Vodafone CEO frontrunner critical of telecoms sector January 2, 2023 Vodafone’s former non-executive director and ex-EE chief has publicly criticised the bureaucracy of European telecoms. Olaf Swantee, a Dutch businessman and key figure in the continent’s telecom sector has stated that the sector’s biggest companies are too complex and centralised. He stated that the sector needs to listen to customers. Swantee is rumoured to be [...]
BT to merge global and business units into one firm with earning potential of £8.5bn December 16, 2022 BT is combining two of its units into a single business which will have a revenue of about £8.5bn a year. The telecoms giant will merge its Global and Enterprise wings into a one organisation called BT Business, focusing on B2B relations. BT Enterprise has a market share of 30 per cent, providing firms and [...]
Rivals raise eyebrows over BT’s Openreach price cuts December 14, 2022 BT’s Openreach has said it plans to offer cheaper rates to its wholesale clients like Sky and TalkTalk as it tries to push Brits from copper to full fibre. The move will benefit big internet providers that do not have their own fibre networks, but has raised eyebrows amongst the firm’s biggest rivals. The main [...]
BT reaches pay agreement with union after months of strikes November 28, 2022 BT has reached an agreement with the Communication Workers Union (CWU) over pay after months of negotiation. The union confirmed the news this afternoon, stating that the total package includes pay permanently increasing by £3000 from 1 April, with a further review from 1 September 2023 to “allow for further negotiations to resolve pay, grading [...]
BT eyes unit merger in bid to cut costs November 27, 2022 BT is gearing up to to merge two of its struggling divisions as the telecom giant continues its big squeeze. As first reported by The Telegraph, the FTSE 100 firm is set to combine its Global Services division, which provides security and cloud computing services, with its Enterprise unit, which serves business and government customers [...]
Openreach scales back UK ultrafast fibre broadband November 23, 2022 Openreach is to limit its investment in the rollout of ultrafast fibre broadband as BT pushes forward with an intense cost-cutting scheme. The telecom giant’s networking division has contacted suppliers to say it would build the network “narrower and deeper” and tighten timeframes, according to a letter seen by the Financial Times. “This will by [...]
BT hikes cost savings target as profits dip amid inflation and strike action November 3, 2022 BT confirmed it would be upping its cost savings target from by £500m this morning, as the UK’s biggest telecoms firm fends off inflationary pressure. In its half year results, the FTSE 100 company said profit before tax hit £800m, down 18 per cent on the previous year. Although revenue climbed a humble one per [...]
BT strikes likely to continue until next April says insider October 24, 2022 BT and Openreach strikes over pay are likely to continue well into next year, says union insider. This could mean that the Communication Workers Union (CWU), which represents around 40,000 BT workers, could cause disruption across 999 call centres and Openreach engineer services until next April — spelling danger for a winter of potential blackouts and [...]
Shetland Islands cut off from all phones and internet: ‘Very limited contact’ October 20, 2022 Reports are coming in that the Shetland Islands are currently completely cut off from any phone or internet communication. Residents of the islands are left without a connection due to a break in the subsea cable connecting their homes to mainland Scotland. The cause of the damage has not yet been confirmed. Operator BT said [...]
999 call handlers to strike on Thursday over BT pay row October 4, 2022 999 emergency call handlers are set to walk out for the first time this Thursday as the strike over pay for BT Group workers continues. Members of the Communication Workers Union – the union for BT workers – will be walking out on Thursday 6 October, with further strikes planned for Monday 10 , Thursday 20 and [...]