SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 6-K
Report of Foreign Private Issuer
Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16 of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
11 March, 2004
BT Group plc
(Translation of registrant's name into English)
BT Centre
81 Newgate Street
London
EC1A 7AJ
England
(Address of principal executive offices)
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual
reports under cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F.
Form 20-F..X... Form 40-F.....
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the
information contained in this Form is also thereby furnishing the
information to the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Yes ..... No ..X..
If "Yes" is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the
registrant in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b): 82- ________
Enclosures: 1. Broadband announcement made on 11 March, 2004
March 11, 2004
BT TAKES BROADBAND REVOLUTION INTO NEW TERRITORY
BT today announced a range of cutting-edge products and services that will
transform the use of broadband in the UK.
Four innovations - Flexible Bandwidth, BT Rich Media, BT Communicator with
Yahoo! Messenger and BT Remote Management System - will cement BT's key position
as the broadband battle moves on from access to content, applications and
managed services.
These developments will also form the backbone of BT Retail's broadband strategy
and play a key part in helping the Group achieve its target of five million
connections by 2006.
Pierre Danon, chief executive of BT Retail said: "We have shown innovation and
drive in enabling almost universal access to broadband in the UK. Now we aim to
push forward with the next crucial phase - giving people solid reasons to buy
broadband by using the technology to transform their lives and the way they
communicate.
"These new products and services provide broadband that is flexible and powerful
enough to meet the customer's every need. They demonstrate clearly that there is
far more to broadband than speed, as there has to be if we are to realise
mass-adoption far beyond the current two million mark. Not only are they hugely
exciting, these developments are real and ready for roll-out, pushing back the
frontiers of technology today."
Flexible bandwidth, which will be introduced initially as a trial, gives
customers the ability to boost the power of their broadband at the click of a
button, while a new remote management system will allow BT to provide
exceptional advice and support to customers as they increase their use of
broadband by connecting it to a range of devices in the home.
BT Communicator with Yahoo! Messenger will fundamentally transform the way in
which people communicate through its multi-media capability, and BT Rich Media
will allow content suppliers, large and small, to package and deliver digital
services, like music, games and video, to a mass market.
Danon added: "This is the second stage of the broadband revolution in the UK and
we aim to drive it forward. Earlier this month, BT announced its first sub-GBP20
broadband product. Today's announcement underlines our determination to continue
innovating to ensure broadband develops a 'must-have' appeal for millions more
households throughout the UK."
The four innovations to be introduced at different stages over the next few
months, are:
- Flexible bandwidth - gives users the power to temporarily boost their
broadband speed at the click of a mouse, up to an ultra-fast 2 megabits per
second. This will give access a wealth of premium content, such as
DVD-quality streamed videos or online gaming. Users who find they
continually need to accelerate their broadband speed, like Broadband Basic
customers who constantly exceed their 1Gb limit, can instantly upgrade their
service online, allowing them to move seamlessly between BT's family of
broadband products. Triallists for the flexible bandwidth product will be
recruited from today, with the trial scheduled to start next month.
- BT Rich Media - to capitalise on flexible bandwidth, BT is launching a
platform to drive the management and distribution of new and exciting digital
content. BT's partnership with Real will provide the tools to allow anyone to
create and distribute content themselves. The platform will enable thousands of
content publishers, from major record labels to local football teams, to reach
millions of people. BT Rich Media will be launched on April 6.
- BT Communicator with Yahoo! Messenger- gives customers a truly
converged multi-media communication experience, driven by innovative VoIP
technology. For the first time, customers can manage all their home
communications from their PC, allowing them to make phone or video calls over a
broadband connection. Downloadable for free via the internet, the software
package combines voice services with Yahoo!'s Instant Messaging platform,
enabling users to manage all their communications - phone calls, emails, instant
messaging and text messages - together in one place. BT Communicator will be
made available for trial in May.
- BT Remote Management System - enhances network support capability in
the broadband home. This will allow troubleshooting and diagnosis of broadband
service issues using information from BT, provided from intelligent home network
routers in a customer's home. The system will be live later in 2004.
- Ends -
For more information, please contact:
Jon Carter, BT Retail Press Office: 020 7356 4523
Malcolm Williams, BT Retail Press Office: 01442 294306
Stephanie Mair, Octane PR: 020 7802 2662
About BT's consumer broadband family
BT's broadband family is designed to give consumers the ultimate broadband
internet experience. Our range of simple packages, offering different speeds and
prices, means that no matter what your needs - BT has the answer. The services
within BT's consumer broadband family are:
BT Broadband Basic - 'Fast, no frills' Price: GBP19.99/month (if pay via DD),
GBP30 activation charge and GBP50 modem.
Features & Benefits:
- Up to 10x faster than the speed of dialup
- Ideal for the lighter user, 1 Gig usage allowance per month i.e. 200
music tracks
- Choose your own content and services from the web, access to exclusive
Partner offers
- Unlimited online support
- Telephone support at Premium rate
BT Broadband - 'Freedom to choose'
Price: GBP27/month (if pay via DD)
Features & Benefits:
- Up to 10x faster than the speed of dialup
- Unlimited online & free telephone support
- Choose your own content and services from the web, access to exclusive
Partner offers
- Ideal for sharing broadband across one or more PC's and gaming
BT Yahoo! Broadband - 'A complete package'
Price: GBP29.99/month
Features & Benefits:
- Up to 10x faster than the speed of dialup
- 11 free email addresses, instant messenger and your own web space
- Free firewall, pop up ad-blocker, email protection and parental controls
- Personalised content for the entire family
- Ideal for sharing broadband across one or more PCs and playing online
games
BT Broadband 1mb - 'Freedom to choose for speed fanatics'
Price: GBP38/month (if pay via DD)
Features & Benefits:
- Up to 20x faster than the speed of dialup
- Get all the benefits of BT Broadband at twice the speed Perfect for
richer content like downloading music or videos
- Unlimited online & free telephone support
BT Yahoo! Broadband 1mb - 'The complete package for speed fanatics'
Price: GBP40.99/month
Features & Benefits:
- Up to 20x faster than the speed of dialup
- Get all the benefits of BT Yahoo Broadband at twice the speed, 11 free
email addresses, instant messenger and your own web space
- Free firewall, pop up ad-blocker, email protection and parental controls
- Personalised content for the entire family
About BT
BT Group plc is the listed holding company for an integrated group of businesses
providing voice, data and video services in the UK and elsewhere in Europe.
British Telecommunications plc, a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group, holds
virtually all businesses and assets of the BT group.
BT is one of Europe's leading providers of telecommunications services. Its
principal activities include local, national and international
telecommunications services, higher-value broadband and internet products and
services, and IT solutions. In the UK, BT serves over 20 million business and
residential customers with more than 29 million exchange lines, as well as
providing network services to other licensed operators.
BT consists principally of three lines of business:
- BT Retail, serving businesses and residential customers and including BT
Openworld, one of the UK's leading ISPs.
- BT Wholesale, providing network services and solutions within the UK,
including ADSL, conveyance, transit, bulk delivery of private circuits,
frame relay and ISDN connections.
- BT Global Services, BT's managed services and solutions provider,
serving multi-site organisations worldwide. Its core target market is the
top 10,000 global multi-site organisations with European operations.
There are a number of other businesses within the BT group, including BT Exact,
an internationally renowned centre of excellence in IT and networking
technologies. It is also BT's technology and research and development business.
In the year ended 31 March 2003, BT's turnover was GBP18,727m. with profit
before goodwill, exceptional items and taxation of GBP1,829m.
For more information, visit www.bt.com
Signatures
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf
by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
BT Group PLC
(Registrant)
By: /s/ Patricia Day
--------------------
Patricia Day, Assistant Secretary. Head of Shareholder Services
Date: 11 March, 2004