South West
intouch Autumn 2013
Our half- year
financial results
highlighted the
fact that our fibre
network now passes
more than 17million
premises, with
more than 2million homes and
businesses using our fibre based
services.
Also noted alongside the commercial rollout
was the great progress with our BDUK
partnerships - you can read about some
of these and case studies of how SMEs are
reaping the rewards of fibre technology in
this issue. The success of BT Sport was also
highlighted, which is not only good news for
sports fans but also has the benefit of driving
broadband take up which can only have a
positive impact across the region.
You may also be aware that Ofcom has
just released their latest UK Infrastructure
Report. This report provides a very
comprehensive review of actual UK
communication infrastructure as of today.
It highlights the strong position of the UK
compared to major EU countries, and the US
in particular, against the key government
targets of SFBB coverage, take up and
overall speed. The report also highlights that
most of the growth in coverage is a result
of BT’s continued investment in fibre and
recognise that the BDUK programme will
help to address this going forward.
But it’s not just about broadband - we take
our social responsibilities seriously at every
level of engagement. We are working with
organisations across the UK to help people
overcome the digital divide and providing
the technology and support for initiatives
such as BBC Children in Need.
 Regional Director’s Message

New postcode checker for
fibre broadband

More locations look forward
to super-fast future
New research shows fibre
 network boosting local
economy

Small businesses making it
big with fibre broadband

Power of fibre broadband
feature on YouTube

Young people given a
sporting chance

Disabled people still facing
digital divide
It’s a very exciting time for us all.
Jon Reynolds, Regional Director for the
South West
jon.reynolds@bt.com.
New postcode checker for fibre broadband
Openreach’s recently launched
new-look super-fast broadband web
page now gives customers a better
idea of when their exchange will be
upgraded.
The postcode checker – which tells users when
exchanges in their area are due to have fibre
broadband equipment installed – now offers
more precise information about the status of
their own local exchange.
Instead of telling users about all of the
exchanges in their area, the postcode checker
narrows it down to the exchange that serves
them, annotated with the symbol that
applies to the current super-fast status of the
exchange. This gives a much clearer picture of
whether they are likely to be able to receive
fibre services.
The checker will provide the information
required for 99 per cent of enquiries – the
exceptions being where postcodes straddle a
number of exchange boundaries,
as they do in Shropshire and Wales.
The new web page also features a list of all
internet service providers offering fibrebased broadband services on the Openreach
network, plus a new ‘don’t let your internet
connection hold you back’ video animation.
In addition, it has been made more mobilefriendly, so it can be viewed on phones and
tablets more easily.
The web page now attracts around 200,000
visitors, and delivers around 25,000
clickthroughs to ISP websites every month.
Check it out at www.superfast-openreach.
co.uk
Devon and Somerset villages
 first to benefit from county
fibre plans
Super-fast fibre broadband
 goes live in Sherborne and
Shaftesbury

Devon firm takes home
national tech award

BT volunteers win support for
community groups
South West
intouch Autumn 2013
More locations look forward to super-fast future
Another wave of local authorities
across the UK are celebrating
securing funds from BT and
Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK)
to deploy fibre broadband, which
is expected to help boost their
economies and create or protect
local jobs.
In the North West, a partnership between
ourselves and five Merseyside councils is set
to expand fibre broadband access to up to 98
per cent of the area’s businesses and homes
within the next three years. And in the East
Midlands, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and
Leicestershire County Councils have signed
contracts with us to deliver much faster
internet speeds to around 95 per cent of
premises in all three counties by 2016.
Also joining the revolution is the East , where
we have joined forces with Essex County
Council on a project which should bring the
technology to around 87 per cent of properties
in the county by the end of summer 2016.
In addition, Central Bedfordshire Council and
Bedford Borough Council, alongside Milton
Keynes Council, have inked a deal with us to
extend the fibre broadband infrastructure to
91 per cent of local premises by spring 2016.
Down in the South East, the Superfast
Berkshire project is aiming to provide highspeed services to around 91 per cent of
the county by the end of September 2015.
Meanwhile, the Better Broadband for
Oxfordshire programme will take coverage
there to at least 90 per cent within a similar
timeframe.
resulted in more than 42,000 of that area’s
properties having access to super-fast speeds.
Finally, in the West Midlands, an agreement
with Worcestershire County Council means
that, within the next three years, 90 per
cent of the county’s businesses will see their
broadband speeds transformed, while in
the North East, the Go Digital programme is
expected to extend fibre availability to 97 per
cent of firms and households in Newcastle
upon Tyne by the end of summer 2015.
Another major beneficiary is Yorkshire and The
Humber, where Superfast West Yorkshire – a
partnership between four local authorities
and ourselves – plans to reach 97 per cent
of homes and businesses across the county
by the end of 2015. And by the same point,
the Broadband East Riding project will have
New research shows fibre network boosting local economy
New independent research by
SERIO at Plymouth University and
Buckman Associates shows that the
fibre network in Cornwall is already
providing a major economic boost
to local small and medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs) - making it one of
the best connected areas in Britain
and the best connected rural region
in Europe.
In fact, six out of every 10 (58 per cent) SMEs
surveyed said their business is growing because
of the new technology, whilst more than a
quarter (26 per cent) have either created
or safeguarded jobs as a direct result of the
efficiency and innovation that super-fast
broadband encourages.
Early findings from the study revealed that
after 12 months, 83 per cent of them were
saving time and money thanks to the faster
speeds and innovative services that fibre
broadband enables.
Nigel Ashcroft, Superfast Cornwall programme
director for the Cornwall Development
Company, said: “The economic benefits of the
infrastructure investment will grow over time,
In addition, over a third of businesses
participating in the study (37.5 per cent)
reported that super-fast broadband had
helped their business to generate new sales,
with a quarter (24 per cent) of that group
pointing to new trade overseas.
but we have encouraging early signs that we
are moving in the right direction in Cornwall.
Given the challenging economic conditions
for SMEs, it is great news that businesses are
growing, generating new sales and creating
jobs for the Cornwall economy.”
More than 35,000 local homes and businesses
are already taking advantage of the faster
speeds, including an estimated 4,130 SMEs.
The Superfast Cornwall project is on track
to deliver fibre broadband to 95 per cent
(originally 80 per cent) of the region, as well as
the Isles of Scilly, by the end of 2014. It is also
aiming to boost speeds for the remaining 5 per
cent of premises (about 13,000) by deploying
alternative technologies.
www.superfastcornwall.org
South West
intouch Autumn 2013
Small businesses making it big with fibre broadband
Businesses all over the UK are now
seeing the benefits of upgrading to
fibre broadband. And for small and
medium enterprises (SMEs), faster
speeds have transformed the way
they work and their relationships
with their clients, as two satisfied
customers explain below.
Brian Rees is company chairman of the if
Agency, an integrated creative agency based in
South Manchester that delivers effective online
and offline campaigns for retail, leisure, finance
and other business clients across the country.
“When we set up six years ago, we quickly
embraced ‘first generation’ broadband
with ADSL that ran at 5Mbps downstream
and 800Kbps upstream. This helped but it
wasn’t a full answer. Large files still couldn’t
be transferred efficiently and many chunky
pieces of artwork were biked up and down
motorways, adding risk, time and cost to jobs.
“We understood that we needed better
connections to compete successfully against
nationally-networked agencies, and to work
more effectively with our blue-chip clients.
“Our IT consultant outlined the benefits we
could gain from fibre broadband with a superfast connection. We found that BT was offering
its new BT Infinity services in the region
and responded immediately to its customer
marketing. After two days of installation work
in November 2010, we have never looked
back.
“Using fibre connections, we are more
responsive than ever, and can now zap
45Mbps downstream and about 13Mbps
up. We worried about the cost and possible
inconvenience, but this game-changing
improvement in the service we can offer has
not cost us a premium, and we didn’t suffer
any disruption to our business.
“We understand that our connections are
the platform for our continuing success. We
always keep a close eye on BT’s plans and
developments so we’re best positioned to
take advantage of the latest technologies in
our ever-changing and furiously competitive
business.”
Stuart Landreth is one of the founders and
directors of Northumberland-based BeeBox
Systems, which provides background music
systems and digital signage to bars, clubs,
hotels, restaurants and family entertainment
centres across the North East and, increasingly,
throughout the country.
“The traditional industry model for providing
music services – still widely in use today – is
particularly slow and inflexible. The service
provider receives new material from the
content provider, processes it onto a computer,
burns it to a CD, and then sends it by post to
the venue for the landlord to upload locally. It
takes at least a week to complete the end-toend process when nothing goes wrong.
“Using fibre broadband, we upload new
content to our servers as it arrives from our
providers. Every night, each customer’s system
automatically downloads a scheduled daily
update that includes new releases and any
requests that they have made. If anything goes
wrong or our customer needs a last-minute
change, our fibre connection allows us to fix
the problem remotely, in real time, often while
the customer is still on the phone.
“Super-fast fibre has transformed the range
and quality of services we can offer. We have
two BT Infinity lines with a custom-designed
router that helps to load balance our needs for
fast content turnaround, and are moving away
from desktop-based software to a web-based
and cloud-based management system so that
we can work from anywhere, at any time.
“We no longer experience capacity constraints
that affect our general office systems, so
we use all our time far more effectively.
We automate where we can to add new
services, and to keep our costs low and prices
competitive.”
If your business has received a boost from fibre
broadband, and you would like your story to
be featured as a case study in a future edition
of InTouch, we would love to hear from you.
Please contact regions.comms@bt.com
Power of fibre broadband feature on YouTube
The winning entries in a short story
competition held in Northern Ireland
have been turned into thoughtprovoking films on the power of fibre
broadband and they can now be
found on YouTube.
write a 500-word story illustrating how fibre
broadband can transform people’s lives. Take a
look at these inspiring videos – they really help
bring the story to life.
Northern Ireland Broadband’s ‘Super Short’
competition challenged teenage citizens to
Another inspiring video available on YouTube
has been produced, capturing the great work
Fourteen-year-old Enniskillen student Dorothy
McDowell’s film can be viewed here. Twelveyear-old Lisburn student Amy Warke’s film can
be viewed here.
that is going on in Cornwall via the Get IT
Together programme to help local people take
their first steps to get online.
You can view the video on the Better Future
YouTube channel here.
South West
intouch Autumn 2013
Young people given a sporting chance
An exciting new venture between
BT and its BT Sport partners and
Comic Relief is using the power of
sport to help disadvantaged young
people both here in the UK and
around the world.
The Supporters Club has been set up to raise
money to fund the coaches, mentors and
teachers that these young people need to
help them to fulfil their potential.
When customers sign up to BT Sport
through our call centres, bt.com or www.
thesupportersclub.org, they are being
invited to make a recurring £1, £3 or £5
monthly donation to The Supporters Club,
collected via their BT bills. However, people
who haven’t signed up to BT Sport but wish
to contribute can do so through our website
as well.
BT have donated £500,000 from various
initiatives to kick things off and will match
every £1 given by customers up to the first
£1 million. In addition, we are covering
the running costs of the fund so that 100
percent of donations will go straight to The
Supporters Club, which will be managed by
Comic Relief.
The scheme aims to support initiatives both
in the UK and overseas that utilise the power
of sport to help disadvantaged young people
improve their lives. These include projects
that boost enrolment and achievement in
school; reduce levels of exploitation and
abuse; secure jobs; improve health and
wellbeing; and heighten confidence and
self-esteem. We will be regularly updating
our website and producing TV programmes
featuring projects funded by The Supporters
Club, which will be broadcast on BT Sport.
Business responsibility matters to BT, and
social responsibility is a central part of our
business strategy. The Supporters Club as an
effective way for us to work hand in hand
with our customers and our employees to
make a real difference to disadvantaged
young people.
Already, thousands of customers and BT
employees have signed up to donate to
The Supporters Club, bringing in around
£300,000 a year, which BT will match –
adding a further £300,000 in the pot. To
find out more about the scheme, visit www.
sport.bt.com
Disabled people still facing digital divide
The potential for mainstream
technology to transform the
lives of the 11 million disabled
people in the UK remains largely
untapped, according to research
funded by BT’s Connected Society
programme.
In a new report, disability charity Scope and
the Royal College of Art’s Helen Hamlyn
Centre for Design argue that disabled
people still encounter a huge digital
divide – and that many still have to choose
between expensive specialist equipment
and inaccessible mainstream gadgets.
Researchers from the Helen Hamlyn Centre
for Design discovered that technology
built for disabled people is expensive,
offers low functionality and often requires
specialist knowledge to adapt. Mainstream
technology, like iPads and Windows Tablets,
is cheaper and can do much more, but is
rarely customised to meet disabled people’s
needs.
To coincide with the launch of the report –
entitled Enabling Technology – BT, Scope
and the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design
unveiled a series of digital technology
prototypes at the London Design Festival in
September. These included:
The research also found that the
information available to disabled people
about enabling technology needs to be
improved. They are amongst the groups
least likely to use the internet, and are
20 per cent less likely to be online than
their peers – despite the huge potential of
services like online shopping and banking
which could transform their lives.
•the ‘Tailored Touch’ mouse, which can be
made from touch-sensitive pads on any
surface, and in any shape or size
With this in mind, the report outlines
a series of recommendations for
technology companies, commissioners
and the providers of key digital services to
maximise the ‘enabling potential’ of digital
technology.
•the ‘Pop-up Reader’, which allows a
blind or partially-sighted person to read
letters and other documents via their
smartphone.
The Enabling Technology report, plus
accompanying videos, can be found at
http://blog.scope.org.uk/2013/09/20/
technology-for-disabled-people
South West
intouch Autumn 2013
Devon and Somerset villages first to benefit from county fibre plans
Residents of two villages in Devon
and Somerset are celebrating
becoming the first rural communities
in the counties to benefit from the
multi-million pound Connecting
Devon and Somerset partnership,
three months ahead of schedule.
Once engineering work is completed, up to
700 premises in Sticklepath in Devon and up
to 500 in Bradford on Tone in Somerset will
have access to high-speed fibre broadband,
with Moretonhampstead, Holsworthy, Bishops
Lydeard, Creech St Michael and Monkton
Heathfield (near Taunton) set to join them
before the end of the year. By early 2014,
this first phase of the programme will have
made the new technology available to at least
15,000 homes and businesses.
Connecting Devon and Somerset signed
the delivery contract with BT in January this
year. Since then, engineers have been busy
conducting vital surveying work to ensure that
the deployment plan for roll-out is as costeffective and efficient as possible.
The project will lead to the delivery of highspeed fibre broadband to around 90 per
cent of homes and businesses in Devon and
Somerset by the end of 2016. It also plans
to ensure a minimum of 2Mbps for all the
premises it covers and is actively seeking
funding to further extend the super-fast
network across the whole area.
The largest programme of its kind in England,
Connecting Devon and Somerset builds on our
commercial roll-out of the technology, which
has already reached around 196,000 premises
in Somerset and about 211,000 in Devon. As
well as the seven towns and villages mentioned
above, the first phase of the initiative will also
include extending fibre broadband in Taunton
and Bridgwater, parts of which are already
benefiting from the commercial roll-out.
Councillor Andrew Leadbetter, Cabinet
Member for Economy and Growth for Devon
County Council, said: “The roll-out of highspeed fibre broadband across Devon and
Somerset marks the beginning of a real
transformation for business across the two
counties. As an area we can now become more
competitive, attracting inward investment,
creating new jobs and supporting economic
growth.”
Councillor David Hall, Deputy Leader of
Somerset County Council, added: “To have the
first cabinets ready to go ahead of schedule is
great news. Not only is access to high-speed
fibre broadband a game changer for business,
enabling them to compete on an equal
footing, but it can help break down the digital
divide in our communities.”
Super-fast fibre broadband goes live in Sherborne and Shaftesbury
More than 2,800 homes and
businesses in the Dorset towns of
Sherborne and Shaftesbury now
have access to high-speed fibre
broadband – a figure that will
increase to more than 7,800 once
engineering work is completed.
They follow 19 Dorset communities, such
as Bournemouth, Weymouth, Portland,
Dorchester, Verwood, Blandford and Poole,
where the technology is already available.
Lyme Regis, Swanage, Gillingham and
Wareham are also due to be upgraded, and by
the end of spring 2014 more than 260,000
homes and businesses in the county will be
able to benefit from our £2.5 billion fibre
programme.
The Rt Hon Oliver Letwin, MP for West Dorset,
which includes Sherborne, said: “Broadband is
an essential part of Dorset’s present and future.
It’s vital that we embrace this latest generation
of technology in order for our local economy to
remain competitive.”
Robert Walter, MP for North Dorset, which
includes Shaftesbury, added: “BT’s roll-out of
super-fast broadband in Dorset is one of the
most important recent improvements for our
local businesses and households. It is providing
a major boost for the prosperity and success of
a number of communities in my constituency.”
Our fibre footprint currently passes more than
16 million UK homes and businesses. It is due
to reach two-thirds of the country’s premises
– around 19 million – by the end of spring
2014, at least 18 months ahead of the original
timetable.
Openreach is primarily deploying Fibre To The
Cabinet (FTTC) technology, which provides
download speeds of up to 80Mbps and
upload speeds of up to 20Mbps. However, it
is also making Fibre To The Premises (FTTP)
technology, which offers the top current
download speed of 330Mbps, commercially
available on demand in certain areas where
fibre broadband has been rolled out.
For further information on the Openreach
programme, visit www.superfast-openreach.
co.uk
South West
intouch Autumn 2013
Devon firm takes home national tech award
A company whose community
impact is described as pioneering,
innovative and inspiring has won a
national BT technology award.
Devon-based Cosmic, an ethical social
enterprise offering IT services across the South
West, picked up the BT Get IT Together Award
at this year’s Technology4Good (T4G) Awards,
held at BT Centre in London.
Organised by e-accessibility charity AbilityNet,
the awards celebrate the diverse ways in which
charities, businesses, schools, government and
the public are using technology to benefit the
community.
As well as being lead T4G sponsor, BT sponsors
the Get IT Together Award category, which
recognises UK-based organisations that
encourage digital inclusion and help people
get online.
For further information, visit www.btplc.com/
betterfuture
Winner Cosmic offers a range of services,
including web development, technical support
and training. Its profits are directed back into
the community to fund projects that enhance
internet use and computer skills among local
people.
Jon Reynolds, BT Regional Director, said: “We
believe in the power of digital connections
to improve society by creating access to
information, education and employment
opportunities. It’s hugely encouraging to see
organisations like Cosmic working to help
people gain the skills and confidence to share
these benefits.”
BT’s Anna Easton, right, with Cosmic’s Kate Doodson and
Julie Hawker
BT volunteers win support for community groups
The company is rewarding
organisations and community groups
across the South West with grants of
up to £1,000.
The donations are being made through our
employee recognition scheme, the BT People
Awards, which were launched last year. The
scheme acknowledges our volunteering
heroes, who offer their time and skills to help
people in their local community, by awarding
grants to organisations with which they are
involved.
Twelve groups in the South West have received
grants to enable them to continue their
excellent work in the community, including:
Berry Hill Juniors Football Club, The Gloucester
Primary Schools Football Association, the 37th
Kingswood Cadets, Lechlade Memorial Hall
and Playing Grounds Trust, Old Redcliffians
RFC (Brislington) and Meningitis Research
Foundation in Thornbury. Jon Reynolds, BT
Regional Director, said: “BT has a long history
of working with good causes to help improve
lives. We see volunteering as a two-way
benefit as there are many development
opportunities when new skills are brought back
into the workplace. Some of these experiences
can only be gained by playing such an active
role in the local community.”
For more information, and a complete list of
the latest award recipients, go to
www.btpeopleawards.co.uk.
To find out more about BT’s wider portfolio of
activities please see our new brochure at
www.bt.com/charityportfolio