Scandinavia ‘way ahead’ of UK in telecoms infrastructure, says BT boss

Allison Kirkby spent the last decade working in Scandinavia before joining BT earlier this year. Photograph: Tommy Johansson

The Nordic countries are “way ahead” of the UK in telecoms infrastructure and the government should look again at planning laws to help improve poor connectivity, the boss of BT has said.

Allison Kirkby, the chief executive of BT, told the Deloitte and Enders media and telecoms conference in London: “What I would say is Scandinavia is way ahead of the UK. Part of that is very much driven by the regulatory environment, the planning environment and the general adoption of digital skills and digital services.”