BT Regulatory News (BT.A)

18 March 2021

BT confirms FTTP build plan to 20 million premises

Ofcom has this morning published its statement on the Wholesale Fixed Telecoms Market Review ("WFTMR") that sets out how Ofcom will regulate telecom fixed access services for the 5 years from 1 April 2021. A major focus of the statement sets out how Ofcom will stimulate next generation Fibre to the Premises ("FTTP") broadband investment across the UK.

Based on our initial assessment, BT believes that the document is broadly in line with the expectations laid out at our Q3 2020/21 financial results and, when taken as a whole, will allow BT to earn a fair return on its c.£12 billion FTTP investment. As a result, BT is today confirming its plan to build FTTP to 20 million premises by the mid- to late-2020s.

Philip Jansen, Chief Executive, BT Group said:

"This is good news for all fibre providers in the UK. For us, it is the greenlight we've been waiting for to get on and build like fury. Full fibre broadband will be the foundation of a strong BT for decades to come and a shot in the arm for the UK as we build back better from this pandemic. Connecting the country has never been more vital".

Clive Selley, CEO, Openreach said:

"We've now passed almost 4.5 million premises and are building faster, at lower cost and higher quality than anyone else in the UK. Today's regulation will allow us to ramp up to 3 million premises per year providing vital next generation connectivity for homes and business right across the UK".

Further details of our build plan will be announced once we have undertaken a full review of the WFTMR statement and have a better understanding of any further government support available to aid the industry's roll-out of FTTP.

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BT Group is the UK's leading telecommunications and network provider and a leading provider of global communications services and solutions, serving customers in 180 countries. Its principal activities in the UK include the provision of fixed voice, mobile, broadband and TV (including Sport) and a range of products and services over converged fixed and mobile

networks to consumer, business and public sector customers. For its global customers, BT provides managed services, security and network and IT infrastructure services to support their operations all over the world. BT consists of four customer-facing units: Consumer, Enterprise, Global and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Openreach, which provides access network services to over 650 communications provider customers who sell phone, broadband and Ethernet services to homes and businesses across the UK.

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