BT has given a massive £470 million boost to the Northern Ireland economy in the past year, according to an independent study published today.
The ‘Economic Impact of BT and EE in the UK’ report by Regeneris Consulting outlines the combined economic contribution of the two companies across Northern Ireland, the English regions, Scotland, and Wales in the financial year 2015-16, and reinforced the communications company’s position as one of the province’s leading employers.
The report revealed that BT supported around 5,440 jobs in Northern Ireland through direct employment, spending with contractors and suppliers and the spending of employees.
The new report has been welcomed by the Confederation of British Industry. Angela McGowan, Regional Director, CBI said: “This latest research demonstrates the extent to which BT plays a key role in our local communities. There is not a business or household in Northern Ireland who – directly or indirectly – is not affected by BT’s investment in this region. As well as being a supplier of essential services such as superfast broadband, the company is also a major employer across Northern Ireland and a large purchaser for local supply chains. BT’s success is based on smart investments in both technology and people.
“In a competitive world, in which trade and relationships increasingly transcend regional and national boundaries, rapid and effective communications are ever more vital.”
In employment terms, BT and EE’s impact in the 2015-16 financial year was larger than the region’s entire R&D sector. Nearly 3,170 people are directly employed by BT and its EE business with a total combined income of around £98 million. This is equivalent to one in 5 employees working in the region’s IT and communications sector, and 1 in 120 employees working in the entire private sector. The company employs staff across the region, with key local centres in Belfast, Derry, Fermanagh, Craigavon, and Newtownabbey.
BT also spent around £109 million with Northern Ireland suppliers, and provides work for a further 2,270 people through spending with businesses that supply equipment and services, as well as through the spending of its staff.
The overall economic impact of BT and EE activities is expressed as a “Gross Value Added” (GVA)* contribution. For Northern Ireland this combined GVA totalled £470 million – equivalent to £1 in every £80 of the region’s total GVA.
Tim Fanning, associate director of Regeneris Consulting, said: “Our latest analysis has shown that, together, BT and EE contributed around £1 in every £70 of economic output in the UK in 2015/16. This is clearly a very substantial combined economic footprint. Moreover, this contribution is spread throughout communities across the region.”
Colm O’Neill, Managing Director, Major Business & Public Sector, BT said: “Few commercial organisations have a more positive and direct impact on the local economy and communities than BT.
“The acquisition of EE means we can invest even further, enabling people living and working in Northern Ireland to get access to the best communications - fixed line, mobile and broadband services - now and in the future.
“As well as providing the means for families, homeworkers, companies and other organisations to communicate and do business in new and exciting ways, BT is helping to support other firms and suppliers in the region with the company’s procurement and overall expenditure and the spending of its employees.”
BT’s investment of more than £3 billion in fibre broadband across the UK includes the company working in partnership with the Government, local authorities and other bodies to help make the technology even more widely available across the region, especially in rural areas.
In Northern Ireland, BT’s investment in its network infrastructure, which is open to all providers on an equal basis, has been key to connecting Northern Ireland internally and with the rest of the world. BT plans to continue investing in delivering improved broadband speeds, as well as expanding the reach of fibre broadband deeper into rural areas, through direct investments and in partnership with the NI Government.
The full report on BT’s economic impact is available at: www.bt.com/reports
