Communicate EU
BT European Affairs Newsletter • March 2014 • www.btplc.com/Thegroup/UKPublicAffairs/EuropeanAffairs/EuropeanAffairs.htm
Challenges ahead
The articles covered in our latest EU
Communicate illustrate the challenges ICT
companies are taking on, and prove how
ICT is permeating society. In this edition
we take a look at:
Subsea cables connecting Scotland;
Child online protection tools; supporting
Big and Small business in the real-time
economy in the UK and Asia; the TTIP
agenda (Trade); providing world class
Broadband at competitive prices. BT’s
honouring of Tommy Flowers (19051998) shows how Innovation and
engineering excellence have been in our
genes for many decades.
Adrian Whitchurch,
Vice President of European Affairs
Making a success of TTIP
communications markets. Effectively
removing access bottlenecks to electronic
communications networks would cut the
costs of ICT to businesses and consumers
and promote competition, innovation, jobs
and growth.
BT is enthusiastic about the opportunities
a Transatlantic Trade and Investment
Partnership (TTIP) can offer. For BT, the
U.S. market is the most important national
market outside the UK and comes second
after the EU as a whole. We have made
considerable investment in the U.S.,
where we employ over 2600 people. A
comprehensive trade deal will have to focus
on non-tariff barriers, regulatory alignment
and mutual recognition in key areas. This will
drive growth and jobs across many sectors
including ICT. Once the agreement is fully
implemented, TTIP could bring significant
economic gains of €119 billion a year for the
EU and €95 billion a year the US.
In BT’s view there are three essential areas
for a successful TTIP treaty:
The EU and U.S. need to address material
problems arising from divergences
in regulation and standard setting,
particularly in the high tech area. These
cause substantial competitive imbalances
between EU and U.S. businesses.
Specifically this includes remedying the
regulatory asymmetry of the two electronic
Public and government procurement both
within the EU and at US federal and state
levels should be mutually opened up to
ensure fair reciprocal access to contracts
and business generally benefitting citizens
and competition. But this opening of Public
Procurement markets has to go hand-in
hand with the removal of the relevant
sectoral barriers.
A Trans-Atlantic Innovation agenda in
emerging new areas should promote ‘light
touch’ regulatory principles capable of
implementation in a similar or mutually
compatible way in the EU and the U.S. The
innovation areas most suitable for such a
mutual effort include: nanotechnology,
cloud computing, data privacy, trans-border
flow of ICT services, cyber security, smart
grids and e-mobility.
UK outperforms
on superfast
broadband
The UK is outperforming the major
European economies on key measures
for superfast broadband, according
to an international benchmarking
study by Analysys Mason. The BTcommissioned report, International
benchmark of superfast broadband,
reveals that the UK is ahead of its
European peers on measures such as
coverage, take-up, average speeds
and prices – boasting the most
competitive broadband market out
of all countries featured in the report.
The report presents factual data up
to 2012 alongside Analysys Mason’s
forecasts to 2018.
The research shows that with more
than 70% of premises able to access
superfast broadband at the end of
2012, the UK already leads France,
Germany, Italy and Spain in terms of
availability – and the report predicts
it will be among the best-performing
countries globally by 2018.
Analysys Mason Partner Matt Yardley
said: “The UK does very well on most
superfast broadband benchmarks
today, and by 2018 it will continue
to outpace its major European
competitors and even outperform
Japan and the USA on some
measures.”
The benefits of TTIP would not be at the
expense of the rest of the world. On the
contrary, the positive impact on global trade
and income has the potential to increase
GDP in the rest of the world by almost €100
billion. The EU and the US will be able to
work together towards better trade rules
and less regulatory divergence between
them in the future. Some of the reductions
achieved in the cost of doing trade will also
benefit other partners.
IN THIS ISSUE: CHILD ONLINE PROTECTION • GLOBAL SERVICES • OPENREACH • TECH STARTUPS
BT European Affairs Newsletter • March 2014 • www.btplc.com/Thegroup/UKPublicAffairs/EuropeanAffairs/EuropeanAffairs.htm
BT filter helps protect children online
The network-based filter – BT Parental
Controls – covers all internet-connected
devices in the home and is free for all BT
consumer customers.
While BT has offered free parental controls
to its customers for years, until now
the protection has focused on desktop
computers and laptops.
The new controls cover any internet-enabled
device using home broadband, from PCs,
laptops and games consoles to tablets and
smartphones.
Pete Oliver, BT Consumer commercial
marketing and digital managing director,
said: “BT takes the issue of online child
protection extremely seriously and we are
very pleased to be able to launch the wholehome filter to help parents keep their families
safe online.
BT awards multi
million subsea
cabling contract
“It adds to the many tools we already
make available for free to our customers.
We’ve been focused on the issue of online
safety since we developed the world’s first
Cleanfeed filter to block child abuse images
and made the technology available free to
other ISPs across the world a decade ago.”
New customers will have to make a choice
on whether or not to activate the parental
controls when setting up their internet
connection for the first time.
The new controls have been tested in trials
with a variety of different customers and help
from interested groups such as Mumsnet, the
UK’s biggest network for parents.
BT and other major ISPs have set up a
marketing campaign, Internet Matters: Learn
about it. Talk about it. Deal with it, to increase
awareness and education around online safety
for children.
BT has awarded a £26.9 million contract
to help deliver fibre to the Highlands and
Islands.
Three firms were awarded the subsea
cabling contract and specialist vessels will
lay 20 fibre optic submarine cables in a
precise operation during May to October.
This will provide a fibre broadband
backbone which will eventually link
communities from Kintyre to Orkney.
The longest cable will run from Ullapool to Stornoway
Telecoms deals are
cheapest in UK
UK consumers receive the cheapest
telecoms deals in Europe and the US,
according to a new report from industry
regulator Ofcom. The findings are
included in Ofcoms’s ninth International
Communications Market Report.
Compared with French, German, Italian,
Spanish and US consumers, those in the UK
BT’s new filter covers all internet-connected devices
in the home.
The massive engineering effort is part
of the £146 million investment project
launched with Highlands and Islands
Enterprise (HIE) in March to bring highspeed fibre broadband to communities
As well as committing £1.5m directly to a joint
marketing fund, BT is providing more than
£7.8m worth of its own marketing activity and
development spend next year alone.
across the north of Scotland.
The longest cable will run for nearly
79km under the Minch from Ullapool to
Stornoway.
Director of Digital Highlands and Islands
HIE’s Stuart Robertson said: “The subsea
cables are an essential part of bringing
high-speed broadband to our west coast
communities.
“Their installation is essential in order to
reach the 84 per cent coverage target for
the region. The fibre network will bring
services closer to everyone and will make
it easier to provide better broadband to
even our hardest to reach areas.”
can take advantage of consistently cheaper
access to mobile phone, landline telephone
and broadband deals.
For its study, Ofcom created five typical
household profiles to get the most accurate
picture of what people need to spend in
each country to get the best deals, ranging
from low use household with basic needs,
through to an affluent household that uses
lots of communications services.
The UK emerged as either the cheapest or
second cheapest in four out of five of the
profiles.
IN THIS ISSUE: BT HOME HUB • RETAILTOPIA • GLOBAL SERVICES • LONDON 2012
BT European Affairs Newsletter • March 2014 • www.btplc.com/Thegroup/UKPublicAffairs/EuropeanAffairs/EuropeanAffairs.htm
European businesses have need for speed
A BT-commissioned study suggests that
business processes are becoming more and
more interconnected and running faster. In
some cases they have almost reached real-
time speed.
The study produced by Experton is called
‘Real-Time Economy - Promise and potential
of instant processes for a better future’.
A third (32.8 per cent) of the senior decision
makers surveyed said they had experienced
significant acceleration over the past 24
months.
But only 22.4 per cent of them said they are in
a position to cope with the future challenges
of the real-time economy.
European companies find their business processes are
dramatically accelerating, reveals research for BT.
Two awards for
BT’s flawless
London 2012
BT won Project of the Year at the World
Communication Awards 2013 and
Technology Project of the Year at the V3
Technology Awards.
The World Communication Awards,
organised by the publishers of Total
Telecom,
The vast majority of surveyed executives
agreed their organisations need to evolve and
become faster, interconnected businesses.
are judged by an independent panel of
leading communication industry experts.
The judges’ comments for BT’s winning
entry state: “Delivery and performance was
impeccable, with core network availability
at 100 per cent and no major faults or
security breaches.”
The judges also said: “As the first ever
official communications services partner in
the history of the summer games, they [BT]
designed and delivered a single integrated
voice and data communications network.
“Seven times the bandwidth for Beijing, it
carried every official photograph and sports
report, millions of phone calls, emails, texts
and tweets from journalists, organisers and
competitors.”
Tanuja Randery, BT Global Services’
president of strategy, marketing,
communications and growth, accepted the
award on BT’s behalf.
Nearly sixty per cent (58.3 per cent) of
executives foresee that the increasingly
mobile lifestyle of employees and customers
will become the number one driver within the
next two years - with ubiquitous real-time
access to data and applications.
Chief executive of BT Benelux Joris van Oers
said: “The survey shows that only a few
European companies are able to effectively
do business with the speed that is required to
compete in today’s global economy.
“Response times need to get shorter, risks
have to be detected earlier and business
processes must be optimised accordingly. This
is a world where nanoseconds can have an
impact.”
New chief
executive for
Openreach
Joe Garner is to be the new chief
executive of Openreach, joining the
company in February. He will replace Liv
Garfield who is leaving to become chief
executive of Severn Trent.
Joe brings substantial commercial,
operational and regulatory experience,
having worked for many years at HSBC,
Dixons and Procter & Gamble. His most
recent role was at HSBC where, as head
of the UK Bank, Joe helped lead HSBC
successfully through the financial crisis.
Joe said: “I am thrilled to be joining
Openreach at such a critical moment – a
moment when technology is redefining
how our society communicates.
BT retains market lead in Asia Pacific
BT has maintained its ranking as a market
leader in the Asia Pacific region, according to
a new study.
IDC underlines BT’s commitment to the region
through continued investments in networks,
services portfolio and people.
It’s the fourth consecutive year that analyst
IDC has recognised BT’s strategy, capabilities
and momentum in the region.
IDC specifically highlights BT’s strengths in a
number of key areas, including differentiation
through vertical sector knowledge; taking the
lead in innovation in the region; continuing
to build a local customer base; and delivering
strong professional services capabilities.
The IDC MarketScape: Asia Pacific NextGeneration Telcos – ICT Services 2013-2014
Vendor Analysis once again ranks BT as a
leader.
IN THIS ISSUE: BT HOME HUB • RETAILTOPIA • GLOBAL SERVICES • LONDON 2012
BT European Affairs Newsletter • March 2014 • www.btplc.com/Thegroup/UKPublicAffairs/EuropeanAffairs/EuropeanAffairs.htm
Top role for BT
man in panEuropean
initiative
Paul Jenkins of BT Technology, Service &
Operations takes up his role this month
as director of the new London node of
the European Institute of Innovation and
Technology (EIT).
Paul explained: “The EIT ICT Labs project
aims to drive European leadership and
innovation in information communication
technology to help boost economic growth
and quality of life.”
The London node – which extends the
scope of EIT ICT Labs into the UK for the first
time – is joining six others in a European
network of nodes located in Berlin,
Eindhoven, Helsinki, Paris, Stockholm and
Trento.
Paul Jenkins will head up a new UK innovation centre
BT’s fellow founding partners of the London
node – which will be based at Imperial
College’s new campus in west London – are
Imperial College itself, IBM, the Institute
for Sustainability, Intel, University College
London, the University of Edinburgh, and
Vodafone.
BT honours telecoms pioneer
Tommy Flowers
BT has unveiled a bronze bust of Tommy
Flowers to honour the life and legacy of
the telecoms pioneer.
A bronze bust of Tommy Flowers was unveiled
The unveiling at Adastral Park in
Suffolk was hosted by Clive Selley, BT
Technology, Service & Operations chief
executive and Group chief information
officer, and Tim Whitley, BT managing
director of research and innovation, and
attended by members of Tommy’s family.
The event coincides with the 70th
anniversary of Tommy’s invention,
Colossus, the first programmable
computer. The bust depicts Tommy in
his 30s, the period in which he built
Colossus.
Suzi Williams, BT Group brand and
marketing director, said: “The Tommy
Flowers sculpture is truly world class and
will inspire generations of BT people at
Adastral Park to be the best they can be
and make a difference. All of us should
be extremely proud of Tommy and his
legacy.”
Tommy joined the telecoms branch of
the General Post Office (GPO) in 1926
and worked at the GPO research station
at Dollis Hill.
Colossus successfully broke the Lorenz
cipher used by Hitler and the German
High Command during the Second World
War. It went on to provide intelligence
that proved critical to the success of the
D-Day landings and made a significant
contribution to the Allied war effort.
BT backs
government
programme
to help small
businesses thrive
BT and TechHub Provide Boost to Tech
Startups
The technology startup community is
being a given a much-needed boost and
the chance to create new applications
and services for the superfast broadband
market, after BT and TechHub today
partnered to launch the BT Infinity Lab
programme.
BT and TechHub - which creates
spaces around the world where tech
entrepreneurs can meet, work, learn and
collaborate - are asking tech entrepreneurs
to design and present innovative new uses
and product prototypes, which will help
internet users take advantage of superfast
broadband.
BT is looking for new applications and
services that can be marketed alongside
BT’s existing products. The winning
entrepreneurs will receive six month’s
support from BT, including access to
knowledge and expertise from a wide
range of areas, including research and
development, engineering, legal and
marketing. Winning start-ups will also
gain membership at TechHub’s sold out
community space in the heart of East
London’s ‘Tech City’, offering business
support, workspace and an international
community of entrepreneurs exclusively
for the tech industry.
Jean-Marc Frangos, BT’s MD External
innovation said: “At BT, we embrace an
open innovation approach, working
with industry and academic partners to
diversify our product and service offering
and develop new customer experiences.
With this partnership, we are pleased
to further extend our global innovation
network and actively engage with the tech
start-up community.”
BT will also launch the Tommy Flowers
Scholarship for students in Suffolk, as
well as the Tommy Flowers Award for
Commitment to Computing.
IN THIS ISSUE: BT HOME HUB • RETAILTOPIA • GLOBAL SERVICES • LONDON 2012