Cobham chief to take top job at Babcock July 1, 2020 Defence firm Babcock has announced that David Lockwood will take over from chief executive Archie Bethel in September. Lockwood, who is currently chief executive of FTSE 250 defence firm Cobham, comes after Babcock swung to a £178m loss this year. Prior to Cobham, he was chief executive of tech firm Laird, and has previously held [...]
Huawei: Will the government ban the Chinese vendor tomorrow? July 13, 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson is due to decide whether to ban Huawei from the UK’s 5G infrastructure tomorrow, following intense pressure from MPs and US President Donald Trump to U-turn on a deal with the Chinese vendor over national security fears. In January, Johnson struck a deal with Huawei to build technology for the UK’s [...]
Telecoms firm’s credit ratings ‘at risk’ from Labour’s broadband plan November 18, 2019 Telecoms companies may take a hit to their credit profiles if Labour’s plans to nationalise parts of BT go ahead, a top rating agency has warned. Shadow chancellor John McDonnell last week unveiled plans to bring Openreach into public ownership and offer free full-fibre broadband to all UK households by 2030. Read more: Labour’s BT [...]
Huawei: ‘Clear evidence’ of collusion with Beijing, MPs warn October 8, 2020 There is “clear evidence of collusion” between Chinese tech giant Huawei and authorities in Beijing, top MPs have warned. In a report published today parliament’s defence committee claimed Huawei was “closely linked” to the Chinese state and the Communist Party. It also cited concerns about Huawei’s receipt of state subsidies and Chinese intelligence laws that [...]
Screenshot: Is Trump’s Facebook ban too hot to handle? May 7, 2021 This week **Media Moment of the Week: Brits love bent coppers **Is Trump’s Facebook ban too hot to handle? **ITV’s Summer of Love (Island) Media Moment of the Week: Brits love bent coppers Ok, so you might not have been the biggest fan of the Line of Duty season finale on Sunday. In fact, you [...]
Outsourcing giants to discuss contracts reform with Whitehall officials February 24, 2020 The country’s biggest outsourcers will hold Whitehall talks with top civil servants to discuss changes to the public sector’s procurement process. Twenty chief executives – from companies such as BT Group, Capita and G4S – will meet with civil service chief executive John Manzoni tomorrow. City sources told Sky News the meeting will address “new [...]
Telecoms providers must beef up their cybersecurity for the 5G age November 24, 2020 As this 5G digital revolution gathers pace we must prepare the communications networks on which this technology depends so they are secure and resilient
BT considers options after court defeat on pensions increases December 4, 2018 Judges today told BT it cannot change the way it calculates pensions increases for 80,000 current and past employees. The telecoms provider, which links increases to the retail prices index (RPI), was hoping for permission to start using a different measure. BT, which has one of the biggest pension schemes in the UK, argued that the [...]
Talktalk worst performing broadband provider for customer satisfaction August 21, 2020 Talktalk was the worst performing broadband provider for customer satisfaction last year, according to the latest research by the UK telecoms watchdog. A survey by regulator Ofcom found that overall satisfaction levels among Talktalk customers were lower than average, with an approval rating of 78 per cent. Customers were also less satisfied than average with [...]
BT boss Gavin Patterson signs off by beating revenue and profit forecasts despite industry headwinds January 31, 2019 Outgoing BT boss Gavin Patterson signed off today by beating revenue and profit expectations in the telecom giant’s third quarter. Patterson will make way for ex-Worldpay chief executive Philip Jansen tomorrow, after BT suffered a sustained drop in its share price. Read more: BT names ex-Worldpay chief Philip Jansen as new CEO Analysts said Patterson [...]