Openreach Deploy 30,000 Apple iPhones to Boost UK Fibre Engineers UPDATE
In a small but interesting update, Openreach (BT) has revealed that – as part of their partnership with Apple – over 30,000 of their engineers now have the “latest” iPhone, which through more than 40 custom apps has enabled them to complete 3,000 more jobs a month than usual (recorded over the last 6 months).
The post on LinkedIn doesn’t mention the fact that the company has actually been using Apple’s iPhones for many years already, which we think started sometime around 2015. The devices have recently been refreshed with the latest model, but the approach being taken is not fundamentally new, although the benefits have only rarely been discussed outside Openreach’s inner circle.
As Openreach’s Chief Technology and Information Officer, Colin Lees, said: “[The] iPhone has become the single most important thing that our engineers carry, with apps that support them throughout their day as they serve our customers.”
Advertisement
The 40 or so apps cover everything from workflow / schedule management to mapping, communication, security and safety protocols. For example, the ‘Pre-Climb’ app means that engineers don’t have to search multiple databases to confirm that poles are safe to climb. Some apps, such as ‘SWAT’, are also used to help their engineers find the best place for network equipment in your home (i.e. to improve WiFi signal).
Apple has a case study page on all this, which includes a summary video (see below). The page also mentions how over 30,000 of Openreach’s engineers are using iPhones (the LinkedIn post put it at 16,000+ but we’ve been told that is incorrect). All of this is just an interesting little insight into how modern Smartphones are being adapted for engineering work.
UPDATE 11:23am
Openreach has confirmed to us that all 30,000+ of their engineers now have the latest iPhone models.
Advertisement
Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on X (Twitter), Mastodon, Facebook, BlueSky, Threads.net and Linkedin.
« Swish Fibre Add 4 Yorkshire Locations to FTTP Broadband Build
So they can speak to each other clearer I expect and I think they use them for specific apps..
Kind of what the article already says 🙂
All this just to pressurise the engineers even more
I wonder if it is really on 39 special apps, and the 40th app asks them questions and suggest which other app to use?
Not to put a dent on their marketing spiel but surely the same could have been achieved with Android enabled and much cheaper smartphones. iOS is restrictive in that certain apps are out of bounds if they poke too much into the phones internals .An example is Wifi signal app that was not offered on iOS but was freely available on android for years to check Wifi strength.
It could, but then Android isn’t one company – it’s many, so you’d need to look at all of those (e.g. Samsung) and see if they can supply the same company / support features (i.e. it’s not only a software issue).
It’s explained in the video that part of the reasoning behind the iPhone is also to make staff feel valued – giving people budget Android handsets that are frustrating to use does the opposite of that, and if you go up the range you’re not going to be making large savings over iPhones anyway.
Openreach are already on iPhones, you’d need to factor in the cost of retooling all their custom apps to switch platforms.
@Jonny
So giving employees a heavily locked down iPhone is going to make them feel valued 🙁 maybe giving them a pay rise is what they really need to achieve it don’t you think 🙂
these phones are so heavily modified most of apples stuff is removed or blocked and openreach have added a shed full of their own software and apps its unbelievable
Why is it unbelievable Welshman? It’s a work phone. You wouldn’t expect your work laptop to come with the ability to do naughty things, so why’s it any different for a work phone? If you want a device which is yours, and you can do what you want to your hearts content – go and buy it yourself.
Nothing to do with making the engineers feel valued it’s to nail down what they do every minute of the day and exactly where they are
Openreach are foolish to have iPhone with more security hacker! Should have gone with Samsung more secured ever!
what?
All your phone are belong to us!
Samsung have had more screw ups than Apple, Note 7 and a lot of android apps are insecure. At least we get updates for 6+ years where some Samsung phones only get 2.
@Daniel
That’s actually not correct. It used to be 3 years Android updates and 4 years security updates, but now it is 4 years Android updates and 5 years security updates.
The Note 7 was a screw-up alright, but that was from 2016 lol. Why even bring that up 6 years later?
Which Android apps are insecure in particlar? Are you saying that no apps on the IOS store are insecure? This has already been proven multiple times not to be the case, so I fail to see what point you’re trying to make.
We don’t want phones – we want better wages and less micromanaging and less bullying in Openreach and BT
I work in telecoms, but the telecoms is a side part of the business. We have iPads, and our company has their own app “store” where all the apps we need are on there. For large corporate stuff apple clearly work with the companies and get a solution to fit their needs. This is obviously what BT have done, although on a much larger scale for what I use mine for. iOS is very quick with no hang ups like android devices I’ve had in the past so I can see why BT have gone for them.
Still on an iphone7 myself
The latest iPhones for the next few weeks and then they’ll have the old model.
Just like every other figure management manipulated to read positive. The 30,000 iPhone have probably been issued to the mass of new engineers the company have recruit therefore they would be able to complete more jobs on paper with so many more “engineers”. Got to love stats that put a spin on the truth.
Its all a con, I work here and nothing is what it seems.
Whats does this all mean?
I suspect that the ability to make calls or send SMS has been blocked…because none of our customers ever get an courtesy call to advise that the OpenReach engineer cannot fulfil the appointment – they simply don’t turn up, leaving the customer to hang around waiting pointlessly. But the app that allows the engineer to incorrectly mark the appointment as chargeable due to “Customer not ready” works flawlessly.
Every time I get an engineer they phone me and will also sometimes text me. It’s definitely enabled.