The more erratic nature of dividends outside of the U.S. — in which the payouts are at management’s discretion — is sometimes confusing for U.S. investors. But if, on average, the payouts are higher than what they would receive in the U.S., investors can easily get more comfortable with such a dividend strategy.

British telecom company BT Group (NYSE:BT) has had the following string of dividends since 2008 — 81.1 cents (2011), 37.4 cents (2010), 66.4 cents (2010), 38.1 cents (2009), 18.1 cents (2009), 79.6 cents (2008) and $2.02 (2008). There is neither rhyme nor reason to these amounts, so investors should expect the same in the future. During the same period, Verizon (NYSE:VZ) went from 43 cents per quarter to 50 cents in a straight line (with one special dividend in the middle).

The other aspect of being a dividend investor in BT Group is the currency exposure. The shares are listed in London, and as such are subject to fluctuations in the USD-to-GBP exchange rate. There has been some outflow of money parked in euro-denominated government bonds, which has been positive for most major currencies. So, at present, the British pound probably is in a good overall position should there be any renewed weakness in the euro.

BT Group has the same issues as Verizon and AT&T (NYSE:T), where customers are gravitating away from old wireline accounts. But optical Internet capability and business services are picking up the slack. The company is managing attrition well as flattish revenue is met with rising operating earnings due to aggressive cost cutting.

The strategy is to keep doing the same — cut more costs, increase cash flow, reduce debt and increase the dividend payout. The current payout ratio is only 35%, so the dividend can afford to go higher from the present (erratic) rate of 2.7%.

The situation in the British bond market is similar to that in the U.S. Treasury market, where bond buyers have been driven away from super-low bond yields and are seeking dividend-paying stocks. Both bond markets are slowly beginning to resemble Japan’s, where this same phenomenon has been occurring for quite a few years.

With a 5.6% average dividend yield — however erratic — during the past five years, BT has proven that it can reward dividend-seeking investors looking for more income.