Beyond Limits - getting ready for the challenges of a new decade

2019 was a big year for the country, and for BT.

As well as being the first provider in the UK to launch 5G through BT’s EE, including in Cardiff – BT announced some huge changes that will have a positive impact for people and businesses in Wales.

We want to get people onto the fastest, most reliable networks. But we're also determined to make sure no one is left behind in this new digital era.

That's why we launched a new digital skills programme Skills for Tomorrow to provide free training to 10 million people, families and businesses. The programme will help provide the skills that the UK needs to make the most of today’s connected world. Look out for events near you across Wales in the weeks and months to come.

We introduced a new brand line for BT, ‘Beyond Limits’, symbolised by a new logo – the first major change to the logo since 2003. You may have seen it in our new adverts or on the national football teams' latest training kits, thanks to our new deal with the Football Association of Wales to become the exclusive lead partner across all the country's national football teams. We revealed also that BT Sport has won the exclusive live rights to show the Champions League for another three years, from 2021 to 2024.

On broadband, we’re now connecting more people than ever to superfast fibre products. And, where fibre is available, we’ve even stopped selling standard broadband connections on the old BT copper network. We'll be upgrading more than 40,000 customers in homes and businesses in Wales to superfast broadband by summer 2020, at no extra cost.

On customer service, the big news was that BT is returning to the high street for the first time since 2002. Customers can now get support and sales advice face-to-face in one of our 600, dual-branded EE-BT stores across the UK. We also launched a new team of 900 Home Tech Experts who will visit customers in their homes across the UK to help them install new technology or sort out problems.

We brought forward by a year our plan to return all of our customer call centres to the UK and Ireland. We'll now complete the move by the end of January. We know that customers are happiest when they speak to someone locally who understands their area. We’ll connect customers, wherever possible, to the customer service team that’s closest to them in the UK.

2019 also saw us mark a big birthday in relation to the Welsh language. 25 years ago, BT became one of the first large private companies in the UK to adopt a voluntary bilingual policy. We now provide Welsh language customer service helplines, including directory enquires, and produce bills in Welsh for those who request them.

Here in Wales, we were also one of the first businesses to take up the challenge from the Welsh Government to join it in taking action to reduce our carbon footprint. We're proud to have made a pledge to signal our intent and readiness to work with others on this agenda.

BT customers are now more satisfied than ever, they’re staying with us longer, and we have fewer complaints. We’ll continue to improve, because the services we provide will be in more demand in the future than ever before: the number of smart devices connected in the home is expected to grow from five today, to more than 100 in the next few years.

We’re seeing big technological shifts that will affect everyone. At the start of this decade, our early broadband offered speeds of around 5 Mbps. Today, our ultrafast fibre service is up to 300 Mbps, up to 10 Gbps for businesses.

As we enter a new decade, this is an exciting time for emerging technologies, which will have a big impact on Wales and our customers. Blwyddyn Newydd Dda.