BT bags MASSIVE £425m broadband rollout deal in Wales
Company gobbles all the fibre, nobody else gets a look-in
Posted in Data Networking, 20th July 2012 07:15 GMT
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BT has unsurprisingly won hefty government funds to roll out a faster broadband network to Wales.
Sole rival Fujitsu withdrew from the race for securing BDUK investment in the country earlier this year, leaving BT as the only bidder.
The national telco confirmed on Thursday that the Welsh fibre broadband project was worth around £425m including the £220m injected into the scheme by BT.
It reiterated that the planned upgrade would also be subjected to state aid and major projects approval from the European Commission.
Competition concerns have been expressed in Brussels about the allocation of public funds going only to BT so far in what in recent weeks has gone from a two-horse to a one-horse race for broadband improvement cash.
BT is starting to drum up plenty of business in the parts of the UK that it had found no compelling reason to invest its own money in. The company is spending £2.5bn on rolling out mainly fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) technology to reach 75 per cent coverage of Blighty by 2015.
That work is concentrated in densely populated regions where the return on investment will be greatest.
But now that the company is winning more and more contracts from local authorities in the harder-to-reach parts of the UK, Brussels' antitrust officials are questioning the entire procurement process.
BT, too, has been edgy about its victories - repeatedly pointing out that it had won the BDUK cash fair-and-square.
The only true rival competing for that money had been Fujitsu, which recently declared that it was walking away from the bidding process for the time being.
Earlier this week, the Japanese tech giant lost its attempt to bag the North Yorkshire county council's £70m contract, which went to BT.
As for BT's plans in Wales, BT said it was hoping to bring broadband speeds of up to 80Mbit/s over FTTC to 96 per cent of homes and businesses in the Land of the Cymry.
It added that fibre-to-the-premises broadband speeds of up to 330Mbps would be deployed "in certain areas" of the country.
The Welsh government nearly matched BDUK's £58m investment by slapping £57m on the network upgrade pile. Around £90m is expected from the European Regional Development Fund.
BT said that, as part of the tender process in Wales, its network would "be open to all communications providers on an equal wholesale basis so Welsh consumers and businesses will benefit from a highly competitive market." ®
New 2012 Wholesale Distribution Economic Reports Forecast Distribution Industry Growth of 6.8% in 2012; Data Available for 19 Sectors - PRWeb
Wholesale Distribution Economic Reports
Boulder, CO (PRWEB) July 20, 2012
The 2012 Wholesale Distribution Economic Reports—the seventh edition of this annual economic data reference guide – include industry statistics, trend analysis, benchmarking data and forecasts for 19 sectors in the distribution industry, including industrial (http://www.mdm.com/2012-wholesale-distribution-economic-reports--industrial-distributors/PARAMS/product/734); hardware, plumbing and heating equipment/supplies (http://www.mdm.com/2012-wholesale-distribution-economic-reports--hardware--plumbing---heating-equipment-supplies-wholesalers/PARAMS/product/733); building materials and construction; electrical and electronics; and grocery and foodservice.
“The wholesale distribution industry continued to grow faster than the overall U.S. economy in 2011,” said Tom Gale, president of Industrial Market Information and publisher of Modern Distribution Management, which published the reports. “Aggregate revenues of wholesaler-distributors increased by 9.3 percentage points more than nominal U.S. Gross Domestic Product, reflecting rebounding sales of a smaller base following the recession.”
The fastest rate of growth in 2011 for wholesale distribution was in Oil and Gas Products, due to increased investment in shale formations; when accounting for inflation, real revenues in this sector actually decreased however. Industrial distributors saw the largest real rate of growth, with sales up 15.3% in 2011. MDM forecasts all wholesale distribution sectors will grow in 2012.
Total wholesale distributors sector revenues in 2010 were up 12.8 percent from 2009.
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“These reports allow you to plan strategically for the year ahead with accurate current and forward-looking data on your wholesale distribution line of trade,” Gale said. “For example, learn how much sales and sales per employee have changed in your line of trade; how much weekly earnings have changed; which niches are producing the highest and lowest gross margins; how many companies are competing in your niches, and more.”
These distribution sector reports, delivered in downloadable pdf, are invaluable resources for detailed distribution channel benchmarking data if you are managing, selling to or investing in a wholesale distribution company. The Wholesale Distribution Economic Reports use data from the most recent U.S. Annual Wholesale Trade Survey and reflect March 2012 government data revisions.
The 2012 Wholesale Distribution Economic Reports supply:
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Individual economic reports are available for 18 sectors: industrial distributors; hardware, plumbing and heating equipment/supplies wholesalers; electrical/electronics wholesalers; grocery and foodservice wholesale distributors; building material and construction wholesale distributors; oil and gas products wholesale distributors; motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts wholesale distributors; other consumer products wholesale distributors; miscellaneous durable goods wholesale distributors; commercial equipment and supplies wholesale distributors; computer equipment and software wholesale distributors; agricultural products wholesale distributors; apparel and piece goods wholesale distributors; beer, wine and liquor wholesalers; chemicals and plastics wholesale distributors; office product wholesalers and paper merchants; furniture and home furnishing wholesale distributors; and metal service centers.
The reports were produced by Industrial Market Information Inc., also owned by Gale Media, and the Business Research Division of the University of Colorado-Boulder’s Leeds School of Business.
Industrial Market Information is an industrial markets research firm. For more than 25 years, IMI has helped industrial products manufacturers, distributors and others make data‐based decisions for market planning, product analysis, territory management, strategic planning, account management and potential analysis, joint distributor/vendor planning, and competitive analysis. IMI provides market demand estimates, account potential reports and prospect lists based on estimated usage for 200+ MRO/OEM product groups. For more information, visit http://www.imidata.com. IMI is a business of Gale Media.
Modern Distribution Management is the only subscription newsletter and specialized information website that covers the critical management issues facing wholesale distribution executives. MDM offers a twice-monthly premium newsletter, free e-newsletters, Webcasts, economic and market data, real-time breaking news and commentary at mdm.com and resources for wholesale distribution executives and companies that serve the distribution industry. Since 1967, MDM has delivered timely and insightful news coverage of the people, companies and trends that shape this industry. For more information, visit http://www.mdm.com. MDM is a business of Gale Media.
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