BT 2007 Annual Report Download - page 14

Consumer average revenue per user (£) 12 month rolling average
260
250
240
230
In the consumer market we aim to provide customers with a
range of services that help them communicate more effectively,
access entertainment and manage their lives. By increasing
revenue from broadband, mobility and internet services, we
intend to reduce further our dependence on revenue and profit
from traditional, fixed-line voice services. We also aim to
maximise the returns from our traditional business and defend
market share vigorously, through service offerings backed by
innovative marketing and excellent quality of service.
New wave services for consumers
Consumer new wave revenue grew by 34% to £858 million
in the 2007 financial year, driven principally by broadband.
Residential broadband customers increased by 32% to 2.8
million.
BT offers a family of broadband packages designed to meet
the diverse needs of our customers, simply and cost effectively
in a highly competitive market. We believe that the broadband
experience is about much more than having basic access to the
internet; customers want their broadband connection to offer
a range of exciting content and secure, robust services as
standard, without having to pay extra for these features.
In June 2006, we launched BT Total Broadband,a
comprehensive broadband package offering download speeds of
up to 8Mb and giving customers free internet voice calls, free
video calls and a suite of security software, all brought together
through the BT Home Hub. Customers have the choice of three
options and can enjoy ultra-fast download speeds and free
evening and weekend UK voice calls with our BT Broadband
Talk service.
BT Total Broadband also includes 250 free BT Openzone
Wi-Fi minutes a month, giving customers access to thousands of
BT Openzone hotspots. At 31 March 2007, 2.4 million of our
residential broadband customers had signed up for BT Total
Broadband, more than half of whom had opted for our premium
packages.
Combined with the BT Home Hub – a device that connects
wirelessly to PCs and other broadband devices – BT Total
Broadband enables customers to experience the full range
of broadband services at home or when out and about.
With the launch of BT Vision in December 2006, we are
helping to define next-generation television, which is made
possible by the convergence of digital broadcast TV and
broadband technology. Customers are now able to watch what
they want, when they want. BT Vision, which does not require
a regular monthly subscription, is the first widely available TV
service of its kind. The service is delivered via a new set-top box
– the V-box – which contains a personal digital recorder able to
store up to 80 hours of content, and pause or rewind live TV.
In December 2006, we announced that BT Vision customers
will have access to live FA Premiership and Scottish Premier
League football from the beginning of the 2007/08 season.
Under an agreement with leading pay TV sports broadcaster,
Setanta, BT Vision will carry 46 live Premiership games a season.
The fact that BT Vision already had the rights to 242 ‘near live’
Premiership games means that 75% of all Premiership games will
be shown in full. Customers will also be able – via BT Vision’s
replay TV service – to access a selection of terrestrial
programmes released in the previous week. Other content deals
have been signed with a wide range of leading entertainment
companies, including Warner Brothers, Disney, Universal Pictures,
Dreamworks, Channel 4, HBO, BBC Worldwide, Paramount,
Warner Music Group, EMI, Universal Music, Sony, BMG and the
History Channel and the National Geographic Channel.
Convergent services for consumers
We are also playing a lead role in the development of internet
telephony or VolP (voice over IP). In January 2007, we achieved
the milestone of one million registered consumer customers for
our VoIP services – BT Broadband Talk and BT Softphone – six
months ahead of schedule. BT Broadband Talk enables
customers to make and receive broadband calls using an
ordinary phone; BT Softphone is for users making calls over their
PCs. Both services offer high-definition sound. At 31 March
2007, the two services had 1.4 million customers.
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. In
January 2007, we launched BT Fusion Wi-Fi handsets. Users of
BT Group plc Annual Report & Form 20-F 13
The BT Home Hub
an icon of convergence
BT RETAIL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
BT Vision – the V-box
defining next-generation television
BT Fusion
the world’s first intelligent mobile service
Report of the Directors Business