Ofcom plans to ‘supercharge’ rollout of full-fibre broadband January 8, 2020 Ofcom will “supercharge” British investment in full-fibre broadband by encouraging more competition in cities and supporting BT to roll out faster speeds in rural areas. In a new five-year plan set out today, Britain’s telecoms regulator proposed the introduction of different regulatory regimes for rural and urban areas. Read more: Broadband speeds are increasing but [...]
BT TV amps up streaming surge with Disney approach November 24, 2019 BT has approached Disney about adding the iconic company’s new streaming platform, Disney+, to its television service. According to the Sunday Times the move is part of BT’s strategy of making BT TV a streaming “super-aggregator”, where viewers can access the majority of on-demand platforms in a single place. Read more: City reacts with shock [...]
Inmarsat and BT cut ties with Prince Andrew over Epstein friendship November 20, 2019 Inmarsat and BT have become the latest organisations to cut ties with the Duke of York in light of questions about his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. A source close to Inmarsat confirmed to City A.M. that the satellite company had withdrawn its sponsorship. In a statement, BT said that they would no [...]
Four reasons to fear Labour’s plan to part-nationalise BT November 15, 2019 British businesses today poured scorn on Labour’s plans to provide Brits with free broadband and part-nationalise BT, slamming the policy as a major setback for the UK’s digital economy. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has set out plans to nationalise BT’s full-fibre arm, Openreach, along with other divisions, funding it by taxing multinational tech giants. Read [...]
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s British broadband speech in full November 15, 2019 Jeremy Corbyn has laid out plans to provide free full fibre broadband to every UK household and part-nationalise BT this morning. Labour said that the policy, the cost of which was estimated at £20bn, would be funded by taxing multinational tech giants. The policy announcement sent BT’s share price down over two per cent this [...]
Labour’s BT plans force Talk Talk to pause sale of Fibrenation November 15, 2019 Broadband provider Talk Talk’s chief executive Tristia Harrison said that Labour’s plans to nationalise BT’s Openreach arm had forced the company to pause negotiations over the sale of its Fibrenation sister business. On a call with reporters, Harrison said: “Negotiations are going very well, but the news overnight means that we are all pausing, considering [...]
Vodafone expands full-fibre network with Openreach deal November 11, 2019 Vodafone is set to expand its full-fibre broadband network to three new UK cities after signing a new commercial deal with Openreach. Customers of the telecoms firm will be able to access the superfast network in Birmingham, Bristol and Liverpool from spring 2020, taking its total reach to 15 UK towns and cities. Read more: [...]
BT shares fall as Virgin Media ditches telco for Vodafone network November 6, 2019 Virgin Media is leaving BT’s mobile network for rival Vodafone from late 2021, in a five-year deal that will give its customers access to new services including 5G. Under the deal, Vodafone will supply wholesale mobile services including voice and data to over three million Virgin Mobile and Virgin Media Business customers until 2026. Read [...]
BT keeps dividend alive despite heavy network spending October 31, 2019 BT kept its dividend alive despite a hit to earnings and revenue in the first half of new boss Philip Jansen’s first financial year due to hits from regulation and legacy product declines. The telco posted a flat profit and interim dividend as it pushes to try and roll out fibre broadband to 4m premises [...]
Why BT’s house party with EE is about to end in a hangover October 9, 2019 If there’s a crisis on the British high street, no one told Philip Jansen. The BT boss has announced that his company will return to bricks-and-mortar, shacking up with mobile subsidiary EE. The shops are part of a wider transformation plan at the telecoms stalwart. Since taking over as chief executive in February, Jansen has [...]