BT 2003 Annual Report Download - page 9

Business review
8BT Annual Report and Form 20-F 2003
The review is divided into the following
sections:
8 Introduction
8 Group strategy
9 Customer satisfaction
9 Broadband
9 Reporting on BT Openworld
9 Restructuring
Demerger of mmO
2
Acquisitions and disposals
Property
Concert
10 Debt reduction programme
10 Dividend
10 Pension fund
10 Lines of business
11 BT Retail
Core business
New-wave business
Internet access
Enhanced customer access
13 BT Wholesale
Core business
Changing market conditions
Strategic intent
External new business revenues
Broadband
21st century network
Efficiency
15 BT Global Services
Meeting customers’ needs
Solutions and value-added services
Customer wins
Business realignment
Global reach
16 Other businesses
16 Research and development and IT support
17 Our people
18 Regulation, competition and prices
Regulation in the UK
Competition
Pricing regulation
Non-UK regulation
Other significant changes and issues
23 Relationship with the UK Government
23 Legal proceedings
Please see cautionary statement regarding
forward-looking statements on page 142.
All customer numbers are given as at 31 March
2003, unless stated otherwise.
EBITDA = Earnings before interest, taxation,
depreciation and amortisation. The definition,
reconciliation and reasons for disclosing EBITDA
are discussed in the Financial review.
Introduction
BT Group plc is the listed holding company for an
integrated group of businesses that provide voice
and data services in the UK and elsewhere in Europe.
British Telecommunications plc is a wholly-owned
subsidiary of BT Group plc and holds virtually all
businesses and assets of the BT group. Our collective
aim is to create shareholder value through service
excellence, an effective brand, our large-scale networks
and our existing customer base, and also through
developing and marketing new, higher-value
broadband and internet products and services.
BT consists principally of three lines of business:
BT Retail, BT Wholesale and BT Global Services
(formerly BT Ignite).
In the year ended 31 March 2003 (the 2003
financial year), 94% of our revenues were derived from
operations within the UK, where we are the largest
full service telecommunications operator, serving over
20 million customers. BT Retail and BT Wholesale
operate almost entirely within the UK, addressing
the consumer, major business, business and wholesale
markets, and offer a broad spectrum of
communications products and services. Our aim is to
increase profitable revenues from data and advanced
broadband and internet services and to reduce further
our dependence on revenues and profit generated by
fixed-line voice services.
For a summary of turnover for our lines of business
for the years ended 31 March 2001, 2002 and 2003,
see the table on page 10.
Corporate identity
In early April 2003, we unveiled a new corporate
identity to replace the piper logo and reflect our
strategy. Because it represents BT as part of the
multimedia age and communicates our global reach,
this change better reflects the range of activities that
we encompass.
The new mark is the company’s first visual identity
change since 1991.
Governance
BT’s policy is to achieve best practice in our standards
of business integrity in all our operations, in line with
our published statement of business practice – The Way
We Work. This includes a commitment to maintaining
the highest standards of corporate governance
throughout the group (see pages 53 to 57).
Corporate social responsibility
BT is committed to maximising its positive impact
on society through leadership in CSR (corporate social
responsibility). In our view, a well managed CSR
programme supports the delivery of strategy and
is in the best interests of the business, customers,
shareholders and the community (see pages 24 to 25).
Group strategy
In 2002 BT set out its three-year strategy to create
value for shareholders by being the best provider of
communications services and solutions for everybody in