{"id":32049,"date":"2022-08-25T10:17:34","date_gmt":"2022-08-25T09:17:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/?p=32049"},"modified":"2022-08-25T11:32:13","modified_gmt":"2022-08-25T10:32:13","slug":"openreach-deploy-16000-apple-iphones-to-boost-uk-fibre-engineers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2022\/08\/openreach-deploy-16000-apple-iphones-to-boost-uk-fibre-engineers.html","title":{"rendered":"Openreach Deploy 30,000 Apple iPhones to Boost UK Fibre Engineers UPDATE"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a small but interesting update, Openreach<\/a> (BT<\/a>) has revealed that – as part of their partnership with Apple – over 30,000 of their engineers now have the “latest<\/em>” 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).<\/p>\n

The post on LinkedIn<\/a> 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<\/a>’s inner circle.<\/p>\n

As Openreach<\/a>’s Chief Technology and Information Officer, Colin Lees<\/strong>, 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<\/em>.”<\/p>\n

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<\/a> signal).<\/p>\n

Apple has a case study page<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n