The history of London's BT Tower and the company's as the brand switches to EE

BT is a historic British company with roots dating back to the 1840s.

While technology has moved on in ways that would have been unimaginable in the early Victoria era, British Telecom has remained present over the decades, signifying its presence most loudly with the BT Tower that stands proudly in London and remains an eye-catching landmark in the UK capital many years since it lost its title as the biggest building in the city.

As of Friday, October 20, almost every BT consumer product will be rebranded under EE, with only straight landline and broadband keeping the original name.

To mark what certainly feels like a big change, NationalWorld takes a look back at the history of BT and the BT Tower in London.

The history of BT (British Telecom)

With operations in around 180 countries, BT was first founded under a very different name back in 1846. Then, it was called the Electric Telegraph Company. This was the world's first public telegraph company.

The company helped develop a nationwide communications network - pivotal to greater connectivity in the UK - but it wasn't until 1912 that BT as we know it came about.

The company was then called the General Post Office - a government department that took over the system of the National Telephone Company to become Britain's telecoms supplier.

Under the Post Office Act of 1969, the General Post Office became a public corporation - although this was fairly short-lived. The British Telecom brand was introduced in 1980 and separated from the Post Office the following year.

In 1984 it was privatised to become British Telecommunications plc. From here, BT grew to trade on the FTSE 100.

The history of BT Tower

This Grade II listed building stood as the tallest building in London from the time it was built in 1964, to 1980. Before it was named this, it was named General Post Office (GPO) Tower and Post Office Tower in line with BT's previous ownerships before 1980.

The public was officially opened in 1965 by then Prime Minister Harold Wilson and the queen even paid it a visit the following year. A unique feature of the building was its rotating restaurant - called Top of the Tower - which was operated by Butlins.

A unique feature of the building wasn't added until October 2009 and that was the 360-degree LED screen display near the top of the tower. This displays news events to the public every day along with other key messages.

The building was bombed in 1971 and as a result of this, the restaurant at the top of the tower was subsequently closed to members of the public.

In 1980, the tower was overtaken by NatWestTower as London's biggest building. That title now belongs to The Shard and BT sits joint 22nd on the current list of tall buildings in the UK capital.

In 2016, BT received final approval for its purchase of mobile network EE. But it seems EE will now become the focus of the overall brand.

As part of the revamp, the EE brand will begin to take further prominence over BT – with BT customers to being contacted and asked to consider switching to EE. The company also announced a new TV service, which will offer live TV channels via Apple TV 4K.

“Today we’re incredibly proud to be launching a new platform for the UK, open to anyone and everyone – that will transform our customers’ experience beyond connectivity,” EE chief executive Marc Allera, said.

“With an EE ID, customers nationwide will be able to access a wide range of exciting new products, services and experiences across new sectors – easily and conveniently, in one place.“We are also evolving the EE brand, while at the same time doubling down on great new connected products, with the launch of the fastest broadband, best value convergence, and exciting new TV services.”

It remains to be seen if this iconic tower will follow other parts of the company undergoing a rebrand.