BT to go it alone on fibre build after costs fall

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's BT said it had decided not to bring in a partner to help fund fibre to an addition 5 million premises after a reduction in build costs and strong demand meant it stacked up for the company to invest all the money itself.

"The great news is we can afford to do it ourselves," Chief executive Philip Jansen told reporters after the company's first-half results.

"With FTTP (fibre to the premises) build costs coming down and take-up ahead of expectations, we think the best decision for shareholders is to retain 100% of the project and its returns."

(Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Michael Holden)