BT boss Philip Jansen (pictured) confirmed it will launch 5G imminently and unveiled a plan to ramp investment in fibre in the UK, as the company reported a small revenue decline in its fiscal Q4.

In a statement announcing figures for the year and quarter to end-March, BT said mobile operator EE was on track push 5G live in 16 cities in the current calendar year, as detailed in a previously announced plan.

The company increased its fibre to the premises target from 3 million to 4 million by March 2021, with the goal of hitting between 10 million and 15 million by the middle of the decade “subject to conditions being right”.

Its quarterly results announcement was the first under new CEO Jansen, who took over from Gavin Patterson in February.

In a statement, Jansen said his initial months with the company highlighed “just how fundamental BT’s role is in connecting our society”.

“While we are really well positioned in a very challenging and competitive UK market, we have a lot of work to do to ensure we remain successful and deliver long term sustainable value to our shareholders,” he said.

Numbers
BT reported a year-on-year revenue decline for fiscal Q4 of 1 per cent to £5.9 billion.

For the full fiscal year, revenue dropped 1 per cent to £23.4 billion, as strength in the consumer division was offset by regulated price reductions at Openreach and weakness in its enterprise unit, particularly in fixed voice.

Net income increased 6 per cent, from £2 billion to £2.2 billion (the company does not release quarterly figures for this metric).

BT’s consumer division, which includes operator EE, reported revenue of £2.6 billion for the quarter, a 3 per cent increase, driven by continued rises in handset costs and growth in its SIM-only plans, though the rises were partially offset by voice price reductions.