In fact, the "21st Century Network Plan" launched by BT at this time was so bold and radical that many analysts and equipment suppliers were skeptical about it.
For example, Godell, an analyst at Forrester Research, said that he does not think that any operator will completely switch its network to an all-IP network by 2012. He expects that most operators will achieve this goal before 2020. This road is obviously not smooth, just like the development path of 3G.
Some even said that BT was committing suicide, saying that "the moon landing plan seems easier than their plan."
However, a BT spokesperson responded, "We never thought that this plan would be easy to accomplish. There will definitely be many challenges, and we are ready for them."
Barron naturally knew that BT's plan was very forward-looking. Therefore, after British Telecom proposed the "21st Century Network Plan", O2 Telecom also made a decision to invest heavily and start "anticipatory adjustments" to their broadband network, starting with the laying of fiber optic networks in the UK.
At present, the mainstream of most telecommunications companies is still ADSL broadband, and there are even many telephone dial-up Internet access...
But Barron knows that network speeds will increase faster and faster in the future, and existing telecom companies will have to consider the cost of laying fiber optic networks - after all, their ADSL networks have not been laid for too long, and cost recovery is also something they need to consider.
But O2 Telecom is different. Initially, O2 Telecom itself is the mobile communications business spun off from BT, and broadband business is their new business. Therefore, in this regard, O2 Telecom has less resistance and is more suitable to take bigger steps.
Of course, the process also needs to be gradual. After all, O2 Telecom's market still needs to be consolidated.
Boss Ren is also very interested in these new businesses of O2 Telecom and hopes to continue to obtain contracts from O2 Telecom.
On this matter, Barron and Boss Ren temporarily played "Tai Chi" and did not make any promises too early.
He has other plans that need to be carried out slowly...
…
"I still have some doubts about building a hotel in Kolo..."
Today Barron stayed at Yulia Moore's place. When he talked to her about some assets of the family trust fund, Yulia hesitated for a moment, but still expressed her doubts.
Last year, the Devonshire Luxury Hotel, which was invested by Cavendish Hotel Group in Huaxia Magic City, opened Devonshire (Bund) Hotel. At present, the operation of that hotel is quite successful, and the occupancy rate is even higher than that of Devonshire (Chelsea) Hotel in London!
Next, Barron plans to open the Cavendish Hotel in Lottie, the capital of Kolo, and will invest in the construction of a Cavendish Lottie Building in the city center of Lottie, where he will open a four-star hotel.
It can be seen that Yulia still has doubts about opening the Cavendish Hotel in the capital of an underdeveloped country like Kolo.
"Don't worry, Yulia. Although Kolo's economy is still underdeveloped, its location is very important. With the renovation of Loti Port, it will become the busiest cargo terminal in West Africa. In return, Loti will also become the most important cargo transshipment center in West Africa. Opening a hotel there will bring good profits."
The key point is that the construction of Lottie's Cavendish Building does not require the Cavendish Hotel Group to invest too much money. Most of the construction funds for the entire building will be loaned by the United Bank of West Africa. Then, it only needs to use the profits there to slowly repay the loan.
In fact, apart from the Cavendish Hotel Group, the family trust fund's largest investment in Coloane is in Devonshire Eco-Agriculture.
They bought a large piece of land near the grassland province of Colo, which is more suitable for agricultural cultivation, and used it for ecological farming.
After all, the local labor cost in Colo is much lower than that in the UK. Under the guidance of agricultural experts, local people are used to carry out ecological planting, and the products are eventually shipped back to the UK and sold in Duke's Select Supermarket, which can generate higher profits.
In addition, the ecological agriculture company has also invested in many related factories in the local area. After processing, local specialties such as coffee and cocoa beans will also bring them good profits.
Speaking of Chloe, Barron has more important things to do.
A week after he returned to London, before Caesars completed its acquisition of British Transport Logistics, they announced the acquisition of UK Oil & Gas Investments (UKOG) for £10 million.
UKOG is a small oil and gas exploration company that previously only had some exploration projects in Scotland.
However, although the company is not large in scale, it has good exploration experience and strength, and has also cooperated with British Petroleum (BP) as a third-party contractor.
After contacting UK Oil & Gas Investments (UKOG), Caesars Funds made an offer of £10 million and quickly acquired the company.
After completing the acquisition of UKOG, the company will be hired by the West African Mining Group to explore for oil and gas resources in the Gulf of Guinea near Colo.
The reason for this action is that after the establishment of the new regime in Kolo, some exploration companies were hired to re-explore the country's mineral resources.
The latest news is that they have discovered oil and gas in the sea area near Colo, and it seems that the reserves are quite large. Therefore, after hearing this news, Barron immediately decided to acquire a British oil company and conduct a more detailed exploration of that sea area.
Of course, he certainly could not reach giants like BP or Royal Dutch Shell, so he could only choose smaller oil companies for acquisition, and British Petroleum & Gas Investments was their choice after screening.
At the same time, after the discovery of oil and gas in the Colo Sea, the West African Mining Company immediately bought the exploration and mining rights for that sea area.
Therefore, UKOG will now be hired by the West African Mining Company to go to the coast of Colo to explore that area.
Barron was very excited about the news. Not only could it bring him huge benefits, but if an offshore oil field with considerable reserves could be discovered, it would also be a great boost to the development of the entire Colo economy.