BT 2006 Annual Report Download - page 12

access to a range of features including instant messaging,
e-mails and texts. BT Broadband Talk enables customers to
make and receive broadband calls using an ordinary phone. We
aim to introduce an enhanced VoIP offering, featuring high-
definition sound quality, in June 2006.
Broadband for business customers
Broadband is increasingly critical to the success of small and
medium businesses and BT Business Broadband remained the
leading internet service provider for SMEs in the UK. At the end
of the 2006 financial year, we had 453,000 BT Business
Broadband customers.
We recognise that businesses need solutions that combine
fast and reliable access with superior support and a range of
business applications and services. Many of these customers opt
for such value-added services as the Internet Security Pack and
the Internet Business Pack.
In October 2005, as part of our drive to encourage
broadband take-up in the SME market, we launched our most
comprehensive broadband package for business to date,
offering reduced prices, increased value and higher levels of
support than were previously available, including support for
LAN (local area network) and IT equipment that customers
connect to their broadband line. At 31 March 2006, we were
providing remote support for 24,000 PCs for SME customers.
Customer feedback has been extremely positive, with an
average 99% satisfaction level.
In the 2006 financial year, we invested in platforms that will
enable us to offer a wider range of services using Microsoft’s
Connected Services Framework. BT Business E-mail was the
first service to be launched on this platform and provides
‘anywhere access’ to critical business information, supported by
advanced security and collaboration features, and there were
12,000 users of this service at 31 March 2006. In January
2006, we launched BT Business Broadband Voice, our first ‘flat
top’ internet telephone or VoIP call package for broadband
customers.
Create convergent mobility solutions
In a convergent world, individuals and businesses increasingly
need to connect and communicate whenever and wherever they
happen to be, using whatever devices they choose.
Our aim is to offer all our customers the right combination of
the quality, reliability, cost advantages and bandwidth
associated with fixed-line communications, and the
convenience, personalisation and flexibility associated with
mobile communications.
BT is both an MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) and a
service provider in the business and consumer mobility markets.
At 31 March 2006, BT Mobile had over 340,000 GSM and BT
Fusion business and consumer connections.
BT Openzone is one of the leading providers of Wi-Fi
services in the UK and Ireland. We operate our own network of
high-quality sites and offer more wholesale and roaming
connections than any other UK Wi-Fi network operator.
Recently awarded the Brainheart European Wi-Fi award in
recognition of its contribution to the growth of the European
Wi-Fi industry, BT Openzone offers customers a high-speed,
wireless broadband connection over which they can access the
internet to work, talk or play.
We have already built BT Openzone networks in
Westminster and Cardiff and we have announced our intention
to Wi-Fi enable a further ten cities by the end of the 2007
financial year.
At 31 March 2006, our BT Openzone customers had access to
around 8,400 hotspots throughout the UK and Ireland and
more than 30,000 globally.
Revenue in the mobility market in the 2006 financial year
was £292 million, an increase of 42% on the 2005 financial
year.
Mobility for consumers
In the consumer mobility market our strategy is to build a
foundation for the delivery of fixed/mobile convergent solutions.
BT Fusion (launched in June 2005) is the world’s first
intelligent mobile service that switches calls to a BT broadband
line when the user is at home, offering customers the
convenience of mobile in combination with the cost and quality
advantages of a fixed-line phone. BT Fusion brings with it a
range of mobile services including text and picture messaging.
Users can connect PCs, laptops, games consoles, printers and
broadband wirelessly via the BT Hub that comes with BT
Fusion. At 31 March 2006, there were 24,000 consumer BT
Fusion connections.
In July 2005, the 3G network we built and operate for 3 in
the Republic of Ireland was launched. The contract with 3
requires the development of 700 new radio sites to achieve its
coverage targets. At 31 March 2006, the network for advanced
3G services covered more than 70% of the population of the
Republic of Ireland. BT Ireland is building on its success in this
market to offer wholesale services to other mobile operators in
Ireland.
In November 2005, we joined forces with Nintendo to
provide Wi-Fi access to users of Nintendo’s DS wireless games
console, a move which will enable users to play games around
the world for free and will, we believe, bring Wi-Fi to a mass
market.
Mobility for business and major corporate customers
Our strategy is to integrate traditional fixed, mobile and IP
services to offer a single communications solution to our
customers – both through commercial packaging and through
the exploitation of technological convergence.
In addition, we provide a range of managed mobile services
to UK and global customers who either outsource their mobile
communications entirely or rely on BT to provide specific
managed services.
During the 2006 financial year, we launched a number of
new services designed to integrate customers’fixed and mobile
communications services, including:
sBT Business Plan with Mobile, launched in March 2006,
offers small and medium businesses one bill, an annual 5%
discount on combined fixed and mobile calls, capped rates
on fixed-line calls and preferential rates on mobile-to-mobile
and mobile-to-the-office calls. The package also includes BT
Billing Analyst, which helps businesses to monitor and
control their call spend
sin February 2006, we launched a version of BT Fusion for
SMEs, enabling them to benefit from the convenience of a
mobile phone while enjoying rates similar to those for fixed
lines.
Mobility for wholesale customers
In the 2006 financial year, we saw continued growth in the UK
wholesale mobile arena – increasing the volume and value of
wireless-originated traffic over our network.
In February 2006, we announced that Virgin Mobile will be
the first operator to sign up to the BT Movio broadcast digital
TV and radio service, making it the first mobile operator in
BT Group plc Annual Report and Form 20-F 2006 Operating and financial review10