All TelcoTitans.com articles in BTwatch #321
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Digital Reports
BTwatch Report #321 – February-March 2021
Key stories include: Digital makeover for BT board | Canonical lauds BT innovation | Enterprise eyes NHS opportunity | 5G FWA launch at Global | Lees takes lead on transformation.
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People
BT denies right royal dust-up at the top
Group moved to issue a denial of Jansen ultimatum as speculation swirls on du Plessis’ surprise departure decision. Two camps emerging, with some discontent at Jansen power moves, but CEO’s position appears safe for now. Beyond rumours and gossip, BT board looks starved of experience needed for Group transformation ...
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Premium
Openreach NI fibre plan stirs up Project Stratum
Openreach Northern Ireland on track to exceed FY20–21 full-fibre target. Overlap emerges with Openreach plan and publicly funded project. NI leads UK with highest full-fibre availability.
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Premium
BT under fire in long-running NI public sector projects
Northern Ireland Assembly report slams contract extensions awarded to BT Group that cost taxpayers £120m. While civil servants displayed “indifference”, BT “ran rings” around them.
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Premium
BT going it alone with Shared Rural Network plans
O2, Three, and Vodafone reach agreement to construct more than 220 new 4G masts by 2024, taking partial ‘not-spot’ coverage to 84% of UK landmass. Sites will cover areas BT/EE already reach, with “historic investment” seemingly respected, per Allera’s request. Frozen out of initial announcement, BT updated on its ...
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Premium
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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Innovation (R&D)
Testbeds and Trials: many roads to 5G for BT
Two private networks in the West Midlands to be switched on, powering manufacturing modernisation in the region, underpinned by BT infrastructure. BT/EE powers two projects in state-backed 5G Create funding call.
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Premium
Canonical hails BT progress on 5G core
Deployment of fully cloud native core appears to be in full swing with open source developer.
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Elsewhere in BT Group: BT Sourced gets hiring
New procurement team hiring; revamp of Plymouth office by 2022; BT hoping to go greener through PPAs.
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Premium
Elsewhere in BT Consumer: spectrum auction looms
UK spectrum auction inches closer, although Ofcom still cautious; Digital Voice expansion; rights picked up in MotoGP and cricket.
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Premium
Elsewhere in BT Enterprise: Redcare goes all-IP
Redcare goes all-IP; Enterprise commissions 3D art for latest ad campaign.
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Strategy & Change
Elsewhere in Openreach: ADTRAN switched on
ADTRAN kit up and running; Ofcom Connected Nations report shows full-fibre progress; Gigabit Vouchers start showing worth.
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Public Affairs
Openreach strike action goes ahead
Strike underway in row over engineer pay grade restructuring. Industrial action described as a ‘wake-up call’ for the whole of BT amidst wider unrest.
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Interview
Openreach pushes ahead in journey to agile
CTIO Colin Lees discusses three-year transformation project across IT, network, and processes to support FTTP rollout. Independent Openreach Technology division treads in parent’s tech footsteps. Adopts agile development where it can and organises into Tribes and Squads. Data strategy seeks “single source of truth”. Takes pragmatic approach to cloud ...
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People
Enterprise CTIO Karonis to exit BT
Former EE technology boss signs off after decade-long stint spanning mobile operator’s 2016 integration into BT. Exit adds to list of executive changes at Enterprise and within BT’s broader tech and innovation functions.
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Strategy & Change
As past nightmares recede, BT’s Jansen eyes health sector growth
Jansen optimistic on prospect of digital solutions reviving BT fortunes with the NHS. BT recruiting to support its NHS win back activity, as hundreds of millions of pounds are made available for health service IT upgrades, with increased focus on security.