Ericsson’s Head of Field Services Organisation (FSO), Adam Gordon, has been recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for safely providing continued telecommunications connectivity during COVID-19.
Adam, who led his team to maintain critical connectivity across the UK during the global pandemic, has been appointed MBE alongside other key workers named on the 2020 list.
In extremely challenging times for the UK, when the government introduced social distancing, home working and lockdown measures, the country relied on telecommunications networks to keep families, friends and businesses connected.
People depended on networks to make video calls with loved ones, checked the news online, ordered supplies or simply had fun on social media. The majority of UK businesses switched to remote working overnight, all thanks to telecommunication networks.
But keeping mobile networks running during the virus outbreak was a challenging job, delivered by more than 400 Ericsson field engineers and operatives.
During the peak of the crisis, Ericsson’s field service professionals answered the call for increasing demand for voice and data services by working day and night to maintain up to 18,000 mobile network sites.
Adam was the leader of that frontline response from telecommunications, working tirelessly to ensure the safety and wellbeing of his team, while planning the extension of network capacity for millions of homes and businesses through a series of upgrades to radio towers and antennae in both rural and urban areas.
On receiving the recognition in the Queen’s Honours, Adam commented:
“I am truly humbled by this appointment. This is a recognition of Ericsson’s entire field services team in the UK more than me personally, and it also reflects the vital role our telecommunications infrastructure plays in our lives today. The coronavirus certainly provided the team with unprecedented challenges, but I’m immensely proud of our response in the field and the role we’ve collectively played in keeping UK networks running during such critical periods of disruption.”
With responsibility to maintain telecommunications infrastructure for three out of the four major UK mobile network operators, the Ericsson field team completed more than 350 jobs per day and faced some of the most challenging circumstances ever witnessed in field operations.
From social distancing measures and enhanced risk assessments, to world shortages in protective personal equipment (PPE) and even arson attacks on masts and towers; every FSO individual has gone above and beyond in their duties during the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic.
John Griffin, Head of Ericsson UK & Ireland said:
“This appointment is richly deserved for Adam thanks to his outstanding leadership and the dedication of the entire field services team at Ericsson during the COVID-19 pandemic. Congratulations to him and his team for this recognition. We have worked closely with all our customers throughout this unprecedented challenge to maintain world-class connectivity and we continue to expand capacity and coverage across networks to ensure the UK has a leading telecommunications infrastructure.”
Senior executives from across the telecommunications sector, who offered their support to Ericsson’s #NetworkHeroes during the pandemic, have also praised the efforts of Adam and the entire industry as they worked together to keep Britain connected during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Susan Buttsworth, Chief Operating Officer at Three said:
“With Three carrying over 28% of all UK mobile data, the last seven months have shown the vital importance of Three’s telecoms network in keeping the UK connected. This is only possible through the hard work and dedication of engineers like Adam and our network teams who all work around the clock, to ensure we can work from home and keep in contact with friends and family. We are grateful for their continued dedication as this period of uncertainty continues.“
Howard Watson, Chief Technology and Information Officer at BT, said:
“Telecoms field service engineers have been unsung heroes of the C-19 epidemic, keeping us all connected to what matters the most, every day. I’m delighted that Adam, who supports BT and other operators by performing this vital role, is being recognised for that great work, helping to keep the country online!”
Brendan O’Reilly Chief Technology Officer at O2 said:
“A huge thanks to Adam and all frontline workers involved in helping to keep our network running during this pandemic. This recognition underlines the importance of mobile connectivity and how vital network engineers are in keeping the country connected. That’s why we’re investing in future capacity and upgrading our 4G and 5G services to deliver the best possible service for O2 customers now and in the future.”
