 | It has been suggested that BT Consumer be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since September 2024. |
 BT Group's logo since 2022 | |
| Formerly | British Telecom |
|---|---|
| Company type | Public |
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Predecessor | |
| Founded | 18 June 1846 (foundation of the Electric Telegraph Company) 1 January 1912 (National Telephone Company system take-over under the General Post Office) 1 October 1969 (as a public corporation under the Post Office) 1 October 1981 (as a public corporation under the British Telecom brand) 1 April 1984 (as a private company) |
| Headquarters | One Braham, , England, UK |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people |
|
| Products | |
| Revenue |  £20.669 billion (2023)[1] |
 £3.175 billion (2023)[1] | |
| £1.905 billion (2023)[1] | |
| Owner |
|
Number of employees | 98,800 (2023)[1] |
| Divisions |
|
| Subsidiaries | |
| Website | bt.com |
BT Group plc (formerly British Telecom) is a British multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered in London, England. It has operations in around 180 countries and is the largest provider of fixed-line, broadband and mobile services in the UK, and also provides subscription television and IT services.[5]
BT's origins date back to the founding in 1846 of the Electric Telegraph Company, the world's first public telegraph company, which developed a nationwide communications network. BT Group as it came to be started in 1912, when the General Post Office, a government department, took over the system of the National Telephone Company[6] becoming the monopoly telecoms supplier in the United Kingdom. The Post Office Act of 1969 led to the GPO becoming a public corporation, Post Office Telecommunications.[7] The British Telecom brand was introduced in 1980, and became independent of the Post Office in 1981, officially trading under the name. British Telecom was privatised in 1984, becoming British Telecommunications plc, with some 50 percent of its shares sold to investors. The Government sold its remaining stake in further share sales in 1991 and 1993. BT holds a royal warrant and has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange, and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
BT controls a number of large subsidiaries. Its BT Enterprise division supplies telecoms services to corporate and government customers worldwide,[8] and its BT Consumer division supplies telephony, broadband, and subscription television services in the United Kingdom to around 18 million customers.[9]
- ^ a b c d "Annual Report 2023" (PDF). BT Group plc. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
- ^ "Indian telecoms giant Bharti to take 24.5% stake in BT". Yahoo Finance. 12 August 2024. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
- ^ "Deutsche Telekom Has Unfinished Business With BT". Bloomberg.com. 3 March 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
- ^ Clarence-Smith, Louisa (13 June 2024). "Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim takes 3.2% stake in BT". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
- ^ "Our company". BT Group plc. Archived from the original on 14 August 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
- ^ "1912 – 1968 – The history of telecommunications – Our history – About BT | BT Plc". bt.com. Archived from the original on 19 January 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
- ^ "1969 – 1980 – The history of telecommunications – Our history – About BT | BT Plc". bt.com. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
- ^ "BT Global Services". BT Group plc. Archived from the original on 10 August 2010. Retrieved 24 August 2010.
- ^ "BT Consumer". BT Group. Archived from the original on 20 December 2014. Retrieved 20 December 2014.