BT and Global launch partnership to upgrade UK’s street furniture

BT and Global, the Media & Entertainment Group which has offices in Bristol, Birmingham and Fareham as well as in London and elsewhere, are to upgrade the nation’s old payphones and roll out more digital hubs for local communities – in a move that will provide better connectivity and hyper-local advertising in more than 200 towns and cities across the UK.

Global will also continue to represent BT’s street furniture advertising sales for the next decade. 

BT Group’s street furniture estate covers traditional payphones (anyone under 20 won't appreciate them properly), ATMs and Street Hubs: digital units that provide public Wi-Fi, and live communication at a local level – with some also extending EE’s mobile network capability to provide 4G and 5G connectivity. 

The new agreement will see Global convert up to 2,000 conventional BT payphones and kiosks into new Street Hubs over 10 years from 2025, as well as marketing and selling advertising on BT’s 959 existing Street Hubs. BT will continue to provide mobile and WiFi connectivity to the units.

As well as offering secure connectivity at speeds of up to 1Gbps within a 150-metre radius, modern Street Hub 2 units have a dedicated 999 calling button, USBs for free device charging and touch-screen tablets displaying real-time public information from local councils. They also feature screens to open up digital, street-level advertising for businesses.

BT Street Hubs nationwide are already a significant part of Global’s digital roadside advertising estate, providing huge reach and scale for outdoor ad campaigns. The BT portfolio is also available for advertisers to purchase programmatically via DAX, Global’s market leading digital advertising exchange with pioneering targeting and measurement tools. Global will continue to share content from LBC on the BT screens, providing news to local communities served by the units. 

Bas Burger, CEO (ED: what a great name) - Business at BT, said: “BT’s payphones have long been an iconic feature on the UK’s streets – and with the way we all communicate changing, today’s announcement marks a further step into the future. There are already almost 1,000 modern digital Street Hubs bringing communication benefits to local communities across the UK. By bringing together BT’s rock-solid connectivity with Global’s unrivalled expertise in out-of-home advertising, we can almost triple this number over the next decade.”

Stephen Miron, Global’s Group CEO, added: "We are absolutely delighted to continue our partnership with BT for at least another 10 years. Street Hubs have become increasingly attractive to advertisers, given their striking presence and prominent positioning on the major streets across the UK. Together with BT, we have very exciting and ambitious plans to significantly expand the Street Hub network, alongside some highly innovative solutions for advertisers. BT have been a great partner, and we look forward to continuing this relationship over the next decade.”