Connections
Briefing from BT Scotland • Autumn 2010
BT Scotland issues clarion call to Scotland’s politicians
BT Scotland has called on all political parties in the Scottish Parliament to help ensure a fair, equitable
and sustainable digital future for Scotland, ahead of next year’s parliamentary elections.
Central to BT’s policy proposals is for the
Scottish Parliament to recognise that
some form of
public sector
stimulus will
be required to
bring the social
and economic
benefits from
high speed
networks
to those
outside the
commercially
viable urban
centres.
Increasingly,
policy makers across the UK are recognising
the positive impact ICT and supporting
broadband infrastructure can have on
current and future economic growth.
Ian Shanks, head of Scottish Affairs, BT
Scotland, said: “There is a real danger that
Scotland will fall behind other parts of
the UK in the race towards delivering next
generation broadband services. Cornwall,
in partnership with BT, has demonstrated
an innovative approach to delivering next
generation access to rural communities and
we urge politicians in Scotland to consider
how the public sector can partner industry
to deliver the economic and social benefits
of high-speed networks to everyone as
quickly as possible.”
Andy Willox, the Federation of Small
Businesses’ Scottish policy convenor,
said: “Ensuring that Scotland’s future
communications infrastructure compares
well to the rest of the UK – as well as the
rest of the world – needs to be a high
priority for all of Scotland’s politicians.
Scotland needs its share of the estimated
600,000 jobs that could be encouraged
through superfast broadband UK-wide.”
BT Scotland also received support for its
policy proposals from CBI Scotland, Scottish
Council for Development and Industry,
Scottish Chambers of Commerce, Scottish
Trade Union Congress, SOLACE and COSLA.
A copy of the BT Scotland Manifesto can
be downloaded here.
BT calls on communities to join the race for super-fast broadband
BT is urging communities across Scotland
to get involved in a unique survey of
demand for super-fast broadband.
Households and businesses can show
the level of local interest in the fibrebased service by voting in the Race to
Infinity.
The race – which runs until December
31st 2010 – will help BT identify “hot
spots” where demand for fibre broadband
is high. The data will be used to influence
its future deployment plans.
And, as an extra incentive, BT will
upgrade the five UK exchanges with the
highest demand, based on percentage of
premises served after passing a threshold
of 1,000 votes (one per premise).
The company is also pledging to engage
with any community where at least 75 per
cent of homes and businesses have voted
for super-fast broadband.
Brendan Dick, BT Scotland director, said:
“This is a golden opportunity for people
in Scotland to demonstrate the level of
demand for fibre broadband – and help us
to take the nation’s broadband pulse.
“The data will help determine where
fibre broadband will be deployed over
the next few years, so it’s vital for both
individual communities and the country
as a whole that residents take the time to
complete the survey.”
The Enterprise Minister Jim Mather
urged all Scottish communities to take
advantage of the campaign and register
their demand: “The Scottish Government
has carried out a significant amount of
work to improve basic broadband services
through telephone exchange upgrades
and use of satellite technologies to
www.bt.com/racetoinfinity
connect properties out of reach, and this is
an opportunity to build on that work.”
BT’s £2.5 billion plan to roll-out
super-fast broadband is one of the most
ambitious fibre programmes in the world
not reliant on public sector support.
But support will be needed for
exchanges in the “final third” of the UK
where deploying fibre is commercially
non-viable.
Olympic gold medallist Dame Kelly Holmes sports a
fibre-optic running suit to launch BT’s Race to Infinity.
For BT contact telephone numbers please see your local BT Phone Book
Briefing from BT Scotland • Autumn 2010
Faster broadband
on the way
Almost half a million more homes and
businesses in Scotland will have access
to faster broadband by the spring of
next year. Another 37 communities,
serving some 483,000 premises, are
included in the latest roll-out plans
for BT’s pioneering 21st Century
Network (21CN). The BT investment
delivers broadband speeds of up to
20 megabits per second (Mbps) over
copper lines – more than double the
maximum speeds previously available
to most UK homes and businesses.
Within less than a year lines serving
up to 56 per cent of premises in
Scotland – more than 1.2 million
households and businesses – will
have been upgraded. BT Scotland
director Brendan Dick said: “This latest
major investment in next generation
broadband represents a huge BT
vote of confidence in the future of
Scotland. It will help ensure that
businesses and households are in a
strong position to thrive.”
More Scots to go
super-fast
Around 33,000 more homes and
businesses in Scotland will be next to
benefit from BT’s £2.5 billion plans for
super-fast broadband. Six more exchange
areas will be upgraded by Autumn
2011. They are Dunblane; Dundee Park;
Fountainbridge, Newington and Waverley
exchanges in Edinburgh; and parts of
Mid Calder in West Lothian. The latest
phase builds on BT’s existing roll-out
plans. Openreach, BT’s local network
business, is carrying out the upgrades.
Meantime, engineers recently completed
fibre upgrade work in Dunfermline and
Dalgety Bay, which are now live with
the service. Brendan Dick, BT Scotland
director, said: “Fibre broadband has the
power to revolutionise the way we use the
internet. It has huge implications for the
way we live, learn and do business, with
massive opportunities for entertainment,
education and entrepreneurs. People in
these communities will soon be able to
experience the internet as they’ve never
seen it before.”
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BT passes fibre
milestone
Super-fast, fibre-based broadband is now
available to more than 100,000 Scottish
homes and businesses. A team of 62 engineers
has deployed the service to 12 exchange areas,
connecting some 376 street cabinets with
more than 125 km of fibre, equivalent to 50
times the length of the Forth Road Bridge. A
large amount of the work has been carried out
at night to minimise disruption. The super-fast
speeds will power new business applications
and more sophisticated home and entertainment services. Brendan Dick, BT Scotland
director, said: “IT infrastructure deployment in Scotland is particularly demanding and
all sectors of Scotland’s economy need to work together to find ways to bring super-fast
broadband to locations where the economics are more challenging.” Dr Lesley Sawers, chief
executive, Scottish Council for Development and Industry, added: “BT’s roll-out of superfast broadband is essential to Scotland achieving its potential in the global economy.”
Rural broadband partnership sets example
Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly are set to become one of the best connected locations in
the world under an ambitious multi- million pound project announced by BT and Cornwall
Council and supported by European funding. The project will benefit tens of thousands
of local businesses, create 4,000 new local jobs and protect a further 2,000. The aim is to
give between 80 and 90 per cent of local businesses and homes access to super-fast fibre
broadband by 2014. Fibre to the premise (FTTP) technology will feature heavily with the
expectation being that half of local businesses and homes will have access to it, subject
to detailed survey. BT said the project sets an example to other rural areas, showing what
can be achieved through partnering and public funding. BT is providing £78.5 million
and there will be European Regional Development Fund Convergence investment of up
to £53.5 million. Ian Livingston, chief executive of BT, said: “This partnership shows what
can be achieved when people work with BT. The ‘final third’ of the UK is undoubtedly
challenging to reach with fibre but this project shows it is possible. Our door remains open
to others who are keen to work with us to bring fibre broadband to their areas.”
BT reps talk technology
BT representatives have been visiting homes in Edinburgh and Glasgow to talk about
the new super-fast broadband service, BT Infinity. The two cities are among the first
communities in the UK to benefit
from BT’s £2.5 billion investment in
super-fast fibre-based broadband
and the launch of BT Infinity. The
representatives wear BT clothing,
carry photographic identification
cards and will give a number for
householders wishing to confirm that
the caller is bona fide. Libby Barr,
BT director of consumer sales, said:
“The new super-fast broadband
service, BT Infinity, is an industryleading product and we are keen to
explain the benefits to potential and
existing BT customers and to answer
any questions.”
Briefing from BT Scotland • Autumn 2010
Hidden skills could boost economy
The director of BT in Scotland says more needs to be done to unlock
hidden skills in the Scottish workforce.
Brendan Dick says a greater push on skills
across Scottish industry could help increase
productivity and boost the economy.
Dick, a member of Scotland’s Skills
Utilisation Leadership Group, said:
“Scotland has an excellent record on skills
qualifications yet often these are not put
to full use in the workplace.
“A low growth economy is bad news
for the future. We need to focus on
productivity and leadership as tools to
help businesses weather the downturn and
grow our economy through skills.
Dick has created a Scotland-wide talent
pool in BT, not only to identify the leaders
of the future, but to make sure available
skills are realised beyond individuals’ day
jobs. It includes employees at all levels
in the company, from the most senior
managers to bright young graduates.
“A national talent pool bringing together
our brightest stars could be created to help
steer Scotland through this challenging
recovery period and beyond,” he said. “The
challenges we face in the future need a
new kind of leadership.
“The Scottish Government’s
commitment to develop policy and
research into skills utilisation in the
workplace should be given the full support
of the Scottish business community,” he
added.
For more information visit the Scottish
Government skills website.
BT targets cable theft in Scotland
BT has launched a new weapon in a major initiative against
cable thieves in Scotland. It is deploying ‘SmartWater’, a
forensically coded invisible paint that tags metal thieves,
to protect the telecoms network.
Metal theft driven by a surge in scrap copper prices is a
growing problem. Thieves target the copper contained in
the local telecoms network, isolating vulnerable people
and in some cases limiting access to emergency services.
Last year saw an increase of nine per cent in incidents of
deliberate attacks on the BT network. Such attacks cost
the company millions of pounds each year.
The operation, supported by the British Transport Police,
aims not only to deter thefts, but also to capture and convict persistent offenders.
Bernie Auguste, head of security for BT’s local network business Openreach, said: “Any
criminal who targets the BT network in Scotland now risks being invisibly tagged with
SmartWater, meaning that the police can trace them, and any stolen cable or equipment,
back to the scene of the crime. Cable theft affects not only us as a business, it affects
everyone who relies on access to phones and broadband.”
BT chief recognised in Scottish awards
BT CEO Ian Livingston has been named International Business Leader of the Year in
the inaugural Scottish Business Awards.
His leadership qualities were recognised in the awards launched by Scottish
Business Insider Magazine. Winners were decided by business leaders and public
sector executives voting for their peers.
Ian is also the subject of a front-cover feature in the October edition of the
magazine. Editor Alasdair Northrop looks in depth at his life and career to date and
his business philosophy.
The magazine comments that since taking on the job of chief executive Ian “has
turned round the company’s fortunes from being a multi-million loss maker to
producing a profit of £1 billion in the latest financial year”.
Mobile project scoops
Capital award
A BT project with The City of
Edinburgh Council to mobilise an army
of tradespeople last night picked up an
award for Smarter Working.
The team from BT and The City of
Edinburgh Council which worked on the
project was recognised in the Council’s
annual Staff Awards for Excellence.
The citation said: “Tasked with
increasing productivity for Edinburgh
Building Services and improving
customer satisfaction, staff from
e-Government and Services for
Communities worked with partners BT
and Kirona to deliver a new ‘mobile’
system of managing and scheduling
repair jobs.
“More than 200 operatives now use
PDAs to track and record information
‘on the job’ instead of completing
paperwork back at the depot, and
have fully embraced the new system.”
In Edinburgh to attend the awards,
Chris Sayers, director of local
government partnerships for BT Global
Services, said: “Working together, BT
and the Council are genuinely helping
staff to work more efficiently and
effectively to provide great services
for people in Edinburgh, residents and
visitors alike.
“But of course, providing great
technology and work practices is
only half the story; it’s the people
delivering the services who are making
the real difference.”
BT and the council developed the
integrated mobile working platform
to provide real-time job allocation
and communication with field-based
staff in Edinburgh Building Services,
a council operation tasked with
maintaining 23,000 homes.
It directly employs 210 trades
people such as plumbers, electricians
and joiners, with local contractors
brought in for specialist tasks and to
help out during peaks of work.
The Council’s telecoms project team,
which has worked on the provision of
a consolidated telephone service by
transferring telephone lines from more
than seven suppliers to BT, achieving
£1.2 million efficiency savings, was
named runner-up in the Improving
Value category.
Read the mobile case study.
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Briefing from BT Scotland • Autumn 2010
Meet the board
Robert Cole – Head of Customer Satisfaction, Global Services UK
Describe yourself in 10 words or less:
Athletic, cooperative, energetic, enthusiastic,
caring, enquiring, supportive, challenging
BT people understand their rights, helping
them travel safely and confidently. And it
was my idea!
What does your day job involve?
My team and I run the customer
satisfaction survey programme for the
UK, so we choose who to survey, organise
the customer meetings and then most
importantly analyse their feedback and
work across the company to deliver change
What are the biggest challenges Scotland
faces?
The number one has to be health. We need
to eat better, exercise more and balance
our busy working lives with positive and
energising leisure
And what do you bring to the BT Scotland
Board?
Customer service and sales experience,
experience of people management and work
on diversity and a great love of Scotland
Can you recap your career to date for us?
From college I went into IT sales, selling
into large corporate, including banks
and financial companies. After nine years
working for various IT vendors, I joined
BT in sales in the automotive sector, as
an account manager, then sales manager
and line of business manager. Since then
I have had various roles in Operations
and Supplier Management and customer
service. I became Head of Customer
Satisfaction for GS in the UK this year after
three years looking after the Public Sector
What’s been the highlight so far?
Undoubtedly, it was getting BT’s Global
Equality and Diversity Forum’s agreement
for BT to fund and develop a new website
for the International Lesbian and Gay
Association, providing an easy use website
for that lobbying organisation on gay
rights around the world. This has helped
What’s around the corner in IT?
I’d like to see video conferencing as
ubiquitous as audio conferencing – as a
frequent home worker, it would be nice to
see who I’m speaking to!
What are your outside interests? (eg
board memberships, voluntary work etc)
Most importantly, I spend time with my
partner, Nigel. We love mountain biking,
walking, cooking and the company of good
friends.
I am a founder member of SWAN, a
workplace networking organisation for the
Scottish central belt’s lesbian, gay, bisexual
and transgender people. I am a nonexec director of the Scottish Mediation
Network. I sing with Edinburgh choir, Loud
and Proud. And I am a runner – running
a sub 3-hour marathon in Edinburgh in
2009, not bad for someone in their mid40s, classified as a veteran.
How would you spend a sabbatical? Doing
something that involved exercise and
food – maybe encouraging children and
other young people to shop and cook for
themselves.
BT launches internet awards
BT Scotland has launched its latest annual search for internet whizz-kids who have
shared their skills with the older generation.
The BT Internet Ranger of the Year Awards 2010/11 are open to young people
aged up to 16, who have taught an older person or group of older people basic
computer skills and how to use the internet.
Schools helping older people make the most of the internet can also enter.
Each national winner will receive a laptop plus £100 worth of vouchers for software/
computer equipment. The overall UK winner will receive an additional £200. Schools
can scoop a top prize of £4,000 and two runners-up awards of £2,500.
The awards were set up after research showed nearly a third of parents and
grandparents were taught how to get online by youngsters aged between 13 and 16.
Entry forms and more information are available on the website.
Robert Cole – Head of Customer Satisfaction,
Global Services UK
Scots
athlete
is BT’s
cover
star
Glasgow
athlete Lee
McConnell
is the face
of the new
BT phone
book. The
Olympic
4x400m relay runner and 2010
European Championships bronze
medalist will be on the front cover
of 1.8 million Scottish directories in
the countdown to the London 2012
Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Lee will feature on the front cover
of 12 different Phone Book editions,
with the first directories already issued
to 300,000 homes across Edinburgh
and the Lothians and 130,000 homes
in Central Scotland and Trossachs.
The latter was also the first new size
compact edition Phone Book delivered
in Scotland, narrow enough to fit into
standard-sized letter boxes.
Lee said: “Featuring sporting
personalities on the cover of the BT
Phone Book is a great idea as it will
encourage people to get behind local
athletes in their area.”
BT is the official communications
services partner for the London 2012
Olympic and Paralympic Games.
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Produced by BT Scotland Communications and designed by www.lbd.uk.net in Scotland.
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