Roundtable Discussion; The Future of Mineral Sands. Watch the video here.
DT don’t seem to be too worried that share price has gone from over £4 to £1.45 today. They still own 12.06% don’t they? I wonder what have they been doing with their shares these last few years. Also why did DT CEO Tim Hottges resigned from the board of BT directors? Has anyone any idea why DT is still keeping hold of their BT shares? I thought they are allowed to sell them as of 2019 I believe.
at some point today maybe after markets close. It will be interesting to see whether the latest news will play any role in it. I am hopping for an increase of total group revenue year on year as at the moment they are showing it going down by a bit in 21/22 and 22/23. Fingers crossed and hope the only way is up from here for BT share price.
One question please: Has BT confirmed FTTP build 20 million apart from 4.5 million build so far or is that the total including what has been build so far?
If the total is 20 million and they have done 4.5 million already than it should all be done by the end of 2026 if I refer to what Clive Selley said in the RNS.
It has been pressing the Government to ease business rates on new broadband networks by extending a so-called tax “holiday” from five to 20 years.
BT chief executive Philip Jansen has also been urging the regulator Ofcom to give greater certainty after slashing the dividend and pledging £12bn towards the gigabit rollout.
Ofcom chief Melanie Dawes has signalled that wholesale prices on full fibre will not be capped until 2031 at the earliest, but Mr Jansen wants a commitment for 20 years. The watchdog will reveal details about the price cap when it announces its wholesale fixed telecoms market review today.
A favourable deal for BT has the potential to boost the telecoms giant's share price, which has suffered from uncertainty over how much of a return it can make from full-fibre.
BT's shares surged more than 6pc on Wednesday after avoiding a costly bill for 5G airwaves, spending £452m instead of an expected £824m.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2021/03/17/5bn-broadband-upgrade-aimed-tory-red-wall-constituencies/
Ministers will target Red Wall Tory constituencies with plans for a £5bn gigabit broadband upgrade in rural areas, The Telegraph can reveal.
It is understood the government will announce on Friday how it plans to roll out the rural subsidy amid industry concerns it is moving too slow.
The so-called "Project Gigabit" plan will detail how the money will be distributed across the country - with Northern areas among a number of locations being targeted.
A call for evidence will also form a key plank of the announcement in an attempt to understand the needs of rural communities and businesses, including those in the areas hardest to reach.
The move comes as Ofcom reveals on Thursday the wholesale pricing structure for faster and more reliable full-fibre broadband, which will determine how much broadband builders are willing to invest.
The "Project Gigabit" plan from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport follows concerns highlighted by The Telegraph that the rural rollout was behind schedule. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is understood to have queried with Oliver Dowden, the Culture Secretary, about his department's progress.
Mr Johnson had originally pledged to cover the UK in full-fibre broadband by 2025 ahead of being propelled into Downing Street.
Industry concerns have been building, however, after the government watered down a number of key targets for upgrading the nation's internet connectivity.
In the general election, the promise was changed to a commitment of kitting all homes and businesses with gigabit broadband within five years.
In rural areas deemed too expensive for BT's broadband division Openreach to install, ministers vowed to offer subsidies worth £5bn to ensure they did not miss out.
However, Chancellor Rishi Sunak slashed the spending pledge from £5bn by 2025 to just £1.2bn in a blow to the industry's ambitions.
It came alongside Mr Johnson's less ambitious plan of ensuring just 85pc of the UK had gigabit speed by 2025, rather than the whole country. By breaking promises, Culture select committee chairman Julian Knight said in December that ministers were "marching industry up to the top of the hill, and marching them back down again".
He warned that reneging on commitments was "potentially highly damaging for Government credibility" in 'Red Wall' seats won by the Tory party in the North at the last election.
Pressure on the government has also been intensified by industry calls to to speed up the roll-out by overhauling planning laws and easing the financial burden on telecoms firms.
BT warned in September that broadband targets would be missed by eight years without £9bn in cuts to tax and red tape.
Continues
BT shares surge as mobile operators dodge big 5G bill
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2021/03/17/bt-shares-surge-mobile-operators-dodge-big-5g-bill/amp/
I have read it somewhere that the Ofcom review should come out tomorrow. Whenever it comes out I hope it’s a positive one and after that I would like to see directors buys and share buybacks at this low price. Am I asking too much?
https://amp.ft.com/content/efa8b170-efb2-4d39-b4a0-3205353cecdd
Part of the article
More critical is the impending Ofcom review of the market, expected this week. This will set the rate of return BT can expect on a £12bn investment in upgrading its network to fibre — a cost almost equivalent to its current market capitalisation — and thus the speed and scope of the project.
The best-case scenario is that Ofcom introduces a regime that allows for a pre-tax return of between 10 and 12 per cent, or higher, and extends a commitment not to introduce price controls on fibre lines beyond 2031. Jansen wants the fibre network to reach 20m homes by the end of the decade.
The review outcome will help clarify the value of Openreach and determine whether a potential stake sale is feasible for BT. A number of top 10 shareholders have pushed for the company to consider such a move to unlock the value of the infrastructure in line with other European telecoms companies, according to bankers.
Simon Lowth, chief financial officer, previously told investors that the BT Pension Scheme could potentially buy a stake of up to £5bn in Openreach and that third parties could invest alongside it.
Such a complex move would reduce the burden of BT’s pension deficit and align the group with other European telecoms companies that are carving out infrastructure assets including towers and fibre networks.
BT’s modernisation has been complicated by Covid-19, which has hit its financial results despite the resilience of its core telephony business. Revenue in the first nine months of the year dropped 7 per cent to £16bn, while pre-tax profit fell 17 per cent to £1.6bn.
With costs reduced, troublesome assets such as its Italian unit sold and consumer price rises levied, BT now needs to prove to investors that it can restore its dividend and sustain this month’s share price rally, said analysts.
If the company clears its strategic hurdles in the coming months, the boardroom noise could prove to be little more than static on the line.
https://amp.ft.com/content/efa8b170-efb2-4d39-b4a0-3205353cecdd
Simon Lowth, chief financial officer, previously told investors that the BT Pension Scheme could potentially buy a stake of up to £5bn in Openreach and that third parties could invest alongside it.