BT CEO Allison Kirkby says the telecom operator has made significant strides in modernising its operations, enhancing customer satisfaction, and driving cost transformation.
The company has maintained a strong momentum in its fibre build-out, with Openreach achieving a record full fibre (FTTP) build rate for the fourth consecutive quarter, passing over 1 million premises. This expansion has brought BT’s FTTP footprint to 17 million premises, covering more than half of the UK, and the company remains on track to reach 25 million by December 2026.
Openreach has also seen record customer demand, with net additions of 472,000 in the quarter, bringing the total FTTP connections to 6 million and a take-up rate exceeding 35 percent. While Openreach’s total broadband lines declined by 208,000 due to competitive losses and market conditions, over 80 percent of these losses occurred in areas where FTTP has not yet been deployed. Broadband ARPU for Openreach grew 6 percent year-on-year to £16.1, reflecting the growing adoption of FTTP and higher-speed plans.
The Consumer segment demonstrated resilience, returning to service revenue growth with a 0.4 percent year-on-year increase after a previous decline in the first half of the year. However, this growth was offset by a 12 percent drop in equipment revenue, primarily due to weaker handset trading.
The consumer broadband base saw a slight quarter-on-quarter decline of 40,000, while the postpaid mobile base remained relatively stable with a minor drop of 4,000. Despite this, Consumer postpaid mobile ARPU increased by 5.7 percent year-on-year to £20.3, while broadband ARPU declined by 1.2 percent to £40.6.
The company also expanded its 5G standalone coverage to 16 new locations, bringing the total to over 30 major UK towns and cities. EE continued to solidify its leadership in mobile services, winning the umlaut connect 2025 Mobile Network Test for the 10th consecutive year.
The Business segment remained stable in its core UK channels and secured a major £1.3 billion contract with the Home Office to provide mobile services for the Emergency Services Network over the next seven years.
BT’s cost transformation strategy continues to yield positive results, with energy usage in its networks down 3 percent year-to-date and total labour resources reduced by 3 percent year-on-year to 117,000. Openreach repair volumes also saw an 11 percent reduction in the same period, further improving efficiency. Additionally, BT Group’s Net Promoter Score (NPS) increased by 4 points to 29.6 in Q3, highlighting continuous improvements in customer experience.
The company’s strategic focus on becoming a UK-centric operation progressed with the sale of its data centre business in Ireland. Leadership changes, including the appointment of Jon James as the new CEO of BT Business, are set to enhance focus and drive further growth. Financially, BT remains on track to meet its outlook for the year, with cash flow projections of approximately £2 billion in 2027 and £3 billion by the end of the decade.
