BT’s CEO Ben Verwaayen was honored with KBE (knight of the British Empire) for his dedicated services to the telecommunications industry. Elected by the Queen for this honour, he will be given the Order by a cabinet minister in January, next year.

Other business men who were honoured with a KBE in the past include Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, BP chairman Peter Sutherland, and Niall Fitzgerald of Reuters.

BT chairman Sir Mike Rake remarked:
"Ben has not just played a pivotal role in BT's revival, he has been a driving force for change in the communications industry and beyond. He has helped create, in the UK, one of the world's most vibrant broadband markets. He has been a powerful advocate for the benefits of free trade and globalisation, and has engaged in a series of critical public policy debates, including his recent chairmanship of the CBI Task Force on Climate Change. I congratulate Ben on his honorary knighthood. It is a proud moment for Ben and for everyone at BT."

Ben Verwaayen became CEO of BT, the largest broadband provider of UK in 2002 when broadband was at its infancy. Only during 2005 and the subsequent year, broadband uptake in the UK saw an upsurge and currently, there are over 14 million broadband users in UK.

BT Retail offers broadband services (BT Total) for both home users and businesses. Other notable achievements of BT are BTFon global wifi network and the forthcoming 21CN network in early 2008.