RE: Vodafone + 3 Merger Approved by CMA5 Dec 2024 18:33
To highlight BT Business, where I was a sales rep for 20+ years. Back one decade and BT could go into a business and sell ISDN2, ISDN30, BT Net, BT MPLS and other private networks, phone systems, LAN, structured cabling, WiFi etc etc. In the SME environment (up to 250 employees), that meant a capex of £10-£200k, and a revenue stream for network rentals, CPE maintenance and call spend. These things are largely gone. BT Net, the staple of any ICT salesman and renting at £10k pa, has been replaced by a fttp product costing £1-300 per month with no cross selling onto the premises because it's all cloud based. No wonder BTB are declining. This fibre rollout has decimated their own revenue stream. Asd to that the growth in connectivity by SIM (which will accelerate with the new Vodafone/3 commitments and you have a BT shorn of business by progress. Fir that reason, I see BT going into long term decline, certainly as a retailer, leaving Open reach as the only viable business.