Member Info for fleccy

I'm not sure breakout is the right word, how far can a piece of elastic be stretched before it breaks? Can be a painful experience when it happens.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/JvsAc4Q_KwE

"The USA needs isreal in that region"

I'm not sure the US needs Israel, it's just that AIPAC is possibly the most powerful and influential lobbying group in the US. Israel needs the US far more than the other way around. Iran's importance in Oil is both geopolitical and resource based, geopolitically Iran overlooks the Strait of Hormuz and could potentially choke off global oil supplies transiting the Strait. Analysts say that Iran blocking the Strait could raise the price of Oil between $10 and $20 per barrel.

Indeed, I just find it insulting they think fake narrative's fool anyone. They should just admit the real reasons, not make stuff up no one believes anyway.

I have no interest in the Middle East, but why are they all over Iran for killing a few thousand when Israel killed more than 70,000 in Gaza? I really don't care about Iran, or Gaza, but I find hypocrisy like nails scraping on a blackboard.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0ehUl8Cghw&t=1s

Although Vodafone has Network Operator capability in the business/Enterprise sector, as far as Broadband is concerned it comes under the category of Virtual Network Operator, as does Sky, Talk, Zen and others. VMO2 is a Network Operator, but doesn't currently compete with Openreach for Wholesale provision.

Vodafone and Sky need the likes of Openreach/CityFibre and maybe at some point Nexfibre to provide service, but Openreach has the scale other's don't. VMO2 has it's own network upgrade expenses to contend with, as it transforms from HFC/RFOG to an FTTP last mile network.

I find it baffling that BT aren't competing more on price, but they may push higher pricing until the competitive threats reach a certain level, enough to present arguments to keep OFCOM off their back. As soon as Openreach talk about pricing changes, the Altnets jump all over OFCOM to stop it, so BT/Openreach have to walk a fine line due to regulatory oversight.

That isn't what I was saying Daniel, I was saying our opinion only counts to us. If you have a different trading philosophy that suits you, then that's good too as long as you're happy with your trading decisions.

There are various video's on YouTube walking through completing an online self assessment. If you get it wrong when filling out you can delete it and start again, it only goes through when you submit it.

Clearly the first guy.

Since the share sales and buys only affected us personally, the only opinion that counts is ours. If we'd only sold the Vodafone shares in isolation then I'd agree that we realised a loss, but taking account of the Lloyds shares sold we actually made an overall capital gain across the two transactions; In addition we also increased our overall dividend income due to the purchases of the BT stock and the £40,000 worth of ISA purchases made from the proceeds of the sales.

🤣

Https://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/exclusive-january-2026-update-on-openreach-full-fibre-roll-out

"A busy January with us tracking additions of 536,981, bringing the rolling three-month total to 1,186,319 million premises passed and Ready for Service by Openreach full fibre. The UK-wide total is sitting at 21,218,671 premises passed and mapped.

This is a big jump compared to the 353,433 reported in the previous month, and as it’s the end of a quarter and the 20th anniversary of Openreach, perhaps it’s no surprise, but to achieve this when there was also the Christmas break is a surprise"

Time will tell Aus, we'll just have to wait and see whose opinion prevails.

Aus if you don't agree with the content of the article you should write to the author. I did post a link to an article and paste a portion of the article content into the post, but I was just highlighting the authors opinion.

We all hold our own opinion's about BT's prospects, including the author of the article; If you want to focus on negatives then you should post comments from UBS/Polo Tang, or Deutsche Banks Robert Grindle, I'm sure you'll find their opinions more palatable.

" Sounds like creative accounting to me. The most important thing when investing on the stock market, always be honest with yourself"

I assume you're referring to the Vodafone shares we sold, to offset a gain on a portion of Lloyds shares we disposed of at the same time. I am honest with myself, the decision was the right one at the time and the stock we purchased with the cash, from the Vodafone/Lloyds sales, was reinvested in stocks that have since increased in value. The sales were aimed at releasing £40,000 to move into our ISA's, from my wife's share dealing account, with the rest of the money invested in BT within the same share dealing account. I believe I gave my reasoning at the time. Realising a loss against one stock to offset a gain on another, for tax reasons, I don't consider a loss. The bottom line is that across all our holdings all our stocks are in the black, with a considerable combined paper gain. You only lose when you cash out and realise an overall loss, we haven't Dan. Another reason for the sale was due to my wife's dividend income getting close to the £12,570 limit in her share dealing account, the changes brought down her potential taxable dividend income to a safer level.

"Still not answering the question, still not addressing the glaring disparity between the article you share and the observable reality"

It isn't just Openreach suffering losses to Altnets, VMO2 is just as affected. Personally I've never shied away from acknowledging that BT/Openreach will lose an unspecified number of customers to the competition, but it isn't as though this is anything new. During the late 80's and 90's BT had to deal with competition from the new upstart Cable companies and other's like Mercury/C&W. The base value in BT is locked into the infrastructure assets, which has a much wider geographic spread and breadth than the rest of the competition combined; BT's network will always be worth something to someone. BT's Net Debt is only around £2 Billion more than VMO2's approximate £21.56 billion debt, but BT earns nearly twice as much as VMO2, so VMO2's Net Debt has a far higher leverage ratio than BT's.

The Altnets are also under pressure with a significant amount of debt, so BT will be in a much better financial position than the competition as its transformation CAPEX winds down. The truth is that competition in the UK telecom market is killing the competition faster than BT/Openreach are losing customers.

It's easy Aus, if someone shares your point of view then they should avoid, or unload the stock; If they share my point of view that BT is a value and cost cutting opportunity, then they should hold or buy. Judging by the shifting narrative the vested interest media seems to drifting toward my point of view.

From our point of view we're now finally in the black on our Vodafone holdings, with 131,070 shares at an average book price of 96p a share. We're expecting our Vodafone stock to bring in over £5000 in dividends for 2026, assuming some increase in the dividend per share payout and a stable Euro/Pound exchange rate.

What was it about the article that upset you Aus, maybe the comparison stating that BT/Openreach holds an advantagous position over the competition? Something we already knew.

"When stacked against Virgin Media O2 Gig1, Vodafone Pro II Broadband, CityFibre Gigabit Home Broadband and Hyperoptic’s full?fiber tiers, BT Group plc wins not in every street, but in overall reach, resilience and breadth of offer. It is the default national platform others are forced to benchmark against"

"The Competitive Edge: Why it Wins

BT Group plc is not the cheapest broadband provider, nor the flashiest 5G marketer. Its edge lies in infrastructure depth, integration and optionality.

1. Infrastructure as a strategic moat

Owning Openreach gives BT Group plc a structural advantage rivals cannot easily replicate. Virgin Media O2 can compete strongly in its cable/fiber footprint, but BT’s Openreach network touches far more premises nationwide. Altnets rely on overbuild strategies in selective areas and wholesale tie?ups, but they do not yet match BT’s scale.

This infrastructure moat matters when we talk about product reliability, upgrade cadence and long?term pricing power. When BT decides to upgrade an area to FTTP, it does so as the default provider for almost every ISP using its ducts and poles. That spreads costs across multiple retail brands and wholesale customers.

2. Convergence and ecosystem

BT Group plc’s ability to combine FTTP broadband, EE 5G, Wi?Fi hardware, and enterprise-class services into coherent bundles is a critical differentiator. While Virgin Media O2 offers strong converged products, BT’s integration across consumer, business and public sector is broader. A household can have EE mobile, BT TV and BT broadband; a small business in the same region might run its WAN and voice over the same group’s infrastructure; local authorities and government departments often rely on BT for secure connectivity.

This ecosystem creates network effects: the more services a user or organization consumes from BT Group plc, the higher the switching costs and the richer the data BT can use to personalize offers and optimize performance.

3. Enterprise-grade trust and security

For enterprises, especially in regulated industries and the public sector, BT Group plc’s long-standing role in national infrastructure and security is a selling point. While Vodafone, Virgin and others have strong credentials, BT’s product story leans heavily on trusted national provider status, deep cyber-security capabilities and compliance expertise.

4. Operational leverage through simplification and AI

Internally, BT Group plc is attacking its complexity problem—shutting down legacy platforms, reducing the number of product variants, and using AI to automate network management and customer support. The benefit to customers is less visible but real: fewer outages, faster provisioning, and more consistent experiences. For BT, it unlocks operating cost savings that can be recycled into network upgrades and sharper pricing where competition bites hardest"

https://www.ad-hoc-news.de/boerse/news/ueberblick/bt-group-plc-can-britain-s-legacy-telecom-giant-reinvent-itself-for-the/68476794

"UK ISPs and altnets on Openreach’s telephone exchange exits"

https://bebeez.eu/2026/01/09/uk-isps-and-altnets-on-openreachs-telephone-exchange-exits/