BT is reportedly considering the launch of new a low-cost mobile brand, as the telecoms group explores ways to compete with new rivals in the market including the fintech companies Revolut and Monzo.
The group is exploring options to enter the budget market, which could involve creating a new brand in-house or buying an existing virtual network operator, according to the Financial Times.
The move would mark a strategy shift from the former state-owned company, which now only offers mobile services through its premium EE brand. BT owns Plusnet, but decided last year to use the low-cost brand only for its broadband services.
However, it is now looking at how it can stay competitive as new rivals, including from the fintech sector, start taking slices of the UK mobile market as virtual network operators, which piggyback on the existing networks of other mobile services.
Virtual network operators accounted for 16.5% of the UK mobile market last year, and analysts expect that figure to rise in the coming years.
The fintech companies Revolut and Monzo both announced plans to launch a mobile service earlier this year, in a move that would help diversify their revenues while also putting pressure on incumbents such as VodafoneThree and EE.
The buy now, pay later provider Klarna is also moving into mobile services, as is Fern Trading, which is backed by Octopus Group, the multibillion-pound fund that owns the eponymous energy company.
BT is reportedly looking at expanding the use of its BT brand for broadband services in order to win over older customers who are less familiar with its new EE and Plusnet offerings.
The plan is being driven by the BT Group chief executive, Allison Kirkby, and is said to have the backing of the Indian tycoon and billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal. Bharti Enterprises became the largest shareholder in BT Group last year, after agreeing to buy out Patrick Drahi, the art-loving Moroccan-born billionaire founder of the Amsterdam-listed telecoms firm Altice.
Commenting on reports that it was considering launching a budget mobile operator, a BT spokesperson said in a statement: “We regularly review our offerings across all our brands to ensure our customers have access to the best products and services on the best network. At present, we have no plans to change our mobile offering.”
