BT Group facts for kids
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Formerly
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British Telecom |
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| Public | |
| Traded as |
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| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Predecessor |
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| Founded | 18 June 1846 (foundation of the Electric Telegraph Company) 1 January 1912 (National Telephone Company system take-over under the General Post Office) 1 October 1969 (as a public corporation under the Post Office) 1 October 1981 (as a public corporation under the British Telecom brand) 1 April 1984 (as a private company) |
| Headquarters |
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England, UK
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Area served
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Worldwide |
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Key people
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| Products |
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| Revenue |  £20.669 billion (2023) |
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Operating income
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 £3.175 billion (2023) |
| £1.905 billion (2023) |
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| Total assets | £52.75 billion (2023) |
| Owner |
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Number of employees
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98,800 (2023) |
| Divisions |
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| Subsidiaries |
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BT Group plc, known simply as BT, is a big company from the UK that works all over the world. It's one of the largest companies that provides phone lines, internet, and mobile services in the UK. BT also offers TV channels and other technology services.
BT's story began a long time ago in 1846 with the Electric Telegraph Company. This was the world's first public company for sending messages by telegraph across the country. Over the years, the company grew and changed. In 1912, the government's General Post Office (GPO) took over most phone services in the UK.
Later, in 1969, the GPO's phone part became Post Office Telecommunications. In 1980, it started using the name British Telecom. It became a private company in 1984, meaning people could buy shares in it. Today, BT is a major player in telecommunications, helping millions of people connect every day.
History of BT
Early Days of Communication
The story of BT starts with electrical telegraphy. This was a way to send messages over long distances using electric signals. From 1846, several private companies in the UK offered these services.
- The Electric Telegraph Company was the first public telegraph company in the world. It built a network across the country.
Government Takes Over
In 1868, the government decided to take control of these telegraph companies. They were put under the General Post Office (GPO). By 1869, the GPO had a monopoly, meaning it was the only company allowed to offer communication services.
When the telephone was invented in 1876 by Alexander Graham Bell, the GPO started offering phone services too. Over time, other private phone companies appeared, but the GPO eventually took over most of them by 1912. This made the GPO the main provider of phone services in the UK.
Becoming Post Office Telecommunications
In 1969, the GPO changed from a government department to a nationalised industry called the Post Office. A new part of this organisation was created called Post Office Telecommunications. This change was made to help the postal and phone services work more efficiently.
The 1970s was a time of big growth for Post Office Telecommunications. They updated many phone exchanges and made it easier to dial directly to other cities and even other countries. They also started developing new digital phone systems.
The Birth of British Telecom
In 1979, the government decided that phone services should be completely separate from the Post Office. The name British Telecom was introduced in 1980. On 1 October 1981, it officially became a state-owned company, independent of the Post Office.
Becoming a Private Company
In 1984, the government decided to sell shares of British Telecom to the public. This process is called privatisation. On 1 April 1984, British Telecommunications became a public limited company (plc). In November 1984, over half of its shares were sold to people and employees. The government sold its remaining shares in 1991 and 1993.
The company changed its main trading name to "BT" on 2 April 1991.
Big Changes and New Services
In the early 2000s, BT faced some financial challenges. To help with this, they sold off some parts of the company. For example, in 2001, their mobile phone business, BT Cellnet, became a separate company called "mmO2" (which later became O2).
BT also started investing a lot in new technologies. In 2006, they began building their "21st Century Network" (21CN), which was a new internet-based network designed to make services faster and more efficient.
Expanding into New Areas
In 2013, BT launched its own television channels, BT Sport, to compete with other broadcasters. They bought rights to show popular sports like the Premier League and UEFA Champions League.
In 2015, BT announced plans to buy EE, a major mobile phone company. This deal was completed in 2016, bringing together BT's home customers with EE's mobile customers. This allowed BT to offer both home internet and mobile services together.
More recently, in 2021, a French company called Altice started buying shares in BT, becoming a significant owner. In 2023, Allison Kirkby was appointed as the new Chief Executive of BT.
What BT Does Today
BT Group is like a parent company for many different businesses. Most of its operations are handled by its main company, British Telecommunications plc. BT is regulated by Ofcom, which makes sure that BT provides fair services and doesn't have too much power in the market.
BT runs the phone lines and internet connections for most homes and businesses in the UK. They are responsible for about 28 million phone lines. BT is also required to provide a fixed phone line to almost any address in the UK and to maintain public payphones.
Besides traditional phone services, BT offers many other products:
- Fast broadband internet
- Mobile phone services
- Digital television services
- Special technology solutions for businesses and governments
BT's Look
In 2019, BT launched a new, simpler logo. In 2022, BT announced that it would focus more on the EE brand for its products for everyday customers.
BT's Buildings and Facilities
BT operates in many countries, so it has lots of buildings and facilities around the world. In the UK, BT sold many of its properties in 2001 but still uses them through a special agreement.
Headquarters
BT Group's main office is in London, England. Until 2021, it was at the BT Centre. Now, it's at a new building called One Braham.
Important Buildings and Stations
BT has many important buildings and stations across the UK:
- Adastral Park in Suffolk: This is where BT Labs are located, where they develop new technologies.
- BT Riverside Tower in Belfast: The main office for BT Northern Ireland.
- Goonhilly Satellite Earth Station in Cornwall: A large station that connects to satellites for communication.
- National Network Management Centre in Shropshire: This is where BT manages its entire network.
Famous Towers
BT owns many telecommunications towers in the UK. The most famous is the BT Tower in London. It was the tallest building in the UK for many years and is still a very important hub for TV and communication signals. It carries most of the UK's TV content, including live sports.
Some other notable BT Towers include:
- BT Tower in Birmingham
- Heaton Park BT Tower in Manchester
- Pye Green BT Tower in Staffordshire
Other Facilities
BT also manages other well-known facilities:
- Red telephone boxes: The classic phone booths you still see around.
- LinkUK: Modern kiosks that are replacing some old phone boxes, offering free Wi-Fi and calls.
How BT is Organised
BT Group has different parts that focus on different things:
Serving Customers
- BT Consumer: This part provides phone, internet, and TV services to homes in the UK. It includes:
- BT Broadband
- EE Mobile and EE Broadband
- Plusnet: Another internet provider that is part of BT.
- TNT Sports: BT's sports TV channels (run with Warner Bros. Discovery).
- BT Business: This part provides services to smaller and larger businesses, as well as government organisations, both in the UK and globally.
- Openreach: This is a special part of BT that was set up to make sure other phone and internet companies can use BT's network fairly. Openreach engineers are responsible for installing and fixing the phone and internet lines that go into homes and businesses.
Internal Services
- Networks: This team designs, builds, and runs all the networks and technology platforms that BT and its customers use.
- Digital: This team works on making BT's digital services better and creating new products for customers.
- BT Sourced: This team handles buying all the things BT needs to run its business.
Sponsorships
BT likes to support different events and organisations, especially in sports:
- BT has sponsored rugby union competitions in Scotland and teams like Ulster Rugby, Edinburgh Rugby, and Glasgow Warriors.
- They also have a big sponsorship deal with Scottish Rugby Union, which includes naming rights for Murrayfield Stadium (now called BT Murrayfield Stadium).
- BT is a partner of Internet Matters, an organisation that helps parents and children stay safe online.
- BT was a main sponsor for the Edinburgh International Television Festival.
- BT is a founding partner of the Wayne Rooney Foundation, which helps children and young people. They supported Wayne Rooney's testimonial match, which raised a lot of money for charities.
- BT has sponsored the British Urban Film Festival.
Images for kids
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British Telecom logo used from 1980 to 1991
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BT logo used from 2003 to 2019
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Simplified BT logo, used since 2019 for non-corporate purposes
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The Post Office Tower, 1966 (shortly after construction)
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The Adastral Park campus at Martlesham Heath in Suffolk, the principal site of BT Research
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Former CEO Gavin Patterson at the 2016 Chatham House Corporate Leaders Series
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The BT Centre was completed in 1985.
