Openreach puts connected technology across 23,000 vehicles

Two Openreach vans in front of a Smartcharge station.

Openreach is introducing Geotab connected-vehicle technology across more than 23,000 cars and vans, making it one of the larger telematics deployments in the UK.

An early-adopter programme is already under way, with volunteer engineers testing the technology before wider deployment. Geotab says the data will be used to improve driver safety, monitor vehicle performance and identify maintenance issues before they become breakdowns.

For fleet managers, the useful lesson is how several fleet priorities can be brought together through the same data.

Telematics should increasingly do more than report location and mileage. The strongest systems can support road-risk management, maintenance planning, vehicle utilisation and sustainability at the same time.

Managers reviewing existing platforms should ask whether vehicle data is actually triggering action.

Can potential faults be identified earlier? Can unsafe behaviour be prioritised? Can underused vehicles be spotted without another standalone system?

Openreach’s scale is unusual, but the principle applies to much smaller fleets: connected-vehicle data becomes more valuable when it supports operational decisions rather than simply producing reports.

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