Spring 2010Yorkshire and The Humber

BT is at the forefront, providing both the networks and the solutions that will foster

creativity and productivity as businesses in Yorkshire and The Humber emerge from the recession in 2010.

Research is already showing that firms which have harnessed the power of technology have coped better with the downturn than those that have not. And, in the year ahead, the gap between them may grow as major initiatives such as super-fast broadband – also known as Next Generation Access or NGA – and BT’s 21st Century Network revolutionise the way many businesses operate.

intouchThe latest BT-sponsored Home Business Report by Enterprise Nation reveals that the almost universal availability of broadband has led to a huge surge in the number of home-based businesses and the boom looks to continue in 2010.

Broadband is playing a vital part in the success story of our region and for that to continue, we need to understand its true potential. In this edition, you will find an article that highlights the current position and rollout plan for super-fast broadband in our region and talks about broadband speeds in plain English. is also focusing on developing and supporting people in the region. We have new programmes in place for our BT contact centre employees to receive certification through work training schemes and improved work placement for young people from across the region.

You can read more about broadband, the Home Business Report, and other regional stories in this edition of ‘In Touch.’

John Anderson BT Regional Director

BT Retail has just unveiled BT Infinity, a new fibre broadband service which offers download speeds of up to 40Mb/s from £19.99 per month for consumers.

BT Infinity will benefit all types of web users, as the super-fast speed it offers will transform people’s experience of the internet.

At the same time, BT launched Business Total Broadband Fibre, a new broadband service for businesses that is available from just £30 per month. Besides super-fast download speeds,

this offers the UK’s fastest upstream speeds, allowing businesses far greater interactivity when using the internet.

New and existing BT Total Broadband and BT Business customers in enabled exchange areas are eligible for the up to 40 Mb/s broadband service. Over the next few months the BT Infinity bus will be touring the country giving people the opportunity to see at first hand how the new broadband service can transform online time. On-board the super-powered double-decker will be the latest fibre broadband home and business applications. For further information of dates and venues please visit: www.bt.com superfamilies – this site will be live from 16 April. For more information on BT Infinity visit: www.bt.com/infinity

Foreword

BT Retail launches ‘super-fast’ broadband

Keeping up to speed with broadband

BT hits one million UK wi-fi hotspots

Home businesses are booming in Yorkshire and The Humber

Innovative entrepreneurs keep UK spirits high

BT reveals job training and work placement schemes

England 2018 sign BT as Official Communications Partner

Regional Board member profile

Disused Yorkshire phone kiosk wins BT award

BT backs bid to get older people online

Young communicators turn words into action

BT Retail launches ‘super-fast’ broadband

Spring 2010Yorkshire and The Humber

intouchKeeping up to speed with broadband

It is only natural that the newest and fastest services capture the attention and imagination. It is also an unfortunate truth that this can cast a shadow on their existing services.“If some lucky few can get 20Mb or 40Mb, surely I am losing out with only 2Mb?” As with most things, what really counts is having what you need, when you need it and to do what you want. And the truth is, at every level of the market from wholesale to doorstep, that bandwidth is already available – generally at competitive prices and from a range of providers.

New super-fast broadband promises an even better user experience and the ability to use more services at the same time over a single connection.

It is frustrating that we cannot have the latest technologies in place everywhere immediately. But the stark realities of a high-level, intensive investment programme call for a staged approach that encourages widespread early uptake. This process of demand-led growth married with continuous technological improvement has successfully driven broadband market growth for 15 years.

We know that markets alone cannot address all the community’s needs. BT remains committed to reducing digital exclusion and will continue to work with partners in regions, in industry, the Government and the voluntary sector to provide access to broadband services.

The pace of development in broadband is breathtaking. News has barely sunk in that 20Mb broadband is available and we are being dazzled by the launch and rapid rollout of new super-fast broadband with speeds of up to 40Mb. To help you keep your feet in this whirl of development, we take a plain look at what is happening with broadband now.

It is easy to get lost in the complications of the technology, the speed ratings and the details of product specifications. We all want to feel confident in the choices and decisions we make at home, at work and on behalf of our community.

In the UK, we are fortunate to have a fiercely competitive broadband market that has achieved high penetration among organisations and people. There is a thriving ‘broadband mixed economy’ that already offers a choice of broadband services to meet almost every need – whether it’s linking a corporation’s global or national networks, bringing together local communities or providing entertainment and information services to people at home.

Nationally, BT’s plans will see 1.5 million homes with access to super-fast broadband by this summer and some 10 million homes (40%) will have access to new services within three years. In Yorkshire and The Humber the total number of super-fast broadband lines will be around 278,000 by the end of 2011, continuing our tradition of being a leader in the introduction of mass-market broadband technologies.

BT has reached its goal of building a million-strong wi-fi hotspot network, making it the largest in the UK and Ireland. These hotspots – 75,000 of which are here in Yorkshire and The Humber – are available in homes, independent businesses, high street chains and major city centres.

What is more, in the year ending 31 March 2010, BT wi-fi users are on track to spend more than a billion wi-fi minutes online, owing to the massive growth in UK iPhone traffic. Over the past eight months, BT has signed UK deals to provide O2, Orange and Vodafone iPhone customers with BT Openzone wi-fi access, while five million BT broadband customers have inclusive wi-fi minutes in their contracts to surf, work or make cheaper VoIP calls.

For more information about BT FON visit: www.bt.com.btfon. For BT Openzone visit: www.btopenzone.com. For BT Openzone over the BT Business Hub see: http://tiny.cc/kFCGZ

BT hits one million UK wi-fi hotspots

Spring 2010Yorkshire and The Humber

intouch

The latest Home Business Report, sponsored by BT, reveals that 13 towns and cities in the region are among the UK’s ‘top 100’ home business hotspots, and the region is the largest home business hotspot in the UK after London. The findings were announced at the first ever Home Business Conference, which was hosted at BT Centre in November 2009.

Despite the recession, the report confirms a rapid growth in home businesses, with people turning redundancy into opportunity or seeking more flexibility and control in their working lives.

Meanwhile, the widespread availability of advanced yet affordable technology, such as faster broadband, has been a key enabler.

Key highlights for this region are:• 199,293 home businesses, contributing

£18.8 billion to the UK annual economy

• The second largest concentration of home-based businesses after the South East region

• Thirteen towns and cities are among the UK’s top 100 home business hotspots: Sheffield, Leeds, York, Doncaster, Bradford, Hull, Huddersfield, Barnsley, Harrogate, Rotherham, Wakefield, Grimsby and Scarborough.

The report also features a couple of local success stories. One is Lorraine Ellison, who trades internationally from her home in North Yorkshire despite its rural location. With her BlackBerry as the mainstay of her operation, enabling

24/7 contact with her clients, she enjoys the flexibility of working from home and avoids the daily commute.

Home Business Report 2009 – national highlights:• There are 2.8 million businesses operating

full-time from home – an increase of 300,000 businesses over the past 12 months

• Together, they contribute £284 billion to the annual UK economy

• 32% of respondents said they started their business in the past 12 months

• 89% confirmed that they expected turnover to increase in the next 12 months

• 81% stated that technology is critical to the success of their business

• The most popular factors selected for starting businesses from home were lower start-up costs (57%), better work-life balance (52%) and being close to the family (33%).

You can download the report at: www.bt.com/researchandreports

Home businesses are booming in Yorkshire and The Humber

Innovative entrepreneurs keep UK spirits high

A journey of discovery

10Home Business ReportNovember 2009

As well as contacting over 1,230 of our members for the 2009 Home Business Survey we also for the first time ever embarked on a home business roadtrip. Over the course of the week commencing 14th September the Enterprise Nation team journeyed 1,233 miles, filmed 18 home businesses and picked up further data around the five themes reflected in this report. This is what we saw and heard… Now is a great time to startThe mood throughout the week was incredibly upbeat. When Patrick Elliott (CEO

of Business Link in London) opened an event with a question to the audience of ‘Do

you think this is a good time to start a business?’ – a ripple of 200 voices replied a

resounding ‘yes’.

Technology means tradeAll of the businesses filmed are making the most of technology, whether it be Stuart

Mills [www.useyourlocal.com] who is applying the web to the pub world, or Malcolm

Gallagher [www.bizvision.biz] who is communicating his business message through

online videos; produced from a home studio. Many of the craft businesses are using

sites such as Etsy.com and MyEhive.com to sell their products to a national – and

international – audience. Technology is broadening the trade and partnering horizons

of many a small business. Freedom & controlHaving started up, home business owners are finding freedom and flexibility in their

working lives and relishing being in control of their creativity, working environment and

earnings. Compiled by

EnterpriseNation

Twenty top UK entrepreneurs, including jelly sculptors and an online greengrocer, have picked up awards for their innovation and success in the national BT Business ‘Essence of the Entrepreneur’ competition.

Other winners include a battery manufacturer, a professional care service and a small knitting shop, representing a diverse selection of UK businesses. What they have in common, however, is that they are all using technology to drive their ventures forward, from interactive customer websites to GPS tracking devices.

The entrepreneurs behind these unique businesses come from all backgrounds. Among them are a 24-year-old graduate, and a mother who has founded three successful businesses previously. They were picked from hundreds of finalists by a panel of judges headed up by Dragons’ Den’s Peter Jones and The Apprentice’s Claire Young.

John Anderson, BT Regional Director, said: “It is an inspiration to see the great resolve of this country’s entrepreneurs in the face of tough times. Now, more than ever, businesses need the recognition and support that these awards are able to give them. Technology is helping entrepreneurs diversify, think differently about how they run their businesses and evolve the services they offer in a challenging economy.”

Each winner has had the essence of their business captured in a stunning portrait by renowned celebrity photographer Rankin.

Spring 2010Yorkshire and The Humber

intouch

BT have announced new measures to help young people into work, along with initiatives to ensure that those in employment receive certification through work training schemes. The projects have the potential to assist more than 10,000 people and therefore support the aims of the ‘Backing Young Britain’ campaign.

As one of the UK’s largest employers, BT is working closely with Business in the Community (BITC) and many other employers on a new initiative, ‘Work Inspiration.’ This scheme will provide approximately 3,000 young people with improved work placements with BT, offering them an insight into the world of work and helping them decide on a career.

As a ‘Work Inspiration’ employer, BT is piloting a range of approaches, including holding its own ‘Big Conversations’ with colleagues across the business in the coming months. And, through a new federated ‘Work Inspiration’ programme,

the company is working to bring young people together with SMEs/entrepreneurs. The first pilot is due to take place this April.

In addition, BT has also launched a major training programme for its contact centre employees,(including Doncaster Contact Centre in this region) enabling more than 7,200 of them to undertake accredited learning and receive an apprenticeship certificate. This programme is in addition to BT’s apprenticeship scheme, which recruits hundreds of young people every year, and will see BT become one of the top five private sector providers of Apprenticeship Frameworks.

Trevor Higgins, BT Partnership Director, Yorkshire and The Humber said: “We are very keen that young people have the chance to spend time with BT before they embark on their careers. Work placements can help young people decide where their future lies and so this improved scheme has our full support. We are also keen that our employees receive training and so can gain apprenticeship qualifications. We do this because it is good for our business, it is good for our employees and it is good for young people. We are proud to be a ‘Work Inspiration’ employer and proud to support ‘Backing Young Britain’.”

BT reveals job training and work placement schemes

England 2018, the organisation leading England’s campaign to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup,™

has announced BT as its Official Communications Partner.

England is one of seven competitors bidding for the tournament. And, of the 12 Candidate Cities selected for inclusion in England’s final submission to FIFA in May, two – Leeds and Sheffield – are here in Yorkshire and The Humber. FIFA’s decision will be announced in Zurich in December.

As one of the world’s leading providers of communications solutions, BT is ideally placed to offer valuable advice on the services to be included in this May’s submission. And, with millions of people wanting to watch the World Cup at home or on the move, BT can help deliver the necessary communications platforms. BT will also provide the campaign with financial and marketing support.

John Anderson, BT Regional Director, said: “We are absolutely delighted to be the first major consumer partner to support the bid to stage the 2018 FIFA World Cup. BT is passionate about backing national initiatives that have the potential to bring so much enjoyment and business opportunities to our region and the two candidate cities.”

BT has a strong track record of investing in sport in the UK. We have played an important role in supporting the London 2012 bid and are now the official communications services partner for the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. We are also the title sponsor of the BT Paralympic World Cup, the largest annual elite multi-sport disability event in the world, and we were the first commercial partner of the British Paralympic Association in 1989.

England 2018 sign BT as Official Communications Partner

Spring 2010Yorkshire and The Humber

intouchRegional Board member profile

The Regional Board is made up of senior BT people who work for the different parts of the

business. It comprises managers from our business, consumer, Government and health divisions, as well as representatives from strategy and social responsibility. This means that we are uniquely positioned to work in partnership across the whole of the company, helping BT design solutions to meet the challenges and issues of the region. What is more, it ensures our regional strategy goes hand in hand with sustainable development. In this issue, we focus on one of those members, Mark Chamberlain.

Mark joined BT just over 20 years ago. Since then he has worked in a range of disciplines, including sales, marketing, product management, operational management, business transformation, strategy and HR. He was also BT Retail’s Equality and Diversity Champion for two years, and this remains an area of interest for him in his current role.

Mark’s main area of expertise is driving and delivering business change. “The company has changed out of all recognition over the past few years,

and being at the heart of that has been an exciting place to be,” he explains.

Mark currently works as BT Retail’s Director of HR Programmes. Along with BT Retail’s Property portfolio and HR services contracts, Mark is responsible for the organisation’s major people change programmes, ensuring we have the people we need to deliver excellent service to our customers in the coming year.

Mark believes the biggest challenge the region faces is ensuring that people have the right skills and aspirations to build successful careers – as employees or entrepreneurs. Mark says: “There are some great opportunities out there for people to get the skills that business needs right now. One of the only real barriers is their belief in themselves; that they can make a difference and be a success. It is vital that the region builds upon the great successes it has had to date in the skills agenda, ensuring that young people in particular capitalise on the great educational establishments this region has to offer.”

Mark has also been active on a number of external boards, and nearing the end of a period on the regional Learning and Skills Council which gave him a great opportunity to use his business skills and knowledge to the benefit of learners within the region. Recently, he has been appointed to the board of Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust as a non-Executive Director, a role he is confident will again allow him to give something back to the region.

With all these hats being worn so successfully, does Mark have a guiding philosophy? “I believe that people often have much more to offer than we, and they, realise,” he says. “So it is vital to help people understand what they are capable of and how they can make a difference. In my experience, having high expectations of people more often than not results in them delivering great results.”

An old red telephone kiosk in a sleepy North Yorkshire town has won a £1,000 award in a national BT Payphones competition.

The historic K6 kiosk at Settle, which is situated in the idyllic Yorkshire Dales, is one of 15 little-used red kiosks already bought for £1 each by local authorities in Yorkshire and The Humber. It is now the ‘Gallery on the Green’, thought to be the smallest art gallery in the world, and has displayed work by local artists, schoolchildren and even award-winning photographer Eamonn McCabe.

Last summer, BT Payphones wrote to local authorities inviting them to consult with local communities on the possibility of adopting kiosks. At the same time, they launched the competition to find the best use of an adopted kiosk – and Settle’s innovative idea won the regional award for Yorkshire and The Humber.

Marion Armstrong, Chairperson of Cultivating Settle, said: “Our kiosk is very much a part of the town and we wanted it to continue to play an important role in our community. With support from Settle Town Council, we came up with the idea for an art gallery and made it a reality.

“It has been a great success and has attracted many new visitors to the town who are keen to see art exhibitions displayed in such unusual surroundings.”

Parish councils wishing to adopt a local kiosk can still do so. Further information on the Adopt a Kiosk scheme is available on the BT Payphones website at http://www.payphones.bt.com

Disused Yorkshire phone kiosk wins BT award

The K6 kiosk in Settle

Spring 2010Yorkshire and The Humber

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A BT-supported charity campaign to help older people use information communications technology has named an 80-year-old Wakefield resident as one of its ‘Internet Champions’ for 2010.

During this year, Lucy Berry (pictured below) will work along with 72-year-old Frederick Briggs, of Maidenhead, as an ambassador for Age Concern and Help the Aged – which will link up this spring to form Age UK. Their mission will be to encourage the 6.4 million older people in the UK who have never used the internet to ‘have a go’.

Lucy will talk about the pleasure of opening her Christmas presents with her family in Australia – using Skype – while Frederick will explain how he uses the internet to keep in touch with loved ones and for shopping.

Age Concern and Help the Aged have been working with BT to help older people get online since 2005. The idea for ‘Internet Champions’ came from recent research commissioned by the charities and funded by BT, which found that such people are more likely to be interested in using the internet if their peers are doing so.

Trevor Higgins, BT Regional Partnership Director said: “I hope members of the public will see from Lucy and Frederick that using the internet is achievable for all ages and that the benefits can have a positive impact on their lives.”

BT backs bid to get older people online

Seventeen-year-old Danni Clayton from Barton in Yorkshire has been named as one of the 21 winners in the BT ‘Seen and Heard’ awards, which demonstrate BT’s strong commitment to the development of life-long communication skills such as speaking and listening.

Danni is a co-founder of ‘Let’s Rock Cancer,’ a group that raises money for four cancer charities by giving young up-and-coming musicians a platform to perform. The young volunteers manage the group’s website, www.letsrockcancer.co.uk, publicise their work, create and distribute posters and flyers, and forge links with local industry organisations – all while in full-time work and education. Beginning with a ‘battle of the bands’ across North Lincolnshire, the organisation has just started expanding into larger cities and will host its first festival in 2011.

Besides picking up an award, Danni is also featured in the associated BT ‘Seen and Heard’ report, which pays tribute to young people and adults who have used communication skills to achieve great things.

John Anderson, Regional Director said: “By publishing this report, we at BT are helping today’s young people to be heard – influencing those in authority, and inspiring others to continue their legacy. Their stories show that with collaboration, ambition and enthusiasm, every one of us can change something for the better.” For further information, please visit: www.btbetterworld.com

Young communicators turn words into action