With the number and impact of cyber attacks continuing to increase rapidly, BT has taken a multi-million pound stake in Silicon Valley cyber risk management firm Safe Security, underlining its ambition to target growth in the sector, the company said on Wednesday.
BT and Associated British Ports (ABP) are trialling the next generation of Internet of Things (IoT) and sensor technology to speed up the movement and processing of cargo goods and digitise the Port of Ipswich’s logistics and operations processes.
BT’s social tariff, Home Essentials is now available for customers to buy online. Announced back in April, BT Home Essentials is exclusive to those on Universal Credit and a range of other means-tested benefits, the package offers fibre broadband and calls for £15 a month, saving customers £240 a year compared to an equivalent package.
BT has launched a new business unit to serve the millions of UK firms which are either small by design or just starting up. Together with the launch of the UK’s first ‘unbreakable’ Wi-Fi for micro-businesses - which delivers guaranteed coverage across the workplace, full fibre speeds of up to 900Mbps and free tech expert support – the new unit will help the UK’s smallest firms to rebuild and get set for growth.
BT has launched BT TV Box Pro, the TV platform’s most advanced set-top box. The sleek new box is designed to support the next generation of TV viewing, with the features including crystal clear 4K HDR viewing and Dolby Atmos offering a complete immersive experience. BT has also rolled out a new user interface to new and existing BT TV customers giving them more intuitive control.
EE is deploying Nokia’s Self-Organizing Network (SON) software solution to enhance network reliability and service in its 4G and 5G networks, as part of a new vendor deal. With Nokia SON, EE can overcome network complexity to create flexible solutions that better manage its network, as well as automating operations across diverse eco-systems to minimize and address network issues more cost-efficiently.
BT has begun trials of a new type of optical fibre - hollow core fibre - at the BT Labs in Adastral Park, Ipswich, in a collaborative project with Lumenisity, a Southampton University spin out company, and Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) mobile vendor Mavenir.
BT pledged today to increase its fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) target from 20 million to 25 million by December 2026. In the last year Openreach passed a record 2m premises with FTTP and now believes that it has the capability to reach around 4m premises a year.
BT is planning to develop a brand new, multi-million pound contact centre in Dundee which will become the new home to around 1,000 employees. The new office will be at West Marketgait in the heart of the city centre, close to the waterfront and part of a £1bn regeneration area.
BT and Google are extending their partnership to equip the UK’s small businesses with new digital skills and build upon their existing mentoring programmes, to help small business owners bounce back stronger from the impact of Covid-19.
BT has reached its original goal of helping 10 million people across the UK to improve their digital skills, five years ahead of schedule. Key to achieving this milestone was the success of BT’s Top Tips on Tech campaign in partnership with ITV, which helped 5.7 million people learn vital new digital skills required during lockdown.