Arqiva makes connections on an epic scale

Have you ever wondered what powers the flow of data and content between service providers and the connected devices we rely on every day—like radio, televisions, and smart meters?

UK-based Arqiva builds and manages the critical digital networks that help broadcasters and utilities connect with their customers worldwide. Their secure infrastructure delivers TV, radio, and essential services reliably and responsibly, reaching millions of people every day.

In the UK alone, Arqiva provides TV services to 98.5% of the population, while its smart metering networks capture hundreds of millions of data points every day, helping consumers use less gas, electricity, and water.

Agents have a single view of every customer interaction in Customer Service Management

Arqiva supports a wide range of customers with very different needs—from broadcasters who need instant connectivity to utilities managing networks of sensors and smart meters. Field operations have evolved from multiple, separate workflows to a more unified approach. Customer service processes have been simplified, enabling teams to collaborate seamlessly and provide consistent support without relying on informal connections.

Arqiva now manages all customer relationships in one place with the ServiceNow AI Platform, providing a consistent view across its entire product and service portfolio. “Our ultimate goal is one unified system and platform of work, with every aspect of the customer journey—sales, service, finance—all managed in ServiceNow, providing a single control tower view,” explains Arqiva Enterprise Architect, Neil Dauncey.

Now, data from customer service interactions, key business workflows like case triage and workforce scheduling, and AI comes together in one platform to improve customer experiences and staff capabilities.

“Delivering a consistent, end-to-end service is key to how we support our customers,” explains Neil. “ServiceNow has been transformative—it’s enabled faster access to information and helped us create a more intuitive experience.”

Case summarization eliminates hours of research and calls thanks to Gen AI

Arqiva’s customers increasingly manage support issues themselves through the customer portal, where they can track their requests in real time and see their full history of interactions.

Now Assist for CSM automatically creates case resolution and summary notes and shares them with customers—saving teams hours of manual work while delivering more consistent, professional communications.

“Now Assist has created a huge improvement in the consistency of these notes and the quality of the customer experience,” explains Director of Enablement, Ruth Kirby. “Case summarization provides a succinct account of complex events and activities, reducing the number of hours of research and phone calls to busy operations centers.”

With cases handled this way, the time and money saved adds up quickly. “Agentic AI will soon be doing many tasks autonomously, for example, identifying regular events like power failures and automatically creating the incident and initiating the appropriate response,” explains Neil.

While Arqiva uses this data to improve its own operations, its customers can also import it into their systems for deeper analysis. For Arqiva’s customers using ServiceNow for its core platform, the telecommunications company now directly connects its own ServiceNow instance with theirs—automating data sharing and removing the need for manual data entry. This saves time and reduces costs for everyone involved. “ServiceNow has such excellent integration capabilities—we developed and launched the solution in just four months,” explains Ruth.

Field operations on a single platform leads to 130% improvement in productivity

Skilled field engineers and fast response times are at the heart of Arqiva’s service quality. These teams maintain over one million assets across 1,450 broadcast sites, many in remote locations where they face complex safety and environmental challenges.

Arqiva’s goal is to get an engineer with the right skills and the right equipment on site as quickly as possible. “With ServiceNow CRM, we’ve made huge progress connecting our Field Service Management (FSM), IT Service Management, and Customer Service Management which are all connected to our configuration management database (CMDB), providing a digital representation of our network,” asserts Ruth.

Now, when an incident occurs, it's instantly assigned to the nearest engineer with the right skills. On site, the engineer manages the operation end to end using the app, scanning the asset’s barcode to access details, viewing an inventory of equipment and spare parts required for the job, and placing an order. Thanks to seamless links with Arqiva’s logistics process, parts are delivered to locations nearest the job site, eliminating long trips to supply depots.

For engineers with multiple jobs, ServiceNow GenAI helps coordinate the most efficient route based on location and priority, combining routine maintenance with urgent repairs, while FSM lets them file reports directly on the platform. “Previously many of these tasks would require multiple phone calls. Now, everything is automated in the FSM agent app,” explains Ruth. “Repairs happen faster and engineers fulfill more appointments each day.”

Over two years, the volume of completed tasks has more than doubled, making engineers significantly more productive. “We’ve made huge strides and there is great potential to add more FSM features and functionality into our field operations,” says Neil.

“Soon, Now Assist for CSM will produce and summarize knowledge articles, using historic information to assist an engineer facing an unfamiliar task. Our challenge is to capture better data; that in turn allows Now Assist to produce more valuable summarizations.”

Next, Arqiva is exploring an AI-driven contract marketplace, where suppliers can bid for on-site work packages. Now Assist will create bids automatically and integrate winning suppliers into Arqiva’s project system using Strategic Portfolio Management.

One platform to sell, fulfill, and service

Arqiva will soon launch Sales and Order Management, starting with utilities customers that order large numbers of devices. As a leader in UK water metering, Arqiva wants to create a “complete consumer grade experience on the ServiceNow platform,” according to Neil.

Previously, customers submitted orders by phone, email, or spreadsheet. Now, Arqiva is building a simple online experience, where customers can place orders and track progress—on a single platform. “They will see that the order has gone to the supplier and review delivery schedules, giving them control and the confidence that everything is in place,” explains Neil.

“We will use our Field Service Management platform and workforce to maintain water metering infrastructure and technology throughout its lifecycle; all tracked in our CMDB.

“The time and cost efficiencies, together with the productivity gains, are game-changing and will save a precious natural resource in the process.”