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 [...]
21 UK stocks in danger from a Labour election win November 15, 2019 The Labour party today announced it will nationalise parts of BT if it wins power in December’s General Election. The party would nationalise the telecoms giant’s Openreach fibre rollout arm in a bid to create a UK-wide network owned by the government. Read more: BT chief executive warns Labour’s part-nationalisation would cost £100bn Shadow chancellor [...]
Streaming firm Dazn looks to shake up sports market with UK launch March 2, 2020 Streaming platform Dazn is set to expand to more than 200 countries, including the UK, as it looks to break the stranglehold of traditional broadcasters over sports rights. London-based Dazn, dubbed the “Netflix of sports”, currently operates in nine countries but has yet to break into the UK market, which is dominated by Sky and [...]
Broadband speeds are increasing but rural towns lag behind December 20, 2019 Rural areas of the UK are lagging behind cities and towns as Boris Johnson’ government brings the nation’s digital divide into focus. A report by Ofcom, the UK’s telecoms regulator, showed that around 155,000 UK properties can not access decent broadband. These homes will be able to request coverage from BT from March 2020, the [...]
5G rollout across Britain set to create 5,000 jobs October 5, 2020 Telecoms firms have pledged to create 5,000 new UK jobs through the rollout of 5G technology across Britain, marking a rare bright spot on the bleak jobs horizon during the pandemic. Liberty Global, which owns Virgin Media, and O2’s Spanish owner Telefonica, have announced plans to create 4,000 jobs and 1,000 apprenticeship roles in the [...]
Donald Trump extends US Huawei ban by another year May 14, 2020 US President Donald Trump has extended his country’s ban on controversial Chinese tech firm Huawei for a further year. Trump last year declared a national emergency and signed an executive order banning US companies from using telecoms kit made by firms that posed a national security risk. The order, which is aimed primarily at Chinese [...]
Vodafone shares slide as operator ‘calculates cost’ of Huawei ban July 24, 2020 Vodafone shares dipped more than five per cent this morning as the telecoms firm said it was still “calculating the cost” of removing Huawei kit from its 5G network following a government ban on the Chinese vendor. Vodafone chief executive Nick Read told reporters this morning the firm was “clearly disappointed” in the government’s decision [...]
Ofcom plans to ‘supercharge’ rollout of full-fibre broadband January 8, 2020 Ofcom will “supercharge” British investment in full-fibre broadband by encouraging more competition in cities and supporting BT to roll out faster speeds in rural areas. In a new five-year plan set out today, Britain’s telecoms regulator proposed the introduction of different regulatory regimes for rural and urban areas. Read more: Broadband speeds are increasing but [...]
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 [...]
The revolution is imminent, and big Telco needs to change February 21, 2020 Complex deals. High prices. Bad service. Guess which industry I am talking about? Four old incumbents own more than 90 per cent market share, nearly nine million people pay a loyalty tax every year, and yet “industry leaders” get invited to Downing Street for tea and biscuits. The answer is telecoms. It’s front-page news: 5G [...]