Vodafone everyone.connected sims
Vodafone has launched charities.connected, an initiative giving any charity in the UK the opportunity to apply for free connectivity to help the individuals and families it supports get online and improve its own digital capability.
BT EE
EE is launching a new range of Pay As You Go (PAYG) mobile packs tomorrow, which will start from just £5 and give users more calling minutes and a bigger 4G data allowance.
Adam Crozier
Adam Crozier will succeed Jan du Plessis as Chairman of BT Group. Adam will join the Board as an independent non-executive director and Chairman Designate with effect from 1 November 2021 and will become Chairman with effect from 1 December 2021
Concert
A new charity initiative, Concerts for Carers, has launched today, with the support of founding partner O2, to provide NHS staff and paid Care workers access to free tickets to live events all across the UK as a means of promoting their mental health and wellbeing.
EE Phone Repair
iPhone customers who take out Damage Cover or Full Cover insurance from EE will now have AppleCare Services included with Apple-certified device repairs where possible.
Security
With the number and impact of cyber attacks continuing to increase rapidly, BT has taken a multi-million pound stake in Silicon Valley cyber risk management firm Safe Security, underlining its ambition to target growth in the sector, the company said on Wednesday.
Cybersecutity
The UK Cyber Security Council – the self-regulatory body for the cyber security education and skills sector – today announced that its application for charitable status has been approved by the Charity Commission
Cybersecutity
The UK Cyber Security Council – the self-regulatory body for the cyber security education and skills sector – today issued a rallying call for industries to recommit to investment in cyber security skills development as they transition back to regular working practices following the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
OpenRAN
Vodafone and Mavenir are working on a small cell solution, based on OpenRAN technology, to provide indoor 4G connectivity for business customers. Designed for business customers who occupy medium to large office spaces, the plug-and-play small cell equipment can ensure comprehensive mobile coverage......
Euro 2020 Final EE
EE is zero-rating data across its mobile network this Sunday so football fans don’t miss a moment of the Euro 2020 football final. When it counts, EE and BT Mobile customers, including EE SME customers, will enjoy free data from 6pm-midnight on Sunday 11th July to stay connected, whether that’s to stream the game, message their friends or whatever they choose.
EE
EE is launching three services to keep its mobile customers online, including when their monthly data allowances run out. The network will offer a free Stay Connected service as of 7July 2020, which will allow its pay-monthly customers to keep using the internet for free when they’ve used up their data allowances.
Cambridge-1
NVIDIA has officially launched Cambridge-1, the UK’s most powerful supercomputer, which will enable scientists and healthcare experts to use the powerful combination of AI and simulation to accelerate the digital biology revolution and bolster the country’s world-leading life sciences industry.
Broadband
BT’s social tariff, Home Essentials is now available for customers to buy online. Announced back in April, BT Home Essentials is exclusive to those on Universal Credit and a range of other means-tested benefits, the package offers fibre broadband and calls for £15 a month, saving customers £240 a year compared to an equivalent package.
Emergency Alerts Reading
Back in May of this year, the UK Government announced plans to launch a UK Emergency Alerts warning service. Ahead of introduction a series of public trials were to take place. Following a successful test in East Suffolk on the 25th May 2021, the second test will take place in Reading on the 29th June 2021, 1-2pm.
mce computer vision
mce Systems has unveiled its cosmetic assessment technology for smartphones, which enables users to objectively self-grade their device's value for trade-ins. The feature is now available to Vodafone UK customers through a white label app created by mce, and will be available globally at a later time.
AWS
Amazon has launched AWS Wavelength, an AWS infrastructure that enables enterprises and developers to build ultra-low latency applications that can be delivered via the Vodafone 5G network. Amazon says that by embedding AWS compute and storage services at the edge of 5G networks, “AWS Wavelength enables software developers to serve edge computing use cases like machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), and video and game streaming.”
Digital Identity
Software consultancy Scott Logic has been awarded a new contract to act as implementation and development partner on the Scottish Government's digital identity programme, part of the Scottish Government's Digital Strategy actions to build a suite of common platforms to be adopted across the public sector, transforming government. The commitment is to introduce a digital identity service for users: to develop and establish a trusted and secure service for users to prove who they are, and that they are eligible for a service.
EE Gaming Pitstop
EE has unveiled two Gaming on the Go Pit Stops in 5G locations; one on Brighton seafront and another on Liverpool’s Royal Albert Dock – to celebrate its new Xbox Game Pass Ultimate add-on and to help players re-immerse themselves into the gaming world.
Sachin Jogia
Sachin Jogia has been by appointed by Ofcom as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) after nine years at Amazon, where he is currently the General Manager for Alexa Smart Home International – overseeing development of the company’s voice-activated services. A highly experienced product and technology leader, Sachin has also held senior technology roles at AOL and advertising.com.
Lebara
Lebara has extended their MVNO partnership with Vodafone UK, in a new three-and-a-half-year exclusive deal. Lebara Mobile customers will now be able to access Vodafone’s 5G service and customers will continue to be able to use Vodafone’s 4G network, with new features such as 4G Calling being launched this year.
Vodafone OpenRAN Newbury
Vodafone has increased its investment in the South West, with two locations in Cornwall – Fistral Beach in Newquay and the community of St Keverne on The Lizard – among the first in the UK to benefit from new OpenRAN 4G technology. Vodafone says it has invested across the region to ensure its residents, businesses and visitors have access to the latest mobile technology and improved connectivity.
BT EE
BT has launched a new business unit to serve the millions of UK firms which are either small by design or just starting up. Together with the launch of the UK’s first ‘unbreakable’ Wi-Fi for micro-businesses - which delivers guaranteed coverage across the workplace, full fibre speeds of up to 900Mbps and free tech expert support – the new unit will help the UK’s smallest firms to rebuild and get set for growth.
BT Sport TV Streaming
BT has launched BT TV Box Pro, the TV platform’s most advanced set-top box. The sleek new box is designed to support the next generation of TV viewing, with the features including crystal clear 4K HDR viewing and Dolby Atmos offering a complete immersive experience. BT has also rolled out a new user interface to new and existing BT TV customers giving them more intuitive control.
Vodafone Curve Bike light and GPS tracker
Vodafone has launched the Curve Bike light & GPS tracker. With an ultrabright LED and three light modes that automatically brightens when braking, Curve Bike light & GPS tracker gives cyclists a safer ride no matter what time of day it is. The device combines intelligent lighting with GPS tracking and connection to Vodafone’s global network with a built-in Smart SIM providing assurance that the rider is safer and that the bike is secure.
Amazon Prime Day 2021
Amazon’s annual Prime Day event will be held June 21 and June 22 this year, delivering Prime members over 2 million deals across every category, including fashion, home, beauty, electronics, and more, along with the best in entertainment benefits and never-before-seen exclusives across Prime Video, Amazon Music, Prime Gaming, and more.
Emergency Alerts East Suffolk
The UK Government plans to launch a UK Emergency Alerts warning service. Ahead of introduction a series of public trials will take place, with the first in East Suffolk on the 25th May 2021 where residents will receive a test alert message. Should the tests prove successful the capability will be made available for use across the whole of the UK later this year.
VOXI
VOXI has added video-sharing and entertainment platform TikTok to its Endless Video plans, meaning new and existing customers can now get their hands on unlimited data to stream TikTok, YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, My5, TVPlayer and UKTV Play – from just £15 a month.
Vodafone
Vodafone has launched new business boosting packages featuring tools powered by website creation platform Wix. The business boosting packages will enable small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to create or improve their online presence, reach new customers, and overcome the challenges they face to achieving growth online.
Connected
BT pledged today to increase its fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) target from 20 million to 25 million by December 2026. In the last year Openreach passed a record 2m premises with FTTP and now believes that it has the capability to reach around 4m premises a year.
Realme 8 5G
Realme 8 5G, the third device in the Realme 8 series, has been launched in the UK as the first phone in the UK to be powered by MediaTek Dimensity 700 processor. The Realme 8 5G is also now the cheapest 5G phone available in the UK.
Online Safety Bill
The UK Government has today published its draft Online Safety Bill, granting Ofcom new responsibilities that will help to keep people safe when they are online. Under the draft bill, search services, social media platforms, and other online services that enable user-generated content to be shared between users must mitigate the risk of harm arising from illegal content.
BT Group
BT is planning to develop a brand new, multi-million pound contact centre in Dundee which will become the new home to around 1,000 employees. The new office will be at West Marketgait in the heart of the city centre, close to the waterfront and part of a £1bn regeneration area.
BT Skills for Tomorrow Milestone
BT has reached its original goal of helping 10 million people across the UK to improve their digital skills, five years ahead of schedule. Key to achieving this milestone was the success of BT’s Top Tips on Tech campaign in partnership with ITV, which helped 5.7 million people learn vital new digital skills required during lockdown.
BT Group
BT is working with Cisco to introduce new collaboration tools aimed at helping UK firms to bounce back stronger following the Covid-19 pandemic. With hybrid working models becoming the norm and 87% of employees in the UK hoping for a choice in working location as restrictions ease, BT is making hybrid working easier and more productive for small businesses by adding Cisco Webex to its Cloud Voice solution.
Shared Rural Network
Partnering with the Scottish Government, the Home Office and WHP Telecoms, EE has connected locations, including Tarskavaig (Skye) and Glencripesdale to its high-speed 4G network, with Killilan (Lochalsh) and Polbain (Wester Ross) due to be connected this summer.
Broadband
BT is to launch BT Home Essentials in June, a new social tariff connecting those on low income with affordable fibre broadband and calls. The new low cost tariff comes as BT research reveals that since the pandemic, almost three quarters (74%) of Brits would not find it easy to improve their financial situation without connectivity.
EE Repairs
EE has extended its next day mobile device repair service to 17 stores in the West Midlands as it welcomes customers back to the English high street. The new service comes as research from EE found that 1 in 3 UK consumers cannot go more than a day without their phones.
5G
BT’s mobile business, EE, has finalised new 5G spectrum holdings following the conclusion of the second, assignment stage of Ofcom’s auction and will start to launch some of the new spectrum into the 5G network immediately. EE won 80MHz overall of the 700MHz and 3.6GHz bands that were on offer in the auction.
Samsung TV Plus
Samsung TV Plus has launched, in the Galaxy Store and Google Play Store for select Galaxy smartphones, offering select Galaxy users instant access to 94 free channels with no need for any payments, sign-ups, subscriptions or additional devices.
Connected
Virgin Media has successfully delivered next-generation 2.2Gbps broadband speeds to homes in Southampton and Manchester in real-world trials. The multi-gigabit speeds – around 40 times faster than the local average broadband speeds.
David Hennessy
David Hennessy has been appointed as Chief Technology Officer (CTO). David has been CTO for Three Ireland since 2008 and will now lead a dual role in the Technology and Operations functions across both businesses, responsible for the network and IT systems.
Lawsuit
ValueLicensing is suing Microsoft for £270 million over the the company’s alleged stifling of competition in the software market. ValueLicensing, a certified provider of pre-owned Microsoft software licences based in Derbyshire.