BT said it passed more than 1 million premises with FTTP for an eighth consecutive quarter
In sum – what to know:
Revenue down 4% to £5B in Q3 – Declines in service and equipment revenue, plus divestments, weighed on results, while profit before tax fell 11% to £862 million.
FTTP build reaches 21.4M premises – Openreach added more than 1 million premises for an eighth straight quarter, with connections up 21% year-on-year to 8.2 million.
5G base hits 14.3M users – EE maintained top network rankings, expanded 5G+ coverage to 69%, and targets nationwide standalone 5G by 2030.
U.K.-based BT Group reported revenues of £5 billion ($6.8 billion) in the third fiscal quarter ended December 31, down 4% year-on-year, mainly due to declining service revenue, lower equipment sales — primarily handset trading — in the consumer and business segments, and the impact of divestments.
In a release, the telco said adjusted U.K. service revenue in fiscal Q3 reached £3.8 billion, down 2% year-on-year, reflecting the continued drag from legacy voice services of more than one percentage point, as well as prior-year trading phasing effects.
The operator passed more than 1 million premises with FTTP for an eighth consecutive quarter, continuing what it described as the fastest build achieved by any company in Europe. Its FTTP footprint now covers 21.4 million premises, including 5.9 million in rural areas of the U.K.. The company also noted it remains on track to pass up to 5 million premises this fiscal year and reach 25 million by December 2026.
Openreach reported record demand for FTTP, with net additions of 571,000 connections, up 21% year-on-year. Total premises connected reached 8.2 million, lifting the take-up rate to over 38%. Openreach broadband ARPU increased 4% to £16.8, supported by higher FTTP adoption, faster speed tiers and price adjustments, BT said.
Openreach broadband lines declined by 210,000 quarter-on-quarter, in line with last year’s trend. The company now expects full-year losses of around 850,000 lines, an improvement on its previous estimate.
BT’s retail FTTP base grew 32% year-on-year to 4.2 million, including 3.9 million consumer lines and 0.3 million business lines.
Meanwhile, EE’s 5G base reached 14.3 million, up 10% year-on-year, with 5G+ coverage at 69%.
Greg McCall, BT Group’s chief networks officer, previously told RCR Wireless News that EE’s 5G+ — the company’s new name for its standalone 5G network — was expected to reach 41 million people by spring 2026. The executive said the telco expects to reach full coverage with this service by 2030.
