Britain’s BT aims to win fibre race with faster, cheaper build

LONDON: BT heralded its progress in building Britain’s biggest fibre broadband network on Thursday, saying lower costs and strong demand would underpin returns to investors, in its latest effort to keep a circling shareholder at bay.

The company, which is strengthening its defences against a possible takeover by European telecoms player Patrick Drahi, said its full-fibre network covered 6 million premises – more than all its rivals combined – and it had lowered the cost of the build by 15%.