BT-owned broadband infrastructure business Openreach has started removing BT's logo from its vans as the first step in its break away from the telecoms firm. However, it's likely to take a long time to remove all BT branding from Openreach's vehicles and other materials, with the company saying it will take until 2021 before all of its 22,000 vehicles are in the clear.
The announcement was made by the OpenreachGB account on Twitter with the caption "First look at our new van design!" alongside a gif of one of its new, plain branded vans driving around the country.
The tweet was supported by a letter sent out to Openreach customers, going into a little more detail about the changes afoot and why it's decided to start the update a little earlier than Ofcom's deadline.
"We're removing the BT' element from the Openreach logo," Clive Selly, chief executive of Openreach wrote. "This is a visual sign to reflect how we deal with everyone on equal terms. We are committed to delivering the highest standards to everyone and we're doing this well ahead of Ofcom's timeframe as we feel the re-brand is an important step in building trust with you and our stakeholders."
He added that the rebrand is "a simple and pragmatic step" that will allow Openreach to focus on its core business, providing the infrastructure underpinning a range of broadband services.
"The move reaffirms our commitment to treating all communications provider (CP) customers equally," Openreach told City AM in a statement.
BT agreed to remove its branding from Openreach's marketing in March, when the regulator told the telecoms business it needed to split from the infrastructure company as it didn't just provide services to BT, but Sky, TalkTalk, Vodafone and a range of other telecoms organisations too.
Main image credit: Openreach
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