British Telecom has finally decided upon a new logo, according to reports, and it’s about exciting as a landline phone in the 1990s.
The Guardian has published what it believes to be the new logo, which features the letters “BT” in a circle, in a black, simple font. The telecoms provider, which also owns the EE mobile network, filed a trademark application with the intellectual property office, featuring the new basic logo first conceived back in 2016.
BT did not confirm whether the report had revealed its official new logo, but confirmed the rollout of the new identity is on the way.
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“We’ve shared our new logo with our colleagues today and will consult them on the detail as we gradually roll it out towards the end of the summer,” a spokesperson said.
“Our CEO has been very clear that the new mark symbolises real change. Making every BT employee a shareholder in the company is the first step towards transforming BT into a national champion that exceeds our customers’ expectations.”
The telecoms giant has gone trough multiple corporate identities since the public ownership of the firm, which began with the General Post Office in the 17th century, ended in the 1980s.
Beyond the new logo, BT also announced plans to hand staff £50 million in shares each year, which will be worth £500 annually. The company’s 100,000 employees will have to hold onto the shares for three years before having the opportunity to sell them. The goal, CEO Philip Jansen says, is to improve customer service.
“I’m asking our colleagues for their commitment to making BT a national champion; and I want to give them ownership in our company and a share in our success,” he said, via the FT. “Placing customers at the heart of BT will only be possible by investing in the lifeblood of the business, our people, giving everyone a stake as we build a better BT for the future.”
Considering a number of BT employees already have shares in the firm, the new offering is likely to be considered somewhat of a watering-down of that holding, by many workers. That’s coupled with a halving of the share price since January 2017, which is partially attributed to the Ofcom-enforced decoupling of BT and Openreach.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
