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https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2021/05/08/bt-increasestarget-boostto-broadband/
So we should find out this coming Thursday about new areas for FTTP coverage and hopefully some dates for rollout too.
Edit:
BT is preparing to accelerate its investment which will bring superfast full-fibre broadband to millions more homes as concerns ease over the company’s pensions black hole.
The telecoms operator is about to publish more ambitious targets for its broadband rollout which will include enhanced coverage in the most remote parts of the country.
BT had previously pledged to lay full-fibre cables to 20m homes and businesses by the mid-to-late 2020s, but chief executive Philip Jansen is now poised to go further and faster.
The former Worldpay boss has previously vowed to “build like fury” to meet Boris Johnson’s target of ensuring 85pc of the nation has gigabit speeds by 2025 – a key part of the Tories’ levelling up agenda.
The move is expected to be announced on Thursday when BT publishes full-year results alongside the outcome of its triennial pension review.
Analysts are expecting Mr Jansen to be handed greater financial flexibility, with the pension deficit coming in £2.2bn lower than expected at £7.5bn. As a result BT will be under less pressure to channel profits to plugging this gap, and more able to invest.
The company is also hoping to sell a stake in BT Sport, allowing it to share the hefty financial burden of paying for TV sports rights and free up more money to invest in full fibre.
The Telegraph revealed last month that BT had appointed investment bank Lazard to explore a partial sale of its TV arm, with ITV, Amazon, Disney and Dazn among the interested parties.
BT’s plan to boost its full-fibre targets comes as Ofcom chief executive Dame Melanie Dawes urges infrastructure builders to make even bolder commitments on broadband.
Ofcom will announce this week that 21pc of homes now have full-fibre broadband, up from 12pc last year.
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Speaking to The Sunday Telegraph, Dame Melanie welcomed the progress but said that more action is needed following the publication of Ofcom’s broadband pricing framework.
The regulator told broadband builders in March that wholesale prices for full fibre will not be capped until 2031 at the earliest, handing the industry more certainty to invest.
Dame Melanie added: “Following the access review statement we put out a few weeks ago now, we are really looking to industry to step it up.
“We have seen really good commitments already ... but we think the framework we have set out means they can go even further and faster.”
Under BT’s current plans, around 20pc of the nation – Britain’s most sparsely populated regions – has been deemed unviable for commercially funded full-fibre upgrades.
Ministers had planned to spend £5bn on subsidies by 2025 to ensure infrastructure builders still upgrade broadband in those rural areas.
However, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has slashed that pledge to just £1.2bn.
With pension pressure subsiding and the Government’s super deduction policy allowing BT to cut its tax bill if it invests, Mr Jansen has a brighter financial backdrop in which to spend BT’s own cash.
BT is now in line to reduce the financial burden on the Government by investing more money in rural areas.
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