BT Venturing
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M&ABT absorbs Local Business agent Fourfront
Reseller relationship brought in‑house in small transaction. BT says no shift in strategy for SME go-to-market.
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Partnerships & Alliances
Virgin Media’s foray into 5G signals end of BT era
All Virgin Media subscribers expected to leave BT network by early‑2022. BT highlights “ healthy pipeline ” of new MVNO business opportunities.
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Partnerships & Alliances
BT taps OneWeb for rural coverage leg up
Talks confirmed, but nothing advanced . Back from brink, state-backed OneWeb offers BT space-based alternative to cable . 0.6% of UK households still without “ decent ” broadband connectivity, according to Ofcom .
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Partnerships & Alliances
BT activates go-to-market accelerator
Scheme provides immediate growth opportunities to participating scale‑ups. Operator supports UK‑wide sustainability push via provision of smart energy services. Possible application of green‑tech in healthcare sector being explored.
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M&A
BT to take full OnePhone ownership
Swedish technology partners to be bought out after nine years, bringing the mobile PBX proposition fully under BT umbrella. OnePhone previously flagged as a quiet success of Enterprise portfolio, and now seemingly turning a profit.
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Partnerships & Alliances
5G opening doors for BT in Warwickshire
Group pushing for startup ecosystem based on broad-sweeping open innovation partnership with Warwick Uni. 5G to be expediated to Leamington Spa and wider network, with opportunities for gaming cluster highlighted.
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Partnerships & Alliances
Openreach hits FTTP milestone in Cumbria
Connecting Cumbria programme completes Phase Two , nearing regional ‘superfast’ targets. Phase Three on the table to finish the job. Gigabit-capable coverage lags behind for rural premises.
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M&A
BT Cornwall quietly put into liquidation
Business blighted by falling-out between BT and its local public sector partners to be wound up. Another marker of troubled public-private partnership approach to council contracts confined to past.
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Partnerships & Alliances
BT to head trials at Reading’s Arrow Drone Zone
Group targeting commercialisation of drone flights using country’s “ first commercial drone corridor ”. Funding delivered through four-year government initiative, but securing safety assurances for BVLOS flights first port of call. Potential benefits to healthcare vertical highlighted.
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M&A
BT retreats in Italy as court date looms
TIM snaffles SME and public sector accounts business, but BT maintaining a presence for large enterprises as well as multinationals. Taint of accounting scandal lingers, with former Global executives set for trial in 2021.
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Partnerships & Alliances
Holoportation in 2021: BT seeing DoubleMe
3D image processing specialist hints at telco deployments of HoloPort platform in 2021. Business-to-consumer service said to be in pipeline. DoubleMe–BT relationship growing out of Telecom Infra Project innovation hub.
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Partnerships & Alliances
University of Warwick unveils first public 5G campus
BT delivers commercial 5G campus network across 720 acres. 5G testbed in the works. Regional business innovation again in the spotlight.
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Partnerships & Alliances
BT makes managed SD‑WAN play with VMware
New “ cloud-optimised ” SD‑WAN management solution aims to give MNCs more control, boost performance, and enhance security. VMware SD‑WAN supported by BT consultants tasked with advising customers. Just the start of the partners’ software-defined network services collaboration.
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Venturing & Investments
Seed investment planted in BT procurement partner Paid
Multi-source investment boosts fintech solutions provider. Clear upward trajectory since its infancy, as Group CPO waxes lyrical about Paid solutions, amid recent macroeconomic turmoil.
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M&A
BT Global wraps up French exit
French infrastructure business bought by IT group said to generate in region of £100m in annual revenue. BT keen to highlight it will maintain a presence in France, with 60 major customers active on the country.
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Partnerships & Alliances
BT deepens Bristol University research ties
BT Group continues to cement ties with UK universities. Quantum research highlighted as focus, with QKD developments on the horizon.
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Partnerships & Alliances
BT opens up about Alibaba Cloud ties
Two providers cooperating on international network/cloud services. Alibaba Cloud’s UK cloud service is hosted in a BT data centre.
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Partnerships & Alliances
BT on point in South Western Railway Wi‑Fi project
BT switches on Wi‑Fi at South Western Rail stations. Another item off the checklist for three‑year connectivity partnership.
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M&A
MBNL’s future up in air as Three ponders mast sale
Both MBNL and Cornerstone, UK MNOs’ two tower joint ventures, appear on the verge of an ownership revamp. Three exit could tie with moves by CK Hutchison to establish a separate TowerCo.
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Partnerships & Alliances
BT, Microshare smarten up London hospital
BT sticking with LoRa as a an LPWAN option as it promotes the onsite efficiency gains for organisations using IoT private networks. First known partnership between BT and Microsoft‑supported IoT startup Microshare.
