Related UK News – Page 30
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Premium
Elsewhere in BT Group: another Newcastle call centre to get refurb
Ericsson meetup for tech team; Second Newcastle call centre set for facelift; Osborne misses out as BT’s M&A chaperone boosts takings.
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Network & Infrastructure
BT’s McRae sees open RAN potential in tackling ‘not-spots’
Optimistic about RIC to enable connectivity in hard-to-reach places. Flags work on rural open RAN trial in Wales, with BT as neutral host provider. Restates view that open RAN functionality is more important than lowering costs.
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People
Ex-chair du Plessis wants to “move on” from BT exit
Jan du Plessis describes BT chairmanship as “not a great time”, but remains confident in Group strategy under CEO Jansen. Unceremonious resignation came amid reports of falling-out between the pair. Newly knighted du Plessis now teed up for UK audit watchdog role.
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People
Ex-BT chair teed up to lead UK audit regulator
Business Secretary Kwarteng puts Jan du Plessis forward for appointment to chair the FRC amid governance struggles on the audit watchdog’s “underweight” board. FRC in transition, and requires a chair able to partner with government.
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Partnerships & Alliances
BT joins industry bodies in health-tech drive
Operator added to Health Tech Alliance and The Kings Fund as part of effort to expand in the industry through collaboration. Health a sector of interest to CEO Jansen amid BT Enterprise resurgence.
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M&A
Defences up as Drahi increases BT stake
Patrick Drahi’s Altice UK stops short of a takeover bid, but increases holding to 18%. UK government issues warning that it “will not hesitate” to protect national interests amid concerns of foreign investment in critical infrastructure incumbent. Takeover not Drahi’s ‘intention’, but caveats are in place.
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M&A
Will Drahi come knocking on BT’s door?
Six months on from French billionaire’s surprise raid on BT, Altice UK now free to up its stake or mount a takeover bid. Jansen called in for meeting with UK government minister to get the lowdown on Drahi’s intentions.
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Suppliers & SCM
Openreach urges Vauxhall to build British ‘green’ fleet
Clive Selley, Openreach CEO, “in talks” with Vauxhall owner Stellantis to increase production of electric vehicles at its UK plant. Vauxhall supplies Openreach’s 28,000-strong commercial van fleet, which will be ‘green’ by 2030. 1,000 EVs currently on the road in Openreach livery.
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Public Affairs
BT slammed for lack of action on spoofing
IP altnet pokes incumbent over limited success in rooting out fraudulent use of caller ID. BT focused on industry collaboration to address fraud challenge. Migration to all-IP by 2025 portrayed as critical to effective remedies for the problem.
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Innovation (R&D)
DCMS allocates £36m in R&D funding for 5G projects
Future RAN competition rewards 15 companies, including four BT partners. UK government distributes funds as part of its Supply Chain Diversification Strategy. Also sets target for 35% of UK mobile network traffic to be carried via open RAN by 2030. 2G, 3G expected to be retired by 2033 at ...
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Network & Infrastructure
Low-orbit satellites could jeopardise space exploration, astronomers warn
Elon Musk’s Starlink plans to launch over 12,000 satellites Project, among others, could waste “a serious amount of public money”
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Premium
Vodafone gets role as DCMS allocates RAN R&D funds
Future RAN competition rewards 15 companies. Flex-5G project, partnered by Vodafone, attracts £4.7m in government funding. Funds distributed as part of Supply Chain Diversification Strategy. Government sets target for 35% of UK mobile network traffic to be carried via open RAN by 2030. 2G, 3G expected to be retired ...
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Enterprise (B2B)
Dublin up: BT Ireland relocates B2B support
Move of service desk ops furthers expansion of BT’s workforce in Dublin. Transfer forms latest step in long-running customer experience transformation programme. Deep-Insight advising BT Ireland on customer-centric strategies.
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Strategy & Change
Ship steadied at Deutsche Telekom UK
Much-diminished British unit says increasing app usage generating uptick in usage and revenue. Business assures over “long-term plan” for DT’s operational presence in UK.
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Premium
Elsewhere in Vodafone Group: senior telco execs discuss strategy
Vodafone attends get-together on post-pandemic priorities.
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Strategy & Change
Vodafone ponders risk of depopulated city centres
Operator flags potential threat from fewer people living and working in cities. Population changes affect network planning and investment returns. Analysts say Vodafone not alone in thinking about potential impact.
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Premium
Elsewhere in Openreach: Ofcom lays down the law
Copper exchange stop-sell progress; Ofcom lays down USO law.
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Operations
Jansen hopes to get BT on front foot with new HQ
BT’s new HQ opens after more than a year of delays. Jansen aims to remove “hierarchical” business format.
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Premium
Ofcom seeks to protect BT public phone boxes
Regulator estimates that 6,000 BT kiosks have been converted under Adopt a Kiosk scheme. Stricter rules could protect about 5,000 phone boxes. Ofcom proposes other changes to USO including fax support and directories.
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Premium
BT wants to retain Huawei FTTP kit until 2030s
BT’s CTIO flags benefits of a converged core and legacy network closures.