All Openreach articles
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PeoplewatchBT Peoplewatch: stores, service ops, and security reshuffles
April 2026 edition: another veteran networks research Fellow leaves BT; Openreach fills out CX and regional Service Operations teams; bricks-and-mortar stores get a new director; Ian Cheshire lined up for Ofcom chairmanship…
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Analyst BriefingBTwatch: the return of budget mobile?
Analyst Briefing: reports emerge that BT is preparing a consumer reversal, re-entering the no-frills mobile space and re-energising the BT brand. Elsewhere, Business CTO Colin Bannon makes a rare plea for more regulation; and Ofcom opens a compliance investigation…
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PeoplewatchOpenreach veteran takes CEO spot at Lightning Fibre
Openreach’s Bertrand Mazieres moves to fibre challenge to lead “next phase” of strategy to commercialise its network…
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Analyst BriefingBTwatch: security, sovereignty take centre stage
Analyst Briefing: BT is expanding its UK sovereignty push with new services and capacity plans; security also gets a nod via a major leadership change said to enable ‘focus and scale’; and changes in the fibre world mean more subsidised build for Openreach…
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InterviewChelot: wholesale scale is ‘mission impossible’ without nexfibre-Netomnia deal
Interview: “I have a wholesale platform, but I have no wholesale customers”. Jeremy Chelot’s Netomnia hit a structural ceiling, with bowing out the only way to progress the Openreach challenge. Firing back at nexfibre deal critics, he asks for alternatives to his Plan B, deeming consolidation the best route and reflecting on the challenge of leading a business through a sale.
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Analyst BriefingTelefónicawatch: shrinking to grow
Analyst Briefing: Round-up of developments at Spanish incumbent, as the exec team firms up a seventh Hispam country exit in pursuit of Transform & Grow strategic uplift. Read more…
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Analyst BriefingUK Infrawatch: OpenAI infra platform stalls; £1bn altnet haircuts; Gamma growth plans
Latest from the digital infra scene in the UK, including: signs of trouble for UK data centre build plans, investors bite the bullet on altnet valuations, Gamma plans for future as acquisition rumours build, and plenty more…
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Network & InfraOpenreach hoovers up more Project Gigabit deals after altnets pull out
Openreach picks up subsidised build after Freedom Fibre and FullFibre withdraw. Move comes as altnets continue to pull out of Project Gigabit arrangements amidst financial constraints…
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Financial & PerformanceMacquarie takes a hit as it considers KCOM exit
Investment group writes down more than half a billion pounds on Hull-based operator as reports swirl of imminent sale.
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Analyst BriefingBTwatch: turning to AI for legacy migrations, future autonomy
Analyst Briefing: BT’s embrace of AI stretches to network autonomy and engineer scheduling; EE adds a Starlink tie-up to improve ESN emergency comms; and the Group finalises the Scottish WAN migration project…
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OperationsOpenreach onboards AI agents in bid to cut missed appointments
Customer service lead Chris Herbert talks up ‘unified, proactive, AI-powered’ customer engagement strategy, underpinned by NiCE agents.
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Analyst BriefingUK Infrawatch: CityFibre questions nexfibre maths; data centres earn investment boost
Analyst Briefing: Exclusive first interview with CityFibre CEO as altnet and peers prepare for life under new TAR rules; NScale backed for UK growth; Starlink reliance prompts worries; and plenty more…
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PeoplewatchBT Peoplewatch: data and API commercialisation brought under new leadership
March 2026 edition: a wave of end-FY changes sees BT tap Verizon for a Group-level strategy appointment; bring in a new network procurement lead; and move data and API commercialisation under fresh ownership. Significant changes at Consumer and Openreach, while BT alumni pick up exec roles elsewhere…
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Analyst BriefingBTwatch: Openreach gets innovative with fibre tech
Analyst Briefing: As Ofcom lays out its latest regulatory regime and rivals squabble over altnet consolidation, Openreach remains focused on fibre rollout. Deals with Google Cloud and a pilot with Lightsonic put the incumbent’s fibre deployment machine into overdrive, and showcase the potential value-add beyond pure connectivity…
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PeoplewatchDigital Infra Peoplewatch: Equinix picks out CFO; Omers names Europe infra head
March 2026 edition: Equinix selects Olivier Leonetti as finance chief; Omers Infrastructure recruits Luca Lupo to lead European division; UK altnet Airband names ex-AllPoints Fibre chief Jarlath Finnegan as Chair; more…
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M&ALiberty’s Fries dismisses CityFibre ‘sour grapes’ over £2bn nexfibre bulk-up
UK altnet tensions continue to heighten over the competitive implications of planned acquisition of Substantial Group, as Liberty Global CEO hits back at CityFibre over calls for in-depth CMA inquiry.
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Suppliers & SCMOpenreach taps Google Cloud for fleet migration, fibre planning
Suite of Google Cloud platforms and tools support Openreach’s fibre-building machine, ‘optimising’ the EV fleet and streamlining network planning.
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InterviewIrrational and anti-competitive: CityFibre CEO urges CMA scrutiny of nexfibre-Netomnia-VM O2 consolidation play
Exclusive: In his first interview as CEO, Simon Holden unpacks Ofcom’s TAR framework and why the Competition and Markets Authority must intervene in the contentious £2bn nexfibre–Netomnia merger to protect infrastructure competition and prevent re-emergence of duopoly stagnation.
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Public AffairsTAR: Ofcom eyes ‘problematic’ promotions as access review sets regulatory landscape
Telecoms Access Review released, setting the scene for the next five years of regulation in the UK’s fast-shifting fibre market. While not signalling any major change of course, likely pleasing incumbent Openreach, altnet take-up appears to be receiving more attention as a litmus of market health, offering a possible fillip to challengers.
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Analyst BriefingBTwatch: slicing 5G, steering 6G
Analyst Briefing: BT gets to work on 5G network slicing with Ericsson in a bid to leverage the network for B2B customers; while ‘committing’ with Nokia, NVIDIA, and Qualcomm to help shape early 6G thinking…