All BT Group articles – Page 44
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People
Ex-BT chair teed up to lead UK audit regulator
Business Secretary Kwarteng puts Jan du Plessis forward for appointment to chair the FRC amid governance struggles on the audit watchdog’s “underweight” board. FRC in transition, and requires a chair able to partner with government.
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Financial & Performance
BT’s M&A chaperone boosts takings
Boutique advisory firm Robey Warshaw reports a 50% jump in sales from corporate deal-making tasks. Partner of BT and Vodafone appears primed to benefit from industry’s new wave of consolidation.
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M&A
VM O2 CEO happy as spectator to BT takeover saga
Lutz Schüler, CEO at Virgin Media O2, said he “thanks God” his business is not distracted by shareholder goings on. Comes after Patrick Drahi expanded his shareholding in VM O2 rival BT. Schüler’s attention fixed on customer experience improvements and fibre rollout.
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Suppliers & SCM
BT joins audit club to boost supplier sustainability
Pourrat underlines ESG credentials though membership of telco grouping to share best practice on supply chain sustainability. Highlights that BT spent around £13.1bn this year with more than 1,100 direct suppliers in nearly 100 countries, and that understanding impact on environment and society is key.
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Partnerships & Alliances
BT joins industry bodies in health-tech drive
Operator added to Health Tech Alliance and The Kings Fund as part of effort to expand in the industry through collaboration. Health a sector of interest to CEO Jansen amid BT Enterprise resurgence.
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M&A
Defences up as Drahi increases BT stake
Patrick Drahi’s Altice UK stops short of a takeover bid, but increases holding to 18%. UK government issues warning that it “will not hesitate” to protect national interests amid concerns of foreign investment in critical infrastructure incumbent. Takeover not Drahi’s ‘intention’, but caveats are in place.
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M&A
Will Drahi come knocking on BT’s door?
Six months on from French billionaire’s surprise raid on BT, Altice UK now free to up its stake or mount a takeover bid. Jansen called in for meeting with UK government minister to get the lowdown on Drahi’s intentions.
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Suppliers & SCM
Openreach urges Vauxhall to build British ‘green’ fleet
Clive Selley, Openreach CEO, “in talks” with Vauxhall owner Stellantis to increase production of electric vehicles at its UK plant. Vauxhall supplies Openreach’s 28,000-strong commercial van fleet, which will be ‘green’ by 2030. 1,000 EVs currently on the road in Openreach livery.
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Public Affairs
BT slammed for lack of action on spoofing
IP altnet pokes incumbent over limited success in rooting out fraudulent use of caller ID. BT focused on industry collaboration to address fraud challenge. Migration to all-IP by 2025 portrayed as critical to effective remedies for the problem.
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Network & Infrastructure
How CityFibre rolls with supply chain turbulence
Fibre builders not immune from global supply chain chaos. UK altnets feeling the pinch in chip and labour shortages, alongside rising costs. CityFibre supply chain director shares mitigation tactics.
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M&A
BT Sport mulls Discovery JV as DAZN buyout stalls
Discovery in talks with BT over sports broadcasting partnership. Deal would offer strong alternative to DAZN’s £600m buyout attempt.
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Premium
OpenBNG unveils winners of multi-operator RFI
DT-backed TIP initiative makes strides in disaggregating the broadband network gateway. RFI process, initiated by DT, BT, Telecom Italia, Telefónica, and Vodafone, identifies shortlist of suppliers most likely to be first with commercial and OpenBNG-compliant products. Altran, Benu Networks, Casa Systems, and RtBrick emerge victorious in software category. APS ...
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Enterprise (B2B)
Dublin up: BT Ireland relocates B2B support
Move of service desk ops furthers expansion of BT’s workforce in Dublin. Transfer forms latest step in long-running customer experience transformation programme. Deep-Insight advising BT Ireland on customer-centric strategies.
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Operations
Jansen hopes to get BT on front foot with new HQ
BT’s new HQ opens after more than a year of delays. Jansen aims to remove “hierarchical” business format.
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M&A
Reliance denies interest in acquiring BT stake
BT share price jumps on report that Indian conglomerate eyeing a move for UK incumbent. Reliance quick to dismiss the article as “completely speculative and baseless”, but City still excited.
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Partnerships & Alliances
BT renews Middle Eastern partnerships
Long-running R&D tie-up gets extended, with BT’s engagement with Etisalat and Khalifa University stretching a further five years. BT Applied Research MD Tim Whitley among those involved.
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Premium
H1 FY21–22: Legacy still a drag on BT Enterprise
Legacy declines continued to outpace new service and digital growth, while mobile wholesale losses dimmed Q2 performance. EBITDA performance buoyed by lower costs. Jansen remains confident in Enterprise’s ability to grow again as CEO Rob Shuter’s organisational changes and new operating model take shape.
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Premium
H1 FY21–22: flat figures at BT Consumer do not curb Jansen enthusiasm
Consumer division sees revenue and earnings knock in Q2. Numbers show slow going on multi-play uptake, and star product and service lines being outshone by accessories. Executives remain bullish on the long-term growth promise of convergence, however.
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Suppliers & SCM
Mitie set to cash in on Huawei ban after DAEL buy
FM group indicates it is picking up more business from BT and Vodafone. DAEL Ventures UK brings in ADC capabilities for cell towers.
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Premium
BT wants to retain Huawei FTTP kit until 2030s
BT’s CTIO flags benefits of a converged core and legacy network closures.