BT separates engineering arm from retail in rebrand

BT’S Northern Ireland Networks’ engineering division has been “legally separated” from BT Retail and will be renamed Openreach Northern Ireland.

The move will see the department, which builds and maintains the copper and fibre lines that run from telephone exchanges to the vast majority of homes and businesses here, rebrand its fleet of BT vans with Openreach-labelled vehicles while engineers will now wear Openreach uniforms.

The news follows BT’s other voluntary commitments made after Ofcom’s UK-wide Digital Communications Review in 2017.

The newly-named Openreach Northern Ireland, will report to Openreach but still remain part of BT plc.

Mairead Meyer, managing director of the Openreach Northern Ireland team, said: “The decision to move our reporting line into Openreach is a logical one, and we’ll be working together to achieve our shared vision of driving the country’s digital future.”

The news was welcomed by Eric Carson, chairman of Rainbow Communications, the largest independent business telecoms supplier here.

He said: “We hope and expect that this will lead to positive changes within the wider industry which should ultimately benefit the customer.

“Though we have remaining concerns that Openreach is remaining 100% owned by the BT Group, and sits within its existing business structure, this decision to legally separate Openreach in so far that it has its own dedicated board, strategy and governance, gives us confidence that there will be greater transparency about its investments, strategy and plans.”

He added: “Rainbow has been lobbying for the distinct separation of BT Retail, BT Business and Openreach here in Northern Ireland for over 10 years. We’ve seen this as a vital component in delivering a competitive and fair telecoms market throughout the province.”