Openreach, in partnership with Google Cloud, is planning to accelerate its sustainability and connectivity goals, deploying advanced artificial intelligence (AI) and data science technologies.
A wholly owned and independent subsidiary of the BT Group, Openreach said its infrastructure is already becoming the backbone of Britain’s digital economy, supporting everything from smart farming and sustainable transport to remote working and virtual healthcare.
Employing around 27,000 people, it’s aiming to make its full-fibre network available to as many as 30 million premises in all corners of the UK by the end of the decade, and has invested £15bn to build a new infrastructure to 25 million homes and businesses by the end of 2026.
In addition, Openreach claims to be building its new network to connect customers faster and further than any other provider in the UK, reaching an average of 85,000 new premises every week. In total, more than 3,500 UK towns, cities, boroughs, villages and hamlets have so far been included in the build programme, with others being reached through publicly funded partnerships.
With its 24,000-van fleet of vehicles – said to be the second-largest in the UK – covering almost 200 million miles each year, Openreach has migrated its fleet telematics data to Google Cloud to drive what it hopes will be “meaningful” sustainability and efficiency gains. By applying advanced geoanalytics, these initiatives are already cutting emissions and unnecessary mileage, while also generating millions of pounds in annual savings for its operations nationwide.
Specifically Openreach is using Google Cloud’s Vertex AI and BigQuery to implement key initiatives to reduce its carbon footprint, improve operational efficiency and enable faster broadband installations for customers.
Through BigQuery geoanalytics capabilities, Openreach believes it can accelerate its transition to electric vehicles (EVs) by being able to identify where electric vans can replace diesel vehicles most effectively, based on real-world usage, routes and charging availability. Openreach says its cloud-based fleet data has helped roll out EVs at a significantly faster rate, with those extra EVs taking approximately 10,000 tonnes of CO2e off the road every year.
Other advantages in the deployment are said to include reduced mileage and emissions, and improved fleet availability and efficiency. That is, Openreach can pinpoint the root causes of idling and excessive travel to reduce fuel consumption, particularly in clean air zones, and can minimise “vehicle off road” time to ensure the right vehicles are available where they’re needed most. The broadband provider also feels it can transform data into actionable insights to identify potential faults, creating a safer and more reliable fleet.
In another part of its improvement plans, Openreach has been able to build a digital replica/twin of UK transportation corridors using Vertex AI. This platform integrates the data of 35 million homes and businesses with national road, rail and waterway networks, and its existing broadband infrastructure. This allows planners to visualise exactly where full-fibre can be extended, identifying eligible homes and businesses. This is said to result in enabling a smarter, more sustainable expansion of Openreach’s full-fibre network.
Openreach is also using Gemini Enterprise, Google Cloud’s agent orchestration platform, to make its cloud engineering more efficient. The platform enables data engineers to automatically convert complex legacy queries into clean, production-ready code for BigQuery. By handling these repetitive tasks, Openreach says it has already reduced time-to-insight by upwards of 50%, allowing engineers to prioritise building new services over manual code maintenance.
“As the builder of the UK’s largest broadband network and operator of the country’s second-largest commercial vehicle fleet, we take our responsibilities seriously,” said James Tappenden, managing director of fibre first and shared services at Openreach. “By applying Google Cloud’s technologies to real operational challenges, we’re seeing practical, measurable benefits – from connecting more families to gigabit broadband faster, to cutting vehicle emissions across our workforce.”
Maureen Costello, vice-president of UKI and SSA at Google Cloud, added: “By harnessing the power of AI, and empowering its engineering teams with Gemini Enterprise, Openreach isn’t just visualising data; it is using it to make real-world changes that benefit the British public and the environment. We are proud to support Openreach’s journey toward a more connected and sustainable future.”
