Telecoms giant BT PLC (LON:BT.A) has unveiled a £6bn broadband investment programme just weeks after Ofcom decided against a forcible spin-off of its Openreach arm.
Gavin Patterson, BT’s chief executive, said the three year programme would expand superfast broadband and 4G coverage to 95% of the country, or a minimum of 10 mln homes, by 2020.
Two million new premises will get fibre optic connections he said.
The telecoms group also unveiled new customer service promises including a reduction in the standard time to fix line faults by 24 hours and a pledge for 90% of its customers' calls to be handled in the UK by March 2017. Openreach, too, would halve missed appointments to 2.5% within a year, Patterson said.
Telecoms regulator Ofcom pulled back from separating BT’s broadband arm from its parent despite fierce criticism from rivals that the structure was holding back broadband development and competition in the UK.
BT’s results today showed profits rose by 15% to £3.03bn in the year to March on sales 6% higher at £18,9bn.
Openreach’s profit contribution was 2% higher at £2.66bn on an adjusted basis out of a total underlying profit of £6.58bn.
Recent acquisition EE added £261mln, while the acquisition of Champions League rights saw a 45% jump in BT Sport audiences.
For the current year, BT forecast EBITDA [underlying profit] of £7.9bn, a £200mln share buyback and a 10% dividend growth to match the year just ended.