The architects of G-Cloud, the UK public sector procurement framework for information technology services that use cloud computing, are calling on government, departments, the Government Digital Service (GDS), buyers and sellers to do more to encourage its adoption four years after its initial launch.
BT Group
BT has agreed to buy EE, the UKs largest mobile phone network, in a cash and shares deal worth £12.5 billion. The deal, which BT said would create the UK's leading communications provider, will be partly financed by a £1 billion share issue.
Although nearly half of UK consumers (43%) use a smartphone banking app, and more than a third (34%) are using an app at least one a week, new research shows that, of the generation of mobile apps currently available from five leading UK banks, there is considerable room for improvement.
Flipboard has announced that it is adding Topics support for UK and Indian users of the application. Originally introduced in October, 2014, Flipboard Topics allow users to easily follow news and views from hundreds of sources that are available on the application.
Mobile network Three is reportedly set to acquire its rival O2 for more than £10bn in cash. Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing is set to become one of the biggest foreign investors in the UK when his Hutchison Whampoa conglomerate acquires the O2 network from its Spanish owner Telefónica.
Sky and Talk Talk are the latest apparent bidders to join the race acquire O2 from Telefonica. Talks between the Spanish telecoms firm and Sky and Talk Talk are said to be taking place, according to reports, just days after it was revealed China’s Hutchison Whampoa, the owner mobile network Three, was revealed to be in the running.
Tesco has become the first major UK retailer to launch an app for Google Glass. The new app allows shoppers to browse goods, view nutritional information and add items to the basket and is voice activated like the rest of the Glass experience.
BT Group
BT has announced that, further to its statement on 24 November 2014, it has entered into an exclusivity agreement with Deutsche Telekom and Orange in relation to BTs possible acquisition of all of their UK mobile business, EE. The period of exclusivity will last several weeks allowing BT to complete its due diligence and for negotiations on a definitive agreement to be conclude
EE
EE today switched on its 4G+ network in central London. The next step in 4G technology – also known as LTE-Advanced – will give customers access to one of the fastest networks in the world, delivering real world mobile data speeds of 150Mbps to a smartphone.
A man is in a serious condition in hospital after being stabbed in the neck at an event attended by singer Jessie J. Police were called to the event hosted by Rim at Bankside Vaults nightclub in Southwark, Central London, shortly after midnight.