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BT Group plc
BT logo 2019.svg
Nombre comercialBT
AntesBritish Telecom
TipoCompañía pública limitada
Negociado como
IndustriaTelecomunicaciones
Predecesor
Fundado18 de junio de 1846 ; Hace 174 años (fundación de la Electric Telegraph Company ) el 1 de enero de 1912 ; Hace 109 años ( toma de control del sistema de la Compañía Nacional de Teléfonos a cargo de la Oficina General de Correos ) el 1º de octubre de 1969 ; Hace 51 años (como corporación pública dependiente de la Oficina de Correos ) el 1º de octubre de 1981 ; Hace 39 años (como sociedad anónima bajo la marca British Telecom) el 1 de abril de 1984 ; Hace 37 años (como empresa privada) (1846-06-18)

 (1912-01-01)

 (1969-10-01)

 (1981-10-01)

 (1984-04-01)
SedeBT Centre
London , Inglaterra, Reino Unido
Área de servicioMundial
Gente clave
Productos
Ingresos Decrease £ 22.905 mil millones (2020) [1]
Ingresos de explotación Decrease3.283 millones de libras esterlinas (2020) [1]
Lngresos netos Decrease1.734 millones de libras esterlinas (2020) [1]
Los activos totalesIncrease53.067 millones de libras esterlinas (2020) [1]
Equidad totalIncrease£ 14,763 mil millones (2020) [1]
Dueño[2] [3]
Número de empleados105.300 (2020) [1]
Divisiones
Subsidiarias
  • BT Irlanda
  • BT Italia
  • EE
  • Plusnet
  • EE Limited
  • Alcance abierto
  • BT Wholesale y Ventures
  • Servicios globales de BT
  • Consumidor BT
  • Ribbit (empresa de telecomunicaciones)
  • COMSAT
  • BT deporte ESPN
  • dabs.com
Sitio webwww .btplc .com

BT Group plc (que cotizaba como BT y anteriormente British Telecom ) es una empresa multinacional británica de telecomunicaciones con sede en Londres , Inglaterra. Tiene operaciones en alrededor de 180 países y es el mayor proveedor de servicios móviles , de banda ancha y de línea fija en el Reino Unido, y también ofrece servicios de televisión y de TI por suscripción . [4]

Los orígenes de BT se remontan a la fundación en 1846 de Electric Telegraph Company , la primera empresa pública de telégrafos del mundo, que desarrolló una red de comunicaciones a nivel nacional. BT Group, tal como se inició en 1912, cuando la Oficina General de Correos , un departamento gubernamental, asumió el control del sistema de la Compañía Nacional de Teléfonos [5] y se convirtió en el proveedor monopolista de telecomunicaciones en el Reino Unido. La Ley de Correos de 1969 llevó a la GPO a convertirse en una corporación pública. [6] La marca British Telecom se introdujo en 1980 y se independizó de la Oficina de Correos en 1981, comercializándose oficialmente con el nombre. British Telecommunications fue privatizada en 1984, convirtiéndose enBritish Telecommunications plc , con alrededor del 50 por ciento de sus acciones vendidas a inversores. El Gobierno vendió su participación restante en la venta de acciones adicionales en 1991 y 1993. BT es un titular de Royal Warrant de la Familia Real Británica y tiene una cotización primaria en la Bolsa de Valores de Londres , una cotización secundaria en la Bolsa de Valores de Nueva York , y es una constituyente del índice FTSE 100 .

BT controla una serie de grandes filiales. La división BT Global Services suministra servicios de telecomunicaciones a clientes corporativos y gubernamentales en todo el mundo, [7] y su división BT Consumer suministra servicios de telefonía , banda ancha y televisión por suscripción en el Reino Unido a unos 18 millones de clientes. [8]

Historia [ editar ]

Varias empresas de telégrafos de propiedad privada operaron en Gran Bretaña desde 1846 en adelante. Entre ellos estaban: [9]

  • Compañía de telégrafos eléctricos
  • Compañía británica e irlandesa de telégrafos magnéticos
  • Compañía británica de telégrafos
  • Compañía de telégrafos del distrito de Londres
  • Compañía de telégrafos del Reino Unido

La Ley de Telégrafos de 1868 pasó el control de todos estos al Departamento de Telégrafos Postales de la recién formada GPO ( Oficina General de Correos ). [10]

Con la invención del teléfono por Alexander Graham Bell en 1876, la GPO comenzó a proporcionar servicios telefónicos desde algunas de sus centrales telegráficas. En 1882, el Director General de Correos , Henry Fawcett, comenzó a emitir licencias para operar un servicio telefónico a empresas privadas y el sistema telefónico creció bajo la GPO en algunas áreas y la propiedad privada en otras. El principal competidor de la GPO, la Compañía Nacional de Teléfonos , surgió en este mercado al absorber otras compañías telefónicas privadas, antes de su absorción en la GPO en 1912. [11]

La red troncal se unificó bajo el control de GPO en 1896 y la red de distribución local en 1912. Algunos servicios de propiedad municipal quedaron fuera del control de GPO. Estos fueron Kingston upon Hull , Portsmouth y Guernsey . Hull aún conserva un operador independiente, Kingston Communications , aunque ya no está controlado por el municipio. [12]

En 1969, la GPO, un departamento gubernamental, se convirtió en la Oficina de Correos , una industria nacionalizada separada del gobierno. La oficina de correos de telecomunicaciones fue una de las divisiones. [13]

Formación de British Telecom [ editar ]

Logotipo de British Telecom utilizado entre 1980 y 1991

La marca British Telecom se introdujo en 1980. El 1 de octubre de 1981, se convirtió en el nombre oficial de Post Office Telecommunications , que se convirtió en una corporación de propiedad estatal independiente de la Oficina de Correos en virtud de las disposiciones de la Ley de Telecomunicaciones Británica de 1981 . En 1982, el monopolio de BT sobre las telecomunicaciones se rompió con la concesión de una licencia a Mercury Communications . [14]

Privatización [ editar ]

El 19 de julio de 1982, el Gobierno anunció su intención de vender al público acciones de British Telecom. El 1 de abril de 1984, British Telecommunications se constituyó como sociedad anónima (plc) en previsión de la aprobación de la ley de telecomunicaciones. Este proyecto de ley recibió la sanción real el 12 de abril, y el 6 de agosto de 1984 tuvo lugar la transferencia a British Telecommunications plc de British Telecom como sociedad estatutaria de su negocio, su propiedad, sus derechos y responsabilidades. [15]

Según Jacob Ward, la privatización de British Telecom fue un "momento histórico para el neoliberalismo". Se convirtió en un modelo para otros países que vendieron sus servicios públicos estatales. Los planificadores del Departamento de Planificación a Largo Plazo utilizaron nuevos modelos informáticos para respaldar la transición de las telecomunicaciones y, de manera más general, el dramático paso de la socialdemocracia al neoliberalismo, del monopolio al mercado. La red de telecomunicaciones fue fundamental para los planes de digitalización de la economía. Se necesitaban simulaciones por computadora para apoyar el neoliberalismo, tanto como una herramienta de gestión que podía simular mercados libres, como una tecnología que permitió la contracción del papel del gobierno en el sector privado. [dieciséis]

Inicialmente, todas las acciones de la nueva plc eran propiedad del Gobierno. En noviembre de 1984, el 50,2% de la nueva empresa se puso a la venta al público y empleados. Las acciones se cotizaron en Londres, Nueva York y Toronto y el primer día de negociación fue el 3 de diciembre de 1984. El Gobierno vendió la mitad de su participación restante en diciembre de 1991 y la otra mitad en julio de 1993. En julio de 1997, el nuevo Gobierno Laborista renunció su Acción Especial ("Acción de Oro"), retenida en el momento de la salida a bolsa, que efectivamente le había otorgado el poder de bloquear una adquisición de la empresa y de nombrar dos directores no ejecutivos para el Directorio. [17]

La empresa cambió su nombre comercial a "BT" el 2 de abril de 1991. En 1996, Peter Bonfield fue nombrado CEO y presidente del Comité Ejecutivo, prometiendo un "viaje en montaña rusa". [18]

En la década de 1990, BT entró en el mercado de las telecomunicaciones irlandés a través de una empresa conjunta con la Junta de Suministro de Electricidad , el proveedor de energía de propiedad estatal irlandesa. Esta empresa, titulada Ocean, obtuvo su principal éxito con el lanzamiento del primer ISP de acceso telefónico sin suscripción de Irlanda, oceanfree.net. Como empresa de telecomunicaciones, tuvo mucho menos éxito y se centró principalmente en clientes corporativos. BT adquirió el 100 por ciento de esta empresa en 1999. [19]

Intentos de alianzas globales de BT [ editar ]

MCI[edit]

In June 1994 BT and MCI Communications launched Concert Communications Services which was a $1 billion joint venture between the two companies. Its aim was to build a network which would provide easy global connectivity to multinational corporations.[20]

This alliance progressed further on 3 November 1996 when the two companies announced that they had agreed to a merger, creating a global telecommunications company called Concert plc. The proposal gained approval from the European Commission, the US Department of Justice, and the US Federal Communications Commission and looked set to proceed.[21]

However, in light of pressure from investors reacting to the slide in BT's share price on the London Stock Exchange, BT reduced its bid price for MCI, releasing MCI from its exclusivity clause and allowing it to speak to other interested parties.[22] On 1 October 1997, Worldcom made a rival bid for MCI which was followed by a counter-bid from GTE.[23]

BT sold its stake in MCI to Worldcom in 1998 for £4,159 million. As part of the deal, BT also bought out from MCI its 24.9% interest in Concert Communications, thereby making Concert a wholly owned part of BT.[24]

The reaction to the failure of the deal in the City of London was critical of then Chairman Iain Vallance and CEO Peter Bonfield, and the lack of confidence from the failed merger led to their removal.[25]

AT&T[edit]

As BT now owned Concert, and still wanted access to the North American market, it needed a new partner. An AT&T/BT option had been mooted in the past, but stopped on regulatory grounds due to their individual virtual monopolies in their home markets. By 1996, this had receded to the point where a deal was possible and a deal was consummated in 1998.[26]

At its height, the Concert managed network was extensive. Although Concert continued signing customers, its rate of revenue growth slowed, so that in 1999 David Dorman was made CEO with a brief to revive it.[27]

In late 2000 the BT and AT&T boards fell-out – partly due to each partner's excess debt, and the resulting board room clear-outs – partly due to Concert's extensive annual losses. AT&T recognized that Concert was a threat to its ambitions if left intact, and so negotiated a deal where Concert was split in two in 2001: North America and Eastern Asia went to AT&T, the rest of the world and $400M to BT. BT's remaining Concert assets were merged into its BT Ignite, later BT Global Services group.[28]

BT Ireland[edit]

In 2000, BT acquired Esat Telecom Group plc, and all its subsidiary companies, and Ireland On Line.[22] It also purchased Telenor's minority shareholding in Esat Digifone. The Esat Telecom Group was split in two with the landline and internet operations were combining with Ocean to become part of BT Ignite. Esat Group was renamed Esat BT in July 2002, and eventually BT Ireland in April 2005. Esat Digifone became part of BT Wireless, before being spun off into a separate independent company mmo2 plc (now Telefónica Europe). EsatBT installed the first DSL lines in Ireland, to try and compete heavily with former state telecoms company Eircom and operate one exchange, in Limerick.[29]

2001 debt crisis[edit]

By 2001, BT had a debt of £30 billion, much of which was acquired during the bidding round for the 3rd generation mobile telephony (commonly known as 3G) licences.[30] It had also failed in its series of proposed global mergers, and the funds flowing from its then virtual monopoly of the UK market place had been largely removed. It was also headed by two executives who had little support from the London Stock Exchange, particularly in light of a 60% drop in share price in sixteen months.[31]

Philip Hampton joined as CFO, and in April 2001 Sir Iain Vallance was replaced as Chairman by recognised turn around expert Sir Christopher Bland.[32]

Europe's largest rights issue[edit]

In May 2001 BT carried out corporate Europe's largest ever rights issue, allowing it to raise £5.9 billion.[33] A few days before, it sold stakes in Japan Telecom, in mobile operator J-Phone Communications, and in Airtel of India to Vodafone.[34]

Sale of Yell Group and demerger of O2[edit]

In June 2001 BT's directory business was sold as Yell Group to a combination of private equity firms Apax Partners and Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst for £2.1 billion.[35]

A demerger followed in November 2001, when the former mobile telecommunications business of BT, BT Cellnet, was hived off as a separate business named "mmO2".[36] This included BT owned or operated networks in other countries, including BT Cellnet (UK), Esat Digifone (Ireland), and Viag Interkom (Germany). All networks now owned or operated by mmO2 (except Manx Telecom) were renamed as O2. The de-merger was accomplished via a share-swap, all British Telecommunications plc shareholders received one mmO2 plc and one BT Group plc (of which British Telecommunications is now a wholly owned subsidiary) share for each share they owned. British Telecommunications plc was de-listed on 16 November, and the two new companies started trading on 19 November.[37]

Aftermath[edit]

At the end of the series of sales, in October 2001 Sir Peter Bonfield resigned,[38] and was replaced by former Lucent CEO Ben Verwaayen.[39]

During Bonfield's tenure the share price went from £4 to £15, and back again to £5.[18] Bonfield's salary to 31 March 2001 was a basic of £780,000 (increasing to £820,000) plus a £481,000 bonus and £50,000 of other benefits including pension. He also received a deferred bonus, payable in shares three years' later, of £481,000, and additional bonuses of £3.3 million.[40]

mmO2 plc was replaced by O2 plc in a further share-swap in 2005, and subsequently bought in an agreed takeover by Telefónica for £18 billion and delisted.[41] In 2004, BT launched Consult 21, a consultation organisation that was to aid BT 21CN in the eventual conversion to digital telephony.[42]

In 2004, BT was awarded the contract to deliver and manage N3, a secure and fast broadband network for the NHS National Programme for IT (NPfIT) program, on behalf of the English National Health Service (NHS).[43]

In 2005 BT made a number of acquisitions. In February 2005, BT acquired Infonet (now re-branded BT Infonet), a large telecoms company based in El Segundo, California, giving BT access to new geographies. It also acquired the Italian company Albacom. Then in April 2005, it bought Radianz from Reuters (now rebranded as BT Radianz), which expanded BT's coverage and provided BT with more buying power in certain countries.[44]

In August 2006, BT acquired online electrical retailer Dabs.com for £30.6 million.[45] The BT Home Hub manufactured by Inventel was also launched in June 2006.[46]

In October 2006, BT confirmed that it would be investing 75% of its total capital spending, put at £10 billion over five years, in its new Internet Protocol (IP) based 21st century network (21CN). Annual savings of £1 billion per annum were expected when the transition to the new network was to have been completed in 2010, with over 50% of its customers to have been transferred by 2008. That month the first customers on to 21CN was successfully tested at Adastral Park in Suffolk.[47]

2007 to 2012[edit]

In January 2007, BT acquired Sheffield-based ISP, PlusNet plc, adding 200,000 customers. BT stated that PlusNet will continue to operate separately out of its Sheffield head-office.[48] On 1 February 2007, BT announced agreed terms to acquire International Network Services Inc. (INS), an international provider of IT consultancy and software.[49]

In February 2007, Sir Michael Rake succeeded Sir Christopher Bland.[50] In April that year, they acquired COMSAT International,[51] followed in October by the acquisition of Lynx Technology.[52]

BT acquired Wire One Communications in June 2008 and folded the company into "BT Conferencing", its existing conferencing unit, as a new video business unit[53]In July 2008, BT acquired the online business directory firm Ufindus for £20 million in order to expand its position in the local information market in GB.[54] On 28 July 2008, BT acquired Ribbit, of Mountain View, California, "Silicon Valley's First Phone Company". Ribbit provides Adobe Flash/Flex APIs, allowing web developers to incorporate telephony features into their software as a service (SaaS) applications.[55]

In the early days of its fibre broadband rollout, BT said it would deliver fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) to around 25% of the Country, with the rest catered for by the slower fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC), which uses copper wiring to deliver the final stretch of the connection. In 2014, with less than 0.7% of the company's fibre network being FTTP, BT dropped the 25% target, saying that it was "far less relevant today" because of improvements made to the headline speed of FTTC, which had doubled to 80Mbit/s since its fibre broadband rollout was first announced.[56] To supplement FTTC, BT offered an 'FTTP on Demand' product.[57] In January 2015, BT stopped taking orders for the on-demand product.[58]

On 1 April 2009, BT Engage IT was created from the merger of two previous BT acquisitions, Lynx Technology and Basilica. Apart from the name change not much else changed in operations for another 12 months.[59] On 14 May 2009, BT said it was cutting up to 15,000 jobs in the coming year after it announced its results for the year to 31 March 2009.[60] Then in July 2009, BT offered workers a long holiday for an up front sum of 25% of their annual wage or a one-off payment of £1000 if they agree to go part-time.[61]

On 6 April 2011, BT launched the first online not-for-profit fundraising service for UK charities called BT MyDonate as part of its investment to the community. The service will pass on 100% of all donations made through the site to the charity, and unlike other services which take a proportion as commission and charge charities for using their services, BT will only pass on credit/debit card charges for each donation. The service allows people to register to give money to charity or collect fundraising donations. BT developed MyDonate with the support of Cancer Research UK, Changing Faces, KidsOut, NSPCC and Women's Aid.[62][63]

2013 to present[edit]

BT logo used from 2003–2019

In March 2013, BT was allocated 4G spectrum in the UK following an auction and assignment by Ofcom, after paying £201.5m.[64]

On 1 August 2013, BT launched its first television channels, BT Sport, to compete with rival broadcaster Sky Sports.[65] Plans for the channels' launch came about when it was announced in June 2012 that BT had been awarded a package of broadcast rights for the Premier League from the 2013–14 to 2015–16 season, broadcasting 38 matches from each season.[66] In February 2013, BT acquired ESPN Inc.'s UK and Ireland TV channels, continuing its expansion into sports broadcasting.[67] ESPN America and ESPN Classic were both closed, while ESPN continued to be operated by BT. On 9 November 2013, BT announced it had acquired exclusive rights to the Champions League and Europa League for £897m, from the 2015 season, with some free games remaining including both finals.[68]

On 1 November 2014, BT created a new central business services (CBS) organisation to provide customer services and improve operational efficiency levels.[69]

On 24 November 2014, shares in BT rose considerably on the announcement that the company was in talks to buy back O2, while at the same time confirmed it was also in talks to acquire EE.[70] BT subsequently entered into exclusive talks to buy EE for £12.5 billion on 15 December 2014[71][72] and confirmed on 5 February 2015, subject to regulatory approval. The deal will combine BT's 10 million retail customers and EE's 24.5 million direct mobile subscribers. Deutsche Telekom will own 12% of BT, while Orange S.A. will own 4%.[73]

In March 2015, launched a 4G service as BT Mobile[74] BT Group CEO Gavin Patterson announced that BT plans to migrate all of its customers onto the IP network by 2025, switching off the company's ISDN network.[75]

On 15 January 2016, BT received final unconditional approval by the Competition and Markets Authority to acquire EE.[76] The deal was officially completed on 29 January 2016 with Deutsche Telekom now owning 12% of BT, while Orange S.A. own 4%.[77]

On 1 February 2016, BT announced a new organisational structure that will take effect from April 2016 following the successful acquisition of EE. The EE brand, network and high street stores will be retained and will become a second consumer division, operating alongside BT Consumer. It will serve customers with mobile services, broadband and TV and will continue to deliver the Emergency Services Network contract which was awarded to EE in late 2015. There will be a new BT Business and Public Sector division that will have around £5bn of revenues and will serve small and large businesses as well as the public sector in the UK and Ireland. It will comprise the existing BT Business division along with EE's business division and those parts of BT Global Services that are UK focused. There will also be another new division; BT Wholesale and Ventures that will comprise the existing BT Wholesale division along with EE's MVNO business as well as some specialist businesses such as Fleet, Payphones and Directories. Gerry McQuade, currently Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, Business at EE, will be its CEO.[78][79][80]

On 8 June 2017, BT appointed KPMG as its new auditor to replace PwC in the wake of the fraud scandal in Italy that triggered a major profit warning earlier that year.[81] Also in of that year, KPMG fired six US employees over a scandal that calls into question efforts to ensure that public company accounts are being properly scrutinised.[82]

On 8 July 2017, The Daily Telegraph reported that BT "has called in consultants from McKinsey to conduct a review of its businesses in the hope of saving hundreds of millions of pounds per year. The work, dubbed 'Project Novator', is understood to include a potential merger of BT's struggling global services corporate networking and IT unit with its business and public sector division".[83]

On 28 July 2017, BT announced organisational changes to "simplify its operating model, strengthen accountabilities and accelerate its transformation" and involves bringing together its BT Consumer and EE divisions into a new unified BT Consumer division that will operate across three brands – BT, EE and Plusnet.[84][85][86][87] It will take effect from 1 April 2018.[88]

On 18 April 2018, BT announced further organisational changes following unification of its BT Consumer and EE divisions, and involves bringing together its BT Business and Public Sector and BT Wholesale and Ventures divisions into a new unified division known as BT Enterprise. It will also include BT's Ventures business which "acts as an incubator for potential new growth areas of the company" and will report as a single unit from 1 October 2018.[89][90][91][92]

Operations[edit]

The Adastral Park campus at Martlesham Heath in Suffolk, the principal site of BT Research.

BT Group is a holding company; the majority of its businesses and assets are held by its wholly owned subsidiary British Telecommunications plc.[93] BT's businesses are operated under special government regulation by the British telecoms regulator Ofcom (formerly Oftel). BT has been found to have significant market power in some markets following market reviews by Ofcom. In these markets, BT is required to comply with additional obligations such as meeting reasonable requests to supply services and not to discriminate.[94]

BT runs the telephone exchanges, trunk network and local loop connections for the vast majority of British fixed-line telephones. Currently BT is responsible for approximately 28 million telephone lines in GB. Apart from KCOM Group, which serves Kingston upon Hull, BT is the only UK telecoms operator to have a Universal service Obligation, (USO) which means it must provide a fixed telephone line to any address in the UK. It is also obliged to provide public call boxes.[95]

As well as continuing to provide service in those traditional areas in which BT has an obligation to provide services or is closely regulated, BT has expanded into more profitable products and services where there is less regulation. These are principally, broadband internet service and bespoke solutions in telecommunications and information technology.[96]

Corporate affairs[edit]

Buildings and facilities[edit]

See also: Category:British Telecom buildings and structures

As BT operates in around 180 countries, it owns and leases a range of buildings and facilities in the UK and around the world. In 2001, it sold some of its UK property portfolio for £2.38 billion to Telereal Trillium in a 30-year leaseback. The deal included 6,700 properties and contributed towards alleviating its debt at the time, with the main advantage being flexibility as it allows BT to vacate property over time, so as to adapt to changing operational requirements.[97]

Headquarters[edit]

The BT Centre was completed in 1985.

BT Group's world headquarters and registered office is the BT Centre, a 10-storey office building at 81 Newgate Street in the City of London, opposite St. Paul's tube station.[98]

Buildings and stations[edit]

Some of its UK buildings and stations are:

  • Adastral Park – headquarters of BT Labs in Suffolk
  • Baynard House – building in City of London
  • BT Riverside Tower – headquarters of BT Northern Ireland in Belfast
  • BT Tower – building in Swansea
  • Goonhilly Satellite Earth Station – satellite earth station in Cornwall
  • Guardian telephone exchange – telephone exchange in Manchester
  • Madley Communications Centre – satellite earth station in Herefordshire
  • National Network Management Centre – network operations centre in Shropshire
  • Stadium House – building in Cardiff

Telecommunications towers[edit]

Main articles: Telecommunications towers in the United Kingdom and British Telecom microwave network

BT remains one of the largest owners of telecommunications towers in the UK and were a major node in its microwave network. Its BT Tower in London is notable for numerous reasons such as being the tallest building in the UK from its construction in the 1960s until the early 1980s, its revolving restaurant at the top known as 'Top of the Tower' in operation through the late 1960s and 1970s, and remains one of the UK's most important communications nerve centres, the heart of a vast broadcasting and communications network. It carries approximately 95% of the UK's TV content, including live broadcasts and 99% of all live football games as well as pioneering the first international HD, 3D and 4K television transmissions. It serves media production and distribution customers around the world and as part of the Things Connected Network launched in London, it became the highest building in the world to host an Internet of things (IoT) base station in September 2016.[99][100] Some of its towers are:

  • BT Tower in London
  • BT Tower in Birmingham
  • Charwelton BT Tower in Northamptonshire
  • Heaton Park BT Tower in Manchester
  • Morborne Hill BT Tower in Cambridgeshire
  • Purdown BT Tower in Bristol
  • Pye Green BT Tower in Staffordshire
  • Stokenchurch BT Tower in Buckinghamshire
  • Sutton Common BT Tower in Cheshire
  • Tinshill BT Tower in West Yorkshire
  • Tolsford Hill BT Tower in Kent
  • Turners Hill BT Tower in West Midlands
  • Wotton-under-Edge BT Tower in Gloucestershire
  • Zouches Farm in Bedfordshire

Other[edit]

Some of its other UK facilities are:

  • Red telephone box – original telephone boxes
  • KX telephone boxes – successor to the red telephone boxes
  • LinkUK – modern kiosks replacing existing telephone boxes with a range of free services
  • TAT-14 – 14th consortium transatlantic telecommunications cable system

Divisions[edit]

BT Group is organised into the following divisions:[93]

Customer facing[edit]

  • BT Consumer – provides retail telecoms services to consumers in the UK including:
    • BT Broadband
    • BT Superfast Fibre
    • BT TV
    • BT Sport
    • BT Mobile
    • BT Wi-fi
    • Plusnet - internet service provider, provides mobile and fixed communications services to consumers in the UK
    • EE – mobile network operator, provides mobile and fixed communications services to consumers in the UK
  • BT Business and Public Sector – provides retail telecoms and IT services to businesses and the public sector in the UK and Ireland
  • BT Global Services – provides telecoms and IT services to multinationals
  • BT Wholesale and Ventures – provides network products and services to communications providers (CPs), voice services to UK customers via 999, 118 500 and Next Generation Text Service, services for media companies and broadcasters and its ventures side encompasses a portfolio of businesses offering a range of products and services
  • Openreach – fenced-off wholesale division, established in 2005 following a review by Ofcom and commenced operations in 2006, employing 25,000 engineers previously employed by BT. Its purpose is to ensure that other communications providers have the same operational conditions as BT, and is responsible for the provision and repair in the "last mile" of copper wire.[101]

Internal service unit[edit]

  • Technology – responsible for the innovation, design, test, build and operation of BT's global networks and systems[93]
    • BT Research

Corporate governance[edit]

Former CEO Gavin Patterson at the 2016 Chatham House Corporate Leaders Series.
See also: Category:British Telecom people

BT's current board of directors as of November 2018:[102]

  • Jan du Plessis – Chairman
  • Philip Jansen – Chief Executive
  • Simon Lowth – Group Chief Financial Officer
  • Iain Conn – Non-executive director
  • Isabel Hudson – Non-executive director
  • Mike Inglis – Non-executive director
  • Matthew Key – Non-executive director
  • Nick Rose – Non-executive director
  • Jasmine Whitbread – Non-executive director
  • Timotheus Höttges – Non-independent non-executive director
  • Rachel Canham – Company secretary and general counsel

BT's current executive committee as of March 2018:[103]

  • Philip Jansen – Chief Executive
  • Simon Lowth – Group Chief Financial Officer
  • Marc Allera – CEO of BT Consumer
  • Bas Burger – CEO of BT Global Services
  • Sabine Chalmers – General counsel
  • Gerry McQuade – CEO of BT Enterprise (BT Business and Public Sector and BT Wholesale and Ventures)
  • Ed Petter – Corporate affairs director
  • Cathryn Ross – Director of regulatory affairs
  • Michael Sherman – Chief strategy and transformation officer
  • Howard Watson – Chief technology and information officer (CTIO) of BT Technology, Service & Operations
  • Alison Wilcox – HR director
  • Dan Fitz – Company secretary
  • Clive Selley – CEO of Openreach

Pension fund[edit]

BT has the second largest defined benefit pension plan of any UK public company.[104] The trustees valued the scheme at £36.7 billion at the end of 2010;[105] an actuarial valuation valued the deficit of the scheme at £9.043 billion as of 31 December 2008.[106]Following a change in the regulations governing inflation index linking, the deficit was estimated at £5.2 billion in November 2010.[107]

Sponsorships[edit]

BT sponsored Scotland's domestic rugby union championship and cup competitions between 1999 and 2006.[108]

On 31 July 2012, it was announced that BT agreed a three-year sponsorship deal with Ulster Rugby and sees BT become the Official Communications Partner. BT's logo will appear on the Ulster Rugby shirt sleeve for all friendlies, Heineken Cup and RaboDirect Pro12 matches as well as a significant brand presence at their home ground; Ravenhill Stadium.[109]

On 29 July 2013, it was announced that BT had partnered up with Scottish Rugby Union in a four-year sponsorship deal with its two professional clubs; Edinburgh Rugby and Glasgow Warriors that will commence from August 2013. The deal involves BT Sport becoming the new shirt sponsor for both clubs as well as being promoted with BT Group at their respective home grounds; Scotstoun Stadium and Murrayfield Stadium.[110][111][112]

On 28 May 2014, it was announced that BT agreed a £20 million four-year sponsorship deal with Scottish Rugby Union which includes BT securing the naming rights for Murrayfield Stadium which becomes BT Murrayfield Stadium, become sponsor of the Scotland sevens team, become principal and exclusive sponsor of Scotland's domestic league and cup competitions from next season, taking over the role from The Royal Bank of Scotland and become sponsor of Scottish Rugby's four new academies that aims to drive forward standards for young players who have aspirations to play professionally.[108][113][114]

On 14 April 2015, it was announced that as part of BT's current £20 million four-year sponsorship deal with Scottish Rugby Union that was announced in May 2014, BT has completed its sponsorship portfolio following an additional investment of £3.6 million for the 3 years remaining of its sponsorship deal, to become the new shirt sponsor for the Scotland national teams.[115]

On 27 January 2016, it was announced that BT, alongside YouTube will be the new joint headline sponsors in a three-year deal with Edinburgh International Television Festival. The two companies will "share prominence across all branding of the 41st TV Festival, including the famous MacTaggart Lecture and will work closely with the festival organisers in their bid to reflect new trends in a rapidly transforming industry, from new ways of distributing content to technical innovations such as Virtual Reality".[116]

BT is the founding and principal partner of the Wayne Rooney Foundation, which was established to improve the lives of children and young people. The Foundation will run events "to raise vital funds to support the work of key organisations dedicated to supporting disadvantaged and vulnerable children and young people". These organisations are four chosen charities which are, Manchester United Foundation, NSPCC, Claire House Children's Hospice and Alder Hey Children's Hospital. The first of these events was Wayne's testimonial match in August 2016 between Manchester United F.C. and Everton F.C. which raised £1.2 million. The match was screened live through BT Sport with BT MyDonate being the official fundraising platform for the testimonial, with both online and text options for donations promoted during the match.[117][118][119]

On 26 May 2017, it was announced that BT is to sponsor the 2017 British Urban Film Festival (BUFF) and sees BT host every event of the film festival, including the Awards at the BT Tower. BT will also broadcast the awards ceremony on BT.com and will have the opportunity to screen films acquired from the festival on its BT TV store platform.[120][121][122][123][124]

On 6 September 2017, it was announced that BT had extended its current £20 million four-year sponsorship deal with Scottish Rugby Union that was announced in May 2014, for a further three years beginning from June 2018. The new deal sees BT retain the naming rights to BT Murrayfield Stadium, alongside its role as principal partner of the Scotland national team and Scotland 7s. BT's logo will continue to be displayed on the front of Scotland rugby shirts across the world, in the Six Nations Championship, as well as the summer and autumn test matches. BT will also continue to be promoted at Edinburgh Rugby and Scotstoun Stadium in Glasgow.[125][126][127][128]

Historical financial performance[edit]

BT's financial results have been as follows:[1]

2008–present[edit]

Year ending 31 March2008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020
Turnover (£m)20,70421,39020,91120,07619,30718,01718,28717,85118,90924,08223,74623,42822,905
Profit/(loss) before tax (£m)1,976(134)1,0071,7172,4212,5012,8273,1723,4732,3542,6162,6662,353
Net profit/(loss) (£m)1,738(81)1,0291,5042,0032,0912,0182,1352,5881,9082,0322,1591,734
Basic eps (p)21.53.213.319.423.726.725.726.533.219.220.521.817.5

1992–2007[edit]

Year ending 31 March1992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007
Turnover (£m)13,33713,24213,67513,89314,44614,93515,64016,95318,71517,14118,44718,72718,51918,42919,51420,223
Profit/(loss) before tax (£m)3,0731,9722,7562,6623,0193,2033,2144,2952,942(1,031)1,4613,1571,9452,6932,6332,484
Net profit/(loss) (£m)2,0441,2201,7671,7311,9862,0771,7022,9832,055(1,875)1,0082,7021,4141,5391,6442,852
Basic eps (p)33.219.828.527.831.632.826.646.331.7(25.8)12.131.416.418.119.534.4

Controversies[edit]

World Wide Web hyperlink patent[edit]

In 2001, BT discovered it owned a patent (U.S. Patent 4,873,662) which it believed gave it patent rights on the use of hyperlink technology on the World Wide Web. The corresponding UK patent had already expired, but the US patent was valid until 2006. On 11 February 2002, BT began a court case relating to its claims in a US federal court against the Internet service provider Prodigy Communications Corporation. In the case British Telecommunications plc v. Prodigy, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled on 22 August 2002 that the BT patent was not applicable to web technology and granted Prodigy's request for summary judgment of non-infringement.[129]

Behavioural targeting[edit]

In early 2008 it was announced that BT had entered into a contract (along with Virgin Media and TalkTalk) with the spyware company Phorm (responsible under their 121Media guise for the Apropos rootkit)[130][131] to intercept and analyse their users' click-stream data and sell the anonymised aggregate information as part of Phorm's OIX advertising service.[132][133] The practice, known as "behavioural targeting" and condemned by critics as "data pimping", came under intense fire from various internet communities and other interested-parties who believe that the interception of data without the consent of users and web site owners is illegal under UK law (RIPA).[134][135][136][137] At a more fundamental level, many have argued that the ISPs and Phorm have no right to sell a commodity (a user's data, and the copyrighted content of web sites) to which they have no claim of ownership. In response to questions about Phorm and the interception of data by the Webwise system Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of the World Wide Web, indicated his disapproval of the concept and is quoted as saying of his data and web history:

It's mine – you can't have it. If you want to use it for something, then you have to negotiate with me. I have to agree, I have to understand what I'm getting in return. I myself feel that it is very important that my ISP supplies internet to my house like the water company supplies water to my house. It supplies connectivity with no strings attached. My ISP doesn't control which websites I go to, it doesn't monitor which websites I go to.

— Sir Tim Berners-Lee, 2008[138]

Huawei infrastructure access[edit]

Beginning in 2010 the UK intelligence community investigated Huawei, the Chinese supplier of BT's new fibre infrastructure with increasing urgency after the United States, Canada and Australia prevented the company from operating in their countries.[139] Although BT had notified the UK government in 2003 of Huawei's interest in their £10bn network upgrade contract, they did not raise the security implications as BT failed to explain that the Chinese company would have unfettered access to critical infrastructure.[140] On 16 December 2012 the prime minister David Cameron was supplied with an in-depth report indicating that the intelligence services had very grave doubts regarding Huawei, and that UK governmental, military, and civilian privacy may have been under serious threat.[141]

On 7 June 2013, British lawmakers concluded that BT should not have allowed Huawei access to the UK's communications network without ministerial oversight, saying they were 'deeply shocked' that BT did not inform government that they were allowing Huawei and ZTE, both with ties to the Chinese military, unfettered access to critical national systems. Furthermore, ministers discovered that the agency with the responsibility to ensure Chinese equipment and code was threat-free was entirely staffed by Huawei employees. Subsequently, parliamentarians confirmed that in case of an attack on the UK there was nothing that could be done to stop Chinese infiltration.[142]

By 2016 Huawei had put measures in place to ensure the integrity of UK national security. Specifically their UK work is now overseen by a board that includes directors from GCHQ, the Cabinet Office and the Home Office.[143]

ZTE, another Chinese company that supplies extensive network equipment and subscriber hardware used with BT 'Infinity', was also under scrutiny by parliament's intelligence and security committee[144] after the US, Canada, Australia and the European Union declared the company a security risk.[145]

Alleged complicity with drone strikes in Yemen and Somalia[edit]

In September 2012, BT entered into a $23 million deal with the US military to provide a key communications cable connecting RAF Croughton, a US military base on UK soil, with Camp Lemonnier, a large US base in Djibouti.[146] Camp Lemonnier is used as a base for American drone attacks in Yemen and Somalia, and has been described by The Economist as "the most important base for drone operations outside the war zone of Afghanistan."[147]

Human rights groups including Reprieve and Amnesty International have criticised the use of armed drones outside declared war zones. Evidence produced by The Bureau of Investigative Journalism and Stanford University's International Human Rights & Conflict Resolution Clinic suggest that drone strikes have caused substantial civilian casualties, and may be illegal under international law.[148][149]

In 2013, BT was the subject of a complaint by Reprieve to the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills under the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, following their refusal to explain whether or not their infrastructure was used to facilitate drone strikes.[150] The subsequent refusal of this complaint was appealed in May 2014, on the basis that the UK National Contact Point's decision did not follow the OECD Guidelines. The issue of bias was also raised, due to the appointment of Lord Ian Livingston as government minister for the department which was processing the complaint: Livingston had occupied a senior position at BT when the cable between RAF Croughton and Camp Lemonnier was originally built.[151]

Bidding rules violation[edit]

In 2020, BT has been fined £6.3m by the telecoms regulator Ofcom for violating the law on a large public sector deal in Northern Ireland.[152] Under Ofcom's regulations, the BT network shall handle all wholesale customers similarly. In its report, Ofcom found that BT's network violated the rules by failing to supply Eir with the same details on its on-demand fiber-to-the-premises offering as its own rival team.[153]

See also[edit]

  • SHERIFF
  • List of telephone operating companies

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Further reading[edit]

  • Baldwin, F.G.C. The History of the Telephone in the United Kingdom (1925)
  • Foreman-Peck, J. "The development and diffusion of telephone technology in Britain, 1900–1940," Transactions of the Newcomen Society, (1991–92). 63, pp165–180.
  • Foreman-Peck, J., & Millward, R. Public and private ownership of British industry 1820–1990 (1994).
  • Hazlewood, A. "The origins of the state telephone service in Britain" Oxford Economic Papers (1953). 5:13–25. in JSTOR
  • Holcombe, A. N. (1906). "The Telephone in Great Britain". Quarterly Journal of Economics. 21 (1): 96–135. doi:10.2307/1883751. JSTOR 1883751.
  • Johannessen, Neil. Ring up Britain: the Early Years of the Telephone in the United Kingdom (British Telecommunications plc, London, 1991)
  • Johnston, S. F. "The telephone in Scotland." in: K. Veitch, ed., Transport and Communications. Publications of the European Ethnological Research Centre; Scottish life and society: a compendium of Scottish ethnology (2009): pp. 716–727 online
  • Magill, Frank N. Great Events from History II: Business and Commerce Series, volume 1:1897–1923 (1994) pp 218–23; historiography
  • Meyer, Hugo Richard. Public Ownership and the Telephone in Great Britain: Restriction of the Industry by the State and the Municipalities (1907). online
  • Pitt, D.C. The telecommunications function in the British Post Office. A case study of bureaucratic adaption (Westmead: Saxon House, 1980).
  • Robertson, John Henry. The story of the telephone: A history of the telecommunications industry of Britain (1947)
  • Tucker, D. G. (1978). "The Early Development of the British Underground Trunk Telephone Network". Transactions of the Newcomen Society. 49: 57–74. doi:10.1179/tns.1977.005.
  • Wetton, Jenny (2007). "The Early History of Telephony in Manchester, 1877–1898". Transactions of the Newcomen Society. 77 (2): 245–260. doi:10.1179/175035207x204833. S2CID 110096529.

External links[edit]

  • Official website
  • BT Group companies grouped at OpenCorporates