Member Info for fleccy

"" Well who cares if BT specifically target elderly loyal customers to stiff, they should have changed supplier."

- Only instead of "utter moron-ing" everybody as you do, I would (in my own style of course) have made similar points without alienating everyone who holds a differing opinion."

I disagree with the view that BT ripped off pensioners. BT were free to charge whatever price they wanted, with the open market view suggesting customers are free to change providers, should they choose too. In this particular case, there were other cheaper landline providers, as well as cheaper targeted deals, and cheaper mobile alternatives. Whose responsibility is it to decide what a fair price is for a service, or product? Energy suppliers and Insurance companies are in a similar situation, with various media outlets advising customers to search out the best deals and switch if necessary, it's no different in the case of BT. I had a work colleague who switched bank accounts, and Electricity suppliers, at the end of contractual periods to get the best deals. My Son paid for his wedding on a credit card, and switched credit card providers until it was paid off, and didn't pay a penny in interest. Personally I can't be bothered with all the messing about, so only look for better deals when I think the price looks ridiculous. When I last moved house I renegotiated my SKY deal, resulting in faster broadband, more TV packages and a big reduction in my bill. I didn't like that I'd been overpaying for my SKY service, but it was my fault for not questioning the price of the service. Did BT do anything wrong? In my opinion they didn't.

ALTNET's are popping up like mushrooms, and appear to be everywhere. It will be interesting, going forward, to see how many fail under the weight of competition. Small networks require nearly as much back office functionality as a large one, you still need a 24 hour NOC, billing infrastructure, and general admin functionality. Unless these ALTNET's can scale up and build bigger, they will be at a massive disadvantage to the bigger players. Openreach (BT) will always get a cut, via their PIA offerings. As I've mentioned previously, this is like the early days of the cable companies, where they all went bust and were taken over. In the end there will be around three, or four, big players left. BT and Virgin Media will likely take the two top spots, with Vodafone possibly taking a spot if they mop up many of the small ALTNET's as they fail.
The mood music suggests that OFCOM will be kind to BT in the wholesale fixed telecoms market review, due by 31 March 2021.

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0023/206960/wftmr-further-consultation-proposed-remedies.pdf

"I’m reacting to ceo comments about taking on Apple &-Amazon"

I believe it was Apple & Google, but it's obviously just a headline grabber. Clearly any of the US tech Giants could swoop in and take over BT without noticing the cash disappear off their balance sheets. The US just pumps money into its tech sector darlings, ensuring their stock valuations turn them into massive hedge funds. Most of them have grown on the back of predatory acquisition of emerging competition. Apparently Honeywell are about to leapfrog Google in the Quantum Computing world, so clearly U.S. FAANGS aren't unbeatable. Maybe BT are looking at selling software services to other Healthcare entities, other than the NHS, and that was what Jansen was referring to.

"Soaring £ apparently"

Indeed, we can only hope that the FTSE Equities break the inverse relationship with £ at some point.

Has to be down at least £2 Million now, possibly £3 Million.

"Arguing to take I Apple and Google for instance in what is effectively their area of expertise could be marked down as folly couldn’t it. The resources & development capabilities of these businesses is not something that can be “out “ competed is it, these companies are more like wealthy countries."

In the end it will come down to cost. BT can provide the servers, Fibre and Mobile connectivity, as well as knowing the NHS inside out from decades of providing services. BT probably have software development specialists, for the software side, and geographic advantage, as well as an existing working relationships with NHS I.T departments, therefore they have a natural advantage. Google and Apple can provide the software, but they'd have to rely on others for the comms.

"Well that settles it. You “can’t see any circumstances”. I’ll put it down to a racing certainty"

I knew you'd come around to my way of thinking. You know it makes sense.

Jefferies got it right last year.

"Jefferies: Sky more likely to team up with BT Openreach than Virgin Media for fibre"

https://www.digitaltveurope.com/2020/02/24/jefferies-sky-more-likely-to-team-up-with-bt-openreach-than-virgin-media-for-fibre/

"I notice of course you miss out the actual logic in play here, Comcast, Liberty, ex Virgin board member now sky CEOetc etc etc."

I can't see any circumstance where the VM/O2 combination and Sky would merge. Back in 2019 there was talk about Comcast/SKY investing with Liberty Global in a joint venture, called Liberty Fibre; Subsequently two years later SKY is committed to providing FTTP service via Openreach, and VM is tying up with O2 and talking about borrowing £10 Billion to invest in Fibre infrastructure. All the evidence suggests that VM and SKY are drifting further apart, and competing, rather than heading toward a merger. On the plus side, I suspect much of the touted VM/O2 £10 Billion investment will be over Openreach PIA, so BT will indirectly benefit. Funny old World.

"Surely it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to workout Virgin are merging with O2, Sky has their mobile with O2,"

Virgin Media's 5G MVNO agreement is with Vodafone, even though VM and O2 are merging, so that blows that argument out of the water. I agree that SKY and BT probably wont merge, but I don't understand your metaphor of "oil and water". The reason they wouldn't be allowed to merge is due to the competitive power of the joined entities. VM and SKY would be a much trickier combination to justify, with the CMA, as VM is primarily a Cable TV provider, meaning SKY and VM currently share the same pond.
BT and SKY are essentially two different businesses with some overlap. BT broadcasts content, but produces little in the way of its own content, whereas SKY is primarily a content provider and broadcaster. SKY uses Openreach to supply its broadband service, but doesn't own any infrastructure itself. SKY and BT are different sectorially , with one being primarily Media and the other primarily a Telecommunications provider. A better metaphor, describing BT and SKY, would be Bacardi and Coke.

"Could this force a merger between BT and Sky"

Not sure about a merger between the sports channels, but a merger between BT and SKY would be a formidable beast. The competition would be up in arms at such an outcome, and the CMA would be all over it, and likely block it even though they're essentially different types of business.

"Irish airline to appeal after losing first round of legal battle over Covid bailouts for rival carriers"

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/feb/17/ryanair-appeal-eu-court-ruling-french-swedish-state-aid-airline-covid-bailout

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/ryanair-loses-legal-fight-against-101253516.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAABexi0lxGOqr564R03ko-T_LgD0UW2pg95NfZ8noyM7EyOajEWkrBaJVL9UpOCVk8EMw5Bih0m1qGJ5Fqj0T7aBJCMuaoX5TaWmNWEgivQ9Jcf2CwRV1-h1L5vqRisb7wNKHIcbGjFUvd79_sgB4cgQatDg1mBNcYinCIxTF60Qu

I'm in two minds on this, but RYA will struggle to win this. It looks as though the view of the court, is that the Pandemic is an exceptional event, so they're allowing states to support national airlines. The Airline's argument is that Government/State action has closed their business, so they argue that the State should bail them out, looks as though the court agrees. RYA wanted to pick up slots on the back of the Pandemic, but that will be difficult where Airlines want to maintain their holding.
I suspect any appeal will get the same result.
RYA are probably in a good position to pick up slots voluntarily vacated, but the other Airlines will cling to their most lucrative slots. O'Leary would have argued the same in defence of RYA, if the shoe had been on the other foot.

Never heard of DAZN before the recent articles. I haven't looked into the company, but the business is loss making apparently.
I'm not a sports fan, and the content arena is getting crowded, so I agree that that Telecoms companies should primarily focus on the primary business offerings, but if the sports rights bring in pubs, clubs, etc, there may be a business case to bid for it.
I suspect virtual environments may become popular once 5G and FTTP is common. I'm talking about social and high street environments, where you can shop securely, or socialise in various environments. Imagine walking down a virtual high street, being able to enter a virtual shop and buy products securely from a virtual assistant and have it delivered automatically to your home, then leave the store and have a chat with someone in the park opposite. Maybe have virtual theme parks, or virtual nightclubs, chess clubs, etc, etc. It might seem a bit out there, but virtual environments could really catch on. New industries could appear, offering products to interact in the virtual environments, a bit like the online Peloton Fitness offerings, but better and more immersive. Virtual environments would offer massive advertising opportunities, and ecommerce opportunities, maybe BT should look at building the required platform's now.

"nicely back over the 16e mark again, onwards upto 20 :)"

That'll depend on lots of things, including whether Michael O'Leary decides to sell more stock, he seems to like trading his holdings.

https://www.sharesmagazine.co.uk/director-deals/director/5710/michael-oleary

They also need to contend with the Billion Euros of cash burn per quarter too. There's tons of optimism over future earnings baked into the current price, 20 Euro's will be a mountain to climb from here.

LMAO

"What’s a “ wireless tower” ?"

https://www.hifi-tower.co.uk/HiFi-TV/HiFi-Systems/Hifi-Speakers/Floor-Standing-Speakers/Karaboom-100-Wifi-Tower-Speaker-Internet-Radio-DAB-BT-120W-Black-Black.html#

"Crash & burn"

Haha, not quite, there's speculation that Blackrock made $2.4 billion on Gamestop alone. Blackrock could lose tens of millions on a BT short and not even notice.

Blackrock opened their short on the 5th Feb, possibly around 124.5p. 0.5% holding in BT is 49,410,950 shares. Every penny increase in BT's share price, assuming 124.5p short, would leave Blackrock around half a million quid down per penny above that.
On the 5th Feb the opening price was 124.9p with a day high of 127p, low of 122.25, and a close of 124.5p. I can't be sure of the short selling price, so I can't be sure if the Blackrock short is currently underwater. I used the closing price in my calculation. They could be down more, or less than my calculation, dependant on the price they borrowed and shorted the stock.

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-9256973/BT-boss-reveals-bold-plan-giants-like-Apple.html

https://www.healtheuropa.eu/2021-an-outlook-for-5g-in-healthcare/105815/

https://directorsclub.news/2021/02/10/bt-to-support-transformation-of-walgreens-boots-alliances-customer-experience-in-the-uk-and-ireland/

https://www.telecomtv.com/content/sustainability/bt-partners-with-scale-ups-on-breakthrough-green-tech-40704/

https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252495229/BT-connects-Dutch-diplomatic-missions

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-9215819/BT-EE-launch-unbreakable-home-internet-combines-broadband-4G-mobile-network.html

https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2021/01/a-look-at-openreachs-future-4-port-ont-for-fttp-broadband.html

"If I think rates move up when inflation comes there will be even more buying of value stocks and selling of high value growth tech."

It's incredible how low inflation has remained, it appears that the developed world has avoided Inflation at the expense of developing countries. Western Central banks have the printing presses working flat out and inflation has unbelievably stayed in the box, which has allowed house, and asset prices to defy gravity. The UK housing market seems to have benefited, but UK stocks have missed out on this liquidity nirvana, unlike the US that is relentlessly binging in both. Many of today's home owners have never seen the result of high inflation, and the resulting effect on mortgage repayments. Central banks will need to be super vigilant in controlling Inflation going forward, so any uptick will likely result in rapid increases in interest rates up to a limit. The BOE and FED will know how much rates can increase before home owners struggle with mortgages, so they will raise rates quickly, but carefully.
In this Fiat fantasy World money can be created, and debt vanished away without a magic wand, just keystrokes on a keyboard. If you're a member of the money magic club, it seems you can more, or less get away with anything.

"advanced engineering skills required to conduct a hugely complex and highly lucrative role for Openreach – typically where major external building projects require a complete rearrangement of the network. Crucially, that work involves a high level of technical understanding and expertise which inform detailed discussion with councils and major construction companies and their clients to ensure that Openreach doesn’t pick up the tab for costs that should rightly be borne by others.”

It reads like Fibre manager type role, dealing new Fibre installs and Fibre breaks due to civils work, throw in in some cost assessment, liaising with third parties, and controlling the Fibre team. I've worked with Fibre teams, and got to know the guys and their managers well. The role described is carried out by the Fibre managers in other companies, they are usually ex Fibre Engineers who advance into a management role controlling the teams, ensuring that Fibre is available for repairs, and doing a cost analysis for billing third parties who cause damage. Seems to me that Openreach are restructuring to mirror the way other companies have worked for a long time. Engineers, Managers, tomayto, tomahto, I don't understand the issue. BT have decided to restructure in line with common industry practice, from what i'm reading.