All Allison Kirkby articles
-
Analyst BriefingBTwatch: fibre dividend emerges, Ofcom bares teeth on promos
Analyst Briefing: stubborn numbers but signs of things to come as BT’s Q1s leave the Group on track for near- and mid-term guidance; Openreach knocked back as Ofcom moves to block pricing change; and TelcoTitans considers the implications for the Group of a new UK Prime Minister…
-
Financial & PerformanceBT accelerates job cuts as fibre takes over
Q1 FY26–27 spend: Openreach’s expanding fibre footprint is beginning to support BT Group’s cost-cutting mission, with falling repair volumes, lower energy use, and accelerating labour reductions strengthening management’s route towards its £3.7bn savings target.
-
Financial & PerformanceBT remains under pressure with operations improved, but financials unmoved
Q1 FY26–27 in-depth: BT’s first quarter delivered a familiar contradiction as the Group marked operational progress across fibre, customer growth, and portfolio simplification, yet provided little evidence of financial improvement.
-
Financial & PerformanceBT guidance: toned down but on track
Q1 FY26–27 guidance: BT resets near- and mid-term forecasts after ‘discontinuing’ hived-off BT International, with the division’s long-time drag meaning its disappearance is barely noticed on the earnings front (more so on revenue). CEO says the Group remains ‘on track’, albeit with a knock this FY.
-
Financial & PerformanceBT: CEO Kirkby sets the stage, but payoff still pending
Q1 FY26–27 overview: BT opened its current FY with a solid but unspectacular quarter, as operational progress across Openreach, Consumer, and Business points to improving momentum, but stronger financial benefits are still yet to emerge.
-
Financial & PerformanceBT Business emerges from valley, greeted by mountain
Q1 FY26–27: Challenged division posts second successive quarterly revenue growth and enters final year of legacy voice services, escaping the drag that has contributed to a decade of decline. Turnaround far from over, however, as post-PSTN, post-BT International carve-out life nears…
-
Public AffairsO2 becomes latest German telco to confirm wide-scale cutbacks
Operator firms up plans to eliminate 1,100 positions by the end of 2026, targeting €185m in annual savings. Decision is latest in a series of efficiency measures at O2, following loss of 1&1 wholesale contract and rise in competitive pressures…
-
Network & InfraOpenreach’s fibre roll slows to 2021 levels
Q1 FY26–27: rollout pace declines sharply as 25 million threshold nears, while customer adds ramp up to become primary Openreach preoccupation, as BT keeps post-2026 build playbook hidden…
-
M&ABT and Verizon pair up on $4bn multinational B2B venture
In depth: BT has finally found a partner for its troubled International enterprise business, striking a joint venture agreement with Verizon that could bring an end to years of strategic uncertainty while creating a new global connectivity player focused on multinational customers.
-
Analyst BriefingBTwatch: BT gets its AI wings, swoops on enterprise opportunity
Analyst Briefing: CEO Allison Kirkby happy with progress at the Group in the FY, but with the usual room for improvement across all divisions. B2B gets busy with AI, cybersecurity, and MVNOs at the fore; B2C gets mobile; and the ‘transformation’ machine rolls towards another 40,000+ job cuts…
-
Network & InfraBT joins exclusive telco cohort in Anthropic’s frontier AI security project
Telco is the first UK business to confirm Project Glasswing participation, and the first European telco on the list, gaining early access to a frontier AI model aimed at pre-empting next-gen cyber threats.
-
Financial & PerformanceBT boss ‘having fun’ amid transformation challenge, industry noise, global turbulence
FY25–26: CEO Allison Kirkby relishing challenge two years in, claiming progress in place and runway for more through further cost-cutting, a B2B reset, and Consumer momentum leveraging Openreach strengths. Conversion still lacking, but management not short of optimism…
-
Financial & PerformanceBT ‘on the right path’ but braced for near-term decline
FY25–26: Expectations set for marginal revenue decline in coming FY, but management confident in medium-term prospects as capex tapers and free cash flow balloons.
-
Financial & PerformanceBT hunts for further cuts
FY25–26: after delivering its first £3bn savings goal ahead of time, and kicking on with another immediately after, BT has now expanded the programme by £700m and given itself an extra year to hit the new target.
-
Financial & PerformanceBT’s retrenchment puts domestic struggles under the spotlight
FY25–26: BT claims to be delivering on its UK-focused, next-gen network-led strategy, but continues to struggle with outcomes as revenue falls and familiar problems in B2B hold the Group back.
-
M&Anexfibre’s Datta: ‘corner shop fibre’ is dead, the UK needs an infra megamart
Interview: proposed £2bn acquisition of Netomnia is sparking fierce debate across the UK broadband sector. With industry heavyweights trading blows over duopoly fears and infrastructure overlap, discover why CEO Rajiv Datta believes this consolidation is crucial to challenging Openreach.
-
Analyst BriefingUK Infrawatch: Digi lands; CityFibre dials back; BT targets regional altnets
Analyst Briefing: Latest from the digital infra scene in the UK, including: a European budget challenger emerges in UK, BDUK adjusts to a revised fibre market reality, more rumours of regional player consolidation, and plenty more…
-
Financial & PerformanceFighting fibre with fibre: BT Consumer goes hyper-local in counter-attack against challengers
FY25–26: BT CEO Kirkby trumpets a marginal return to broadband customer growth as an early sign of a Consumer comeback.
-
Financial & Performance‘Maestro’ Selley handed licence to ‘get radical’ in BT International revival
FY25–26: global B2B division may be smaller and more focused but challenge remains acute, with veteran CEO parachuted in to steer turnaround just as sell-off rumour mill spins up again.
-
Partnerships & AlliancesBT Business launches AIOps offensive with Accenture
Telco fires starting gun on ‘multi-year’ programme with longstanding IT partner, seeking to overhaul business processes and develop new AI-powered enterprise products. Pair aiming to build on BT’s prior work in AIOps to deliver improved resilience and new capabilities, both internally and externally…