Openreach taps Google AI to speed fibre rollout, cut emissions

By Sam Tabahriti

LONDON, ‌March 25 (Reuters) - ​Openreach ​has expanded its partnership with Google Cloud to use artificial intelligence to speed ‌up fibre broadband construction and cut emissions ⁠from one of Britain's largest commercial vehicle fleets, the ‌BT-owned network operator said ‌on Wednesday.

Openreach, which runs the country's biggest broadband network, said the partnership, first reported by Reuters, ​uses Alphabet-owned Google's data tools to analyse routes, idling and fault patterns across its ⁠24,000-van fleet, which covers almost 200 million miles (322 million km) a ​year.

"By applying Google Cloud's technologies to real operational challenges, we're seeing practical, measurable benefits," ​James Tappenden, a managing ‌director at Openreach, said.

The company said the system was already reducing unnecessary travel, ⁠cutting fuel use and supporting a faster shift to electric vehicles - a move it said that had ⁠removed around 10,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent annually.

The network ​builder said it was also using Google's AI models to map 35 million homes and national transport corridors, allowing ‌planners to identify where full-fibre lines can be installed more quickly.

Openreach is ‌investing 15 billion pounds ($20.1 billion) to roll out ⁠its fibre network to ‌25 million premises ​by the end of 2026.

($1 = 0.7459 pounds)

(Reporting by Sam Tabahriti; Editing by Alex ‌Richardson)

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