The company also made a per cent more profit in the same period.

The new boss, Allison Kirkby, who took over from Philip Jansen in January, said BT had done well in the quarter, while getting more customers onto its super-fast broadband and 5G networks.

"As I take charge, we are still focused on our goal and our plan," she said.

BT made more money by selling more fibre broadband to other companies that use its Openreach network and by charging more to its own customers in the quarter that ended in December, the company said.