BT on Track for Estimated £2bn Windfall from Selling Old Copper Amid AI Boom
BT expects to earn an estimated £2bn from selling old copper cables as it switches to full-fibre broadband. The metal is benefiting from the 'electrification of everything' and soaring prices.
Intelligence analysis by Qwen 2.5 (3B)
BT is set to earn a significant windfall from selling old copper cables as it transitions to full-fibre broadband. The metal is benefiting from the 'electrification of everything' and soaring prices.
BT is selling old copper cables that are no longer needed as they switch to full-fibre broadband. The metal is worth more now because of the 'electrification of everything' and because there's not enough of it.
Analysis
{"heading_1":"Copper's Role in the 'Electrification of Everything'","subheading_1":"Copper's Role in the 'Electrification of Everything'","content_1":"Copper is one of the main beneficiaries of the 'electrification of everything', essential for the rapid growth of AI datacenters, electronics, and the fast-growing renewable energy industry. The metal hit its highest-ever closing price of $14,294 a metric tonne on Friday, close to the record intraday high of $14,500 reached earlier this year amid global shortage fears.","subheading_2":"BT's Recycling Deal with EMR","content_2":"BT has a recycling deal with EMR, the UK's largest cable granulation company, and has now received £99m upfront for thousands of tonnes of surplus stripped copper. It is the second such payment received by the telecoms company, which is rolling out full-fibre broadband to 30m homes by the end of the decade through its Openreach subsidiary, after £105m in 2024.","subheading_3":"Record Haul of Copper","content_3":"The record haul, which is 63% more than the 5,600 tonnes reported in BT's 2025 results, comes at a time of soaring prices which could handsomely benefit BT. In the year that BT reported its first copper haul the average price for the metal was about $8,500 a tonne."}
Key points
- BT expects to earn an estimated £2bn from selling old copper cables
- Copper is benefiting from the 'electrification of everything' and soaring prices
- BT has received £99m upfront for thousands of tonnes of surplus stripped copper
- The record haul is 63% more than the 5,600 tonnes reported in BT's 2025 results
- Copper theft remains a problem, despite the use of anti-theft measures
The transition to full-fibre broadband could lead to even more copper being recovered and recycled, potentially increasing BT's windfall.
Copper theft remains a problem, despite the use of anti-theft measures. The supply crunch could also impact BT's ability to sell recycled copper on the spot market.
