BT share price: Group tops broadband and pay-TV complaints list

BT Group (LON:BT.A) remained the most complained-about broadband and pay-TV provider in the second quarter, Ofcom has revealed. The latest numbers come amid pressure on the former telecoms monopoly to improve the performance of its network division Openreach.

BT’s share price has been little changed in today’s session, having inched 0.05 percent higher to 285.60p as of 14:55 BST, slightly underperforming the broader UK market, with the benchmark FTSE 100 index currently standing 0.54 percent higher at 7,324.81 points. The group’s shares have lost more than 26 percent of their value over the past year, and are down by some 22 percent in the year-to-date.

Industry regulator Ofcom published complaints data for the three-month period from April to June, revealing that BT was the most complained-about broadband provider in the second quarter. The former telecoms monopoly received 28 complaints per 100,000 subscribers about its broadband service, while its Plusnet division took the third spot with 20 complaints. The FTSE 100 group further was the most complained-about pay-TV provider with 13 complaints per 100,000 subscribers.

“Complaints about telecoms and pay-TV may be falling this year, but some providers are falling a long way short on customer service,” Jane Rumble, Ofcom’s Director of Consumer Policy, said, without, however, pointing specifically to the former telecoms monopoly.

“We apologise to customers we’ve let down,” BT in a statement, as quoted by the BBC. “We care about service and we’ve invested heavily to make improvements, including hiring 2,200 extra people, which is helping us answer calls more quickly than ever before – over eight out of 10 are now being answered in the UK and Ireland.”

In analyst news, Numis recently reiterated its ‘buy’ rating on BT last week, valuing the shares at 390p. According to MarketBeat, the former telecoms monopoly currently has a consensus ‘hold’ rating and an average price target of 355.26p. 

As of 15:20 BST, Wednesday, 27 September, BT Group plc share price is 285.55p.