The chance to keep excess profits from its high-speed network is a breakthrough for the telecoms firm
The duo at the top of BT, chief executive Philip Jansen and chairman Jan du Plessis, should be able to put aside their quarrels and agree on this point: the company has secured decent terms from Ofcom for the rollout of full-fibre broadband.
The “fair bet” for BT, meaning the chance to keep excess profits if the £12bn programme goes swimmingly, has been a long time arriving. Jansen’s predecessor was at loggerheads with Ofcom for years. With hindsight, the key to the breakthrough was probably the cut in BT dividend under the new regime. A bit of upfront pain for shareholders made the idea of long-term rewards from broadband dominance more acceptable.
