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BT to invest £6bn in faster broadband and mobile services | |
(35 minutes later) | |
BT Group has outlined plans to invest £6bn over the next three years in faster broadband and mobile services. | |
It plans to offer what it describes as "ultrafast" broadband to 12 million premises by 2020. | |
The company also reported a 15% rise in annual profits to £3.03bn, helped by stronger demand for broadband and TV services. | |
Total sales rose 6% to almost £19bn, which includes £1.06bn contribution from mobile operator EE. | Total sales rose 6% to almost £19bn, which includes £1.06bn contribution from mobile operator EE. |
Faster broadband | |
Under the investment plan, a minimum of 10 million homes and businesses will receive access to BT's ultrafast broadband service, and the company has an "ambition" to reach 12 million. | |
Most will receive that via BT's G.fast technology, which is currently capable of speeds of 300Mbps (megabits-per-second), but will be capable of speeds of up to 500Mbps, BT says. | |
On average UK households received speeds of 29Mbps last year, according to regulator Ofcom. | |
That would make the new service more than enough for households who want fast broadband to stream movies and play online games. | |
"Customers want their broadband to be affordable as well as fast and we will be able to do that using G.fast," said BT chief executive Gavin Patterson. | |
The company also plans to hire 1,000 new engineers this year as part of an effort to improve customer service. | |
BT will continue to return customer services to the UK and by March 2017 says it will handle 90% of calls by UK-based staff. | |
Sports impact | Sports impact |
BT's results were boosted by a strong year for BT Consumer, which supplies broadband, telephone and TV services. Sales were up 7% to £4.6bn for the year. | |
The number of customers for its TV service jumped by 28% to 1.5 million. | The number of customers for its TV service jumped by 28% to 1.5 million. |
BT said audiences for its sports coverage - where it has made massive investment - were up 45%, which it attributed to its live coverage of Champions League and UEFA Europa League matches. | BT said audiences for its sports coverage - where it has made massive investment - were up 45%, which it attributed to its live coverage of Champions League and UEFA Europa League matches. |
BT also shares coverage of the FA Cup with the BBC and has a package of Premier League matches. | BT also shares coverage of the FA Cup with the BBC and has a package of Premier League matches. |
The deal to buy the EE mobile network was cleared in January and BT said the integration of EE was "going well". | |
"We now see the opportunity to deliver more synergies than we originally expected, and at a lower cost," said Mr Patterson. | |