BT slashes workforce as Talktalk takeover adds to turnaround challenge Telecoms BT has cut its workforce by 11 per cent as boss Allison Kirkby presses ahead with an overhaul of the telecoms giant, just weeks after rescuing struggling rival Talktalk from administration. The cost-cutting drive helped push pre-tax profits up 12 per cent to £1.1bn in the six months to September, despite revenue growing just one [...]
Why Virgin Media O2 is cutting jobs and retreating from fibre Telecoms Virgin Media O2’s decision to cut thousands of jobs and halt further fibre upgrades marks quite the retreat for a company once positioned as BT’s biggest challenger, writes Saskia Koopman. Five years after Virgin Media and O2 merged to create a £31bn telecoms giant, VMO2 is battling falling revenues, ongoing customer losses and over £22bn [...]
How Talktalk went from taking on BT to being rescued by it Telecoms TalkTalk was founded to take on BT, slash the price of broadband and shake up a market dominated by a handful of incumbents. But more than two decades later, the challenger has ended up in the arms of the company it was built to challenge. BT stepped in on Monday to buy Talktalk and its [...]
Virgin Media takes aim at ‘stitch up’ BT rescue of Talktalk October 5, 2026 Virgin Media has hit out at BT’s rescue of Talktalk as a “stitch up”, warning the deal could further strengthen its rival’s grip on Britain’s broadband market. BT agreed on Monday to acquire debt-laden Talktalk and its wholesale arm PlatformX Communications out of administration, safeguarding services for 1.5 million retail customers and one million wholesale [...]
Ofcom blocks ‘unfair’ Openreach pricing scheme September 28, 2026 The communications regulator has blocked Openreach’s new pricing scheme, arguing the proposed charges were “unfair” and granted it an unfair advantage over competitors. Ofcom has ordered Openreach, a fibre broadband network, to withdraw its ‘Incremental New to Openreach Offer’. The offer would have provided internet service providers (ISPs) a monthly discount for bringing new full-fibre [...]
BT Openreach told to pull ‘unfair’ broadband discount July 28, 2026 Ofcom has moved to block a heavily discounted Openreach broadband offer after warning it could squeeze rival fibre networks out of the market, in the regulator’s first attempt to stop a commercial deal from BT’s network arm. The telecoms watchdog said Openreach’s proposed discount for internet providers signing up new full-fibre customers was “not fair [...]
BT braces for loss of 800,000 customers as it banks on fibre to keep turnaround ‘on track’ July 23, 2026 BT stuck to its cash targets despite another quarter of flat sales and falling profit, as the telecoms giant pointed to growing demand for its fibre network. The FTSE 100 firm held guidance for around £2bn of free cash flow this year after revenue edged little changed to £4.3bn in the first quarter. Pre-tax profit [...]
VodafoneThree enters race for TalkTalk customers with takeover bid June 9, 2026 Vodafone has tabled a bid for TalkTalk’s consumer broadband business, joining a crowded auction as the UK’s largest mobile operator pushes into the home internet market. The FTSE 100 telecoms giant has emerged as a late entrant into the sale process, after initially declining to participate, the Financial Times first reported. Sources close to the [...]
Monzo goes mobile: UK fintech debuts cell service in tie-up with Virgin Media O2 May 28, 2026 Monzo is set to launch its mobile service this summer in the firm’s latest play at diversifying its income from its traditional digital banking roots. The London-based fintech has sealed a tie-up with Virgin Media O2 and 1Global to kick off ‘Monzo Mobile’ – a phone plan and e-sim offering. Virgin will provide the UK [...]
BT bags five-year digital contract with BAE Systems May 14, 2026 BT has signed a five-year deal with BAE Systems to provide secure connectivity across the defence giant’s global operations, as military contractors ramp up digital infrastructure spend. The contract will see BT support BAE’s network across 40 countries, with an option to extend the partnership by an additional three years. The deal comes as BAE, [...]