BT's FTTP target is up to 25million by 2026

BT said on Thursday it will develop 25million FTTP (fiber to home) by December 2026, an increase of 5million compared with the operator's previous target of 20million, according to light reading, an international media. The operator also said it would open the door to external investors for the first time to explore the model of a joint venture to raise funds for the five million new targets.

Philip Jansen, chief executive of BT, said the company has now launched a process to assess potential partners, and has explicitly ruled out any plans to sell its subsidiary openreach shares. Openreach is a subsidiary of BT's broadband network in the UK. Jansen also noted that KPN's recent fiber infrastructure joint venture with the Dutch pension fund APG is an example that BT can refer to.

In terms of regulation, Jansen said "many uncertainties have been removed", such as the decision of Ofcom of the British communications authority to set a ceiling on wholesale prices for fiber operators for at least 10 years, and the completion of 5g spectrum auctions.

In addition, as part of the 2021 budget, the UK government has imposed a 130 per cent super tax relief on plants and equipment in the next two years. BT expects at least half of its capital expenditures to qualify for excess tax cuts in the 2022 and 2023 financial years, according to Simon lowth, the first financial officer of BT. Lowth said that based on this assumption, they will pay zero cash tax in the UK in the next two years.

Of the new 5 million targets, BT will be mostly in towns and the rest 1.5 million will be in commercial rural areas.

The increase in targets will obviously have an impact on spending. BT said capital spending would increase to £ 4.9 billion in fy2022, with a peak of £ 5bn expected in 2026 and a £ 1bn drop after 2026.