TIDMBT.A
RNS Number : 4304L
BT Group PLC
11 January 2016
January 11, 2016
CLIVE SELLEY TO BE CEO OF OPENREACH
Brings proven track record in network management and
technological innovation
Announcement made as Openreach celebrates tenth anniversary
Clive Selley is to be the new CEO of Openreach. Clive, who is
currently CEO of BT Technology, Service and Operations (BT TSO)
will replace Joe Garner, who is leaving to become CEO of Nationwide
Building Society. The handover will take place this quarter.
Clive is one of the UK's foremost experts in network technology
and digital infrastructure. He brings considerable technological
and management experience, having held numerous senior positions at
BT, both in the UK and overseas. He has specialised in networks,
software development, IT and various forms of engineering.
He is currently Group Chief Information Officer as well as CEO
of BT TSO. The latter is the 'engine room' of BT, responsible for
the company's core networks and IT systems across the globe -
including TV, Mobile and Conferencing - as well as its world class
research and development arm at Adastral Park, Suffolk.
As CEO of BT TSO, Clive is responsible for twelve thousand
staff, eight thousand contractors and a multi-billion pound budget.
He chairs BT's cyber security council and has an extensive
knowledge of regulatory affairs.
He has been at the forefront of innovation at BT driving changes
that have benefited the entire industry as well as millions of
customers across the UK. He has overseen BT's development of fibre
broadband, including the doubling of speeds in 2012 and the
pioneering research into G.Fast technology. His extensive
experience and knowledge will prove invaluable in his new role.
Clive is 54 years old and married with two children. His
successor at BT TSO will be announced in due course.
Speaking today, Selley said: "I am honoured to have been asked
to lead Openreach at this important point in its history. The huge
investment it has made over the past decade has made the UK a
broadband leader, and we need to build on those foundations by
deploying fibre to further communities and by rolling out ultrafast
broadband. Customer service is a top priority of mine and I am
committed to delivering further improvements by working closely
with all industry partners who rely on our network to serve their
customers.
"Openreach is at the heart of the UK economy with our open
access network underpinning a ferociously competitive broadband
market. That has benefited consumers and businesses greatly.
"The engineers are the lifeblood of Openreach and I have been
hugely impressed by their tireless work in challenging
circumstances during the current floods. They will play a crucial
role in the coming decade as they have done to date".
Gavin Patterson, BT Group CEO said: "Clive is a hugely talented
individual and I am delighted he has agreed to lead Openreach. He
has an unrivalled knowledge of networks and engineering and is
ideally suited to take the UK from a superfast nation to an
ultrafast one. He supports our vision for the UK's digital future
and will play a key role in ensuring that businesses, consumers and
communities receive the services they need and deserve."
Clive's appointment coincides with the tenth anniversary of
Openreach, BT's local access network business. Launched on January
11 2006, Openreach is a highly regulated business that operates at
arm's length from the rest of BT Group under a regulatory model
known as functional separation. Its role is to manage, maintain and
upgrade the tens of millions of lines that run from homes and
businesses to telephone exchanges across the UK where they are then
connected to operators' core networks. BT's core network is managed
by BT TSO.
The UK market has changed beyond recognition since Openreach was
created. During the past decade BT has invested around GBP20
billion on its networks with more than half of that via Openreach.
The company is now planning further large scale investment with the
aim being that ten million premises will have access to ultrafast
broadband by the end of 2020 and the majority of the UK by
2025.
The past decade has seen an explosion in broadband usage with
the number of premises using the service over Openreach's network
rising from under seven million when Openreach was created to 19.6
million as at the end of September 2015.
Competition has also flourished with the number of unbundled
lines - where an external communications provider runs the service
themselves - increasing from virtually nothing to almost ten
million in the same period. This has been an astonishing
transformation as the number of unbundled lines now exceeds the
number provided by BT and smaller CPs who buy a white label
service.
Fibre broadband has been another success story with the
technology first deployed in 2009 and availability now standing at
more than 24 million premises. This has been one of the fastest
deployments of fibre broadband anywhere in the world and other
countries such as Australia are now following Openreach's
successful roll out model.
The UK leads the EU 'big five' for superfast broadband coverage
and take up. Ninety per cent of UK premises can already access
fibre broadband and take up is fifty per cent higher in the UK than
in Germany. The UK has also been found to be the most competitive
broadband market in Europe and to have some of the lowest prices
among the 'big five'.
ENDS
For further information
Enquiries about this news release should be made to the BT Group
Newsroom on its 24-hour number: 020 7356 5369. From outside the UK
dial + 44 20 7356 5369. All news releases can be accessed at our
web site: http://www.btplc.com/News
About BT
BT's purpose is to use the power of communications to make a
better world. It is one of the world's leading providers of
communications services and solutions, serving customers in more
than 170 countries. Its principal activities include the provision
of networked IT services globally; local, national and
international telecommunications services to its customers for use
at home, at work and on the move; broadband, TV and internet
products and services; and converged fixed/mobile products and
services. BT consists principally of five customer-facing lines of
business: BT Global Services, BT Business, BT Consumer, BT
Wholesale and Openreach.
For the year ended 31 March 2015, BT Group's reported revenue
was GBP17,979m with reported profit before taxation of
GBP2,645m.
British Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary
of BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets
of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in
London and New York.
For more information, visit www.btplc.com.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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