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Uplands Update – Openreach service changes

As an Internet and Fixedline provider we use Openreach Infrastructure and Engineers to support and deliver some of our services.

During this uncertain time, as we do rely on third-party suppliers such as Openreach we are unable to guarantee the Business As Usual delivery of services carried out by them.

On the 24^th March 2020 Openreach announced changes to their service delivery due to COVID-19.

This key change being that Openreach will not complete works or installations that require a customer site visit. But exceptions will be made for “vulnerable” users such as the elderly.

It is likely that the recommencement of these services will not take place until at least the 1^{st of} June.

Openreach released the following statement:

“We know that what Openreach does is critical and connecting people has never been more important. That’s why many of our roles have been given ‘key worker’ status.

That said, the safety of our people and the public comes first and, based on the new guidance, we’re now prioritising essential work.

That means we’re focussing on the repair and maintenance of connections that support critical national infrastructure, essential public services, vulnerable customers and those without service. And our CP customers are helping us to identify and prioritise these groups.

We’ve also advised our engineers to avoid entering customer premises. A large amount of our work we do can be completed outside, and we can often fix problems without entering a customer’s property – so we’re advising them not to complete any work inside a property unless it would leave a vulnerable customer with no form of connection, and it’s not possible to provide one by any other means”

If you require telephony or internet connectivity please contact us as we have alternative technology available to overcome this.