of its revenues
coming from products and services that are regulated by
Ofcom.
The business was established in 2006 following Ofcom's Telecoms
Strategic Review the previous year. A great deal has been achieved
since then with broadband usage across its network surging from
around seven million premises in 2006 to more than 20 million
currently. Competition has also flourished, thanks to the Openreach
open access model, with BT currently having around 37 per cent of
the retail broadband market.
BT has
invested heavily to ensure the UK has one of the best superfast
broadband networks in the world. Capex at Openreach totalled more
than £10.5bn during its first decade of operation and has
grown by more than thirty per cent over the last two years,
reaching more than £1.4bn last financial year. This investment
has helped the UK to boast the best superfast broadband coverage
and take up among major European nations.
More
than 26 million homes and businesses can currently access fibre
broadband via the Openreach network and tens of thousands of
additional premises are being passed every week. The business is
also set to deploy ultrafast broadband via Fibre to the Premises
(FTTP) and G.fast, with an ambition to bring ultrafast services
within reach of twelve million homes and businesses by the end of
2020.
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. You
can also subscribe to receive all BT announcements here and you can
follow us on Twitter here.
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 180
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 of six
customer-facing lines of business:
Consumer, EE, Business and Public Sector, Global Services,
Wholesale and Ventures, and Openreach.
For
the year ended 31 March 2016, BT Group's reported revenue was
£19,042m with reported profit before taxation of
£3,029m.
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
Signatures
Pursuant to the
requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant
has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
BT
Group plc
(Registrant)
By: /s/ Dan
Fitz, Company Secretary
--------------------
Dan
Fitz, Company Secretary.
Date
29
November 2016
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