During a keynote interview, BT CEO Allison Kirkby warned that the UK is “a sluggish, high inflation market at the moment and we absolutely as a country need to get back to growth’.
She continued: “It’s all of our missions because, without growth, we don’t have investment in the much-needed improvements to our country’s infrastructure.”
Kirkby spoke at the Connected Britain event as the UK continues to confront overwhelming digital transformation, particularly as the industry seeks to recognise the full potential of AI technologies. Amid recent slow growth predictions and the looming Autumn budget, she explained how the UK telecoms industry needs to invest in skills and take advantage of the “massive disruption that, if we get right, could fuel the next level of growth in the country”.
She explained how this growth is critical for people and businesses alike so that everyday people can also embrace the opportunities that digitalisation can offer.
She added: “Everybody is getting their heads around how we embrace the opportunities that digitalisation and AI can bring … We need a catalyst for hope and growth, and our industry has a responsibility to do that.
“If digital infrastructure is truly adopted, it can start to fuel real growth”
BT has been making moves across the BT in recent months, having invested £20 billion to build one of the fastest and highest-quality fibre networks in Europe. Kirkby explained that the company passed 20 million homes last week and sees great potential for the future of connectivity.
“We as an industry need to ensure that we’re driving adoption and driving the country forward from having the infrastructure to using the infrastructure, otherwise it makes us uncompetitive.
“We will not be connected with the rest of the world unless we start to better utilise our infrastructure, upgrade our digital skills and we are able to play that part BT’s trying to support.”
Although the UK is far ahead of fibre build in comparison to countries like Germany, Kirkby explained that catchups on 5G and disruptive technologies are still needed.
The UK as a nation has been slow to adopt new technologies, in comparison to countries across the Nordics and Singapore, with Kirkby noting AI as an area where massive productivity gains are needed.
“We’ve leapfrogged many countries in fibre – let’s view it as a valuable piece of infrastructure that is a foundation for growth – including AI and quantum,” she said. “Fragmentation is not good for the resilience of critical national infrastructure. We’re behind and we need to catch up.”
The solution, she suggested, is for the UK to make full use of the digital infrastructure it has to drive growth forward.
“Investors need certainty that they will get returns on their investments and they will get this through stable regulation,” she said. “The public and the private sector can work together to drive adoption of infrastructure so that value can accrue to citizens, businesses and the country alike.”
“This is our opportunity to ensure that the value of the infrastructure we’ve built should be accrued to those who’ve invested and to the citizens of the country,” she said.
“We need to join that ecosystem that will create value from AI and other technologies so that we’re part of the digital disruption and transformation of the country so that we benefit from it.”
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