News - 10 - Mobile News

Half UK population unaware of 3G switch off

Half the UK population is unaware of the imending 3G network switch off according to an Opinium survey sample of 2,000 UK adults last December, Respondents were asked: ‘In 2023 mobile providers will start to switch off their 3G networks to focus on 4G and 5G. Were you aware of this before today? Fifty one

Apple’s new $3,500 mixed reality headset launches early next year in USA only

Apple will early next year start selling its first mixed-reality product, the Vision Pro. But it will only be available in the USA and cost $3,499.

Emporia swings golf partnership with East Anglian club

Emporia has done a deal with East Anglian golf club Stoke by Nayland to sell its senior-friendly smartphones to players who can use them to enter scores.

Russians accuse Apple of colluding with NSA to infect iPhones with malicious code to eavesdrop communications

The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), has accused Apple of colluding with the USA’s top spy agency, the NSA, to infect iPhones with malicious code to eavesdrop on calls of diplomats and other people of interest.

Edinburgh smartphone users hit hardest by loss of signal says Opensignal

Edinburgh is the worst city for losing mobile signal and more than 14 per cent of UK smartphone users get average download speeds below 10Mb according to an analysis by Opensignal, which provides network data from billions of measuring points. Opensignal’s latest analysis states most people lose mobile signal for one per cent of the

Currys adds Vodafone broadband products to its comms range

Currys will now be selling Vodafone broadband in its 300-plus stores in addition to Vodafone’s mobile products.

HMD Global brings out £65 flip phone on resurgence of demand for “dumb” phones.

HMD Global has today launched two £65 Nokia-branded 2660 Flip ‘dumb’ phones available in pink and green available direct.

Vodafone to help hundreds of sports charity groups with connectivity solutions

Vodafone has partnered partnership with sport charity Sported to offer free connectivity, digital skills training and grants under a new scheme called Sports.connected.

Specialist 3PL Solutions by Eurostar Logistics

ADVERTISING FEATURE Empowering the UK Mobile Phone and Consumer Electronics Industry with Specialist 3PL Solutions By Eurostar Logistics business development director and Eurostar Global Electronics head of e-commerce Dave Copestake. Introduction In the fast-paced and competitive landscape of the UK mobile phone and consumer electronics industry, efficient supply chain management and seamless product delivery

BT launches UK’s first 5G-enabled interactive simulation experience

BT has partnered with interactive immersive learning spaces provider Immersive Interactive to supply business and public sector clients with 5G-enabled simulations of real-world environments in an internal or external room, or mobile unit.

US court dismisses Ericsson shareholders’ bid to hold directors responsible for share price drop in wake of ISIS bribes scandal

Ericsson shareholders have failed in their bid to sue Ericsson’s CEO and board members over the scandal of its payment of bribes to ISIS terrorists in 2019 which caused its stock to drop by a third. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York has dismissed the securities litigation brought by certain

BT will shut down Plusnet Mobile to consolidate the EE brand

Bare bones BT Group MVNO Plusnet Mobile is shutting down over the coming months with customers being offered a 30-day SIM for £8 a month to switch to EE. Pusnet’s fixed broadband customers are unaffected. Plusnet Mobile sold just SIM-only plans. It is closing down so that BT’s mobile offerings are all consolidated with EE.

Ofcom green lights Openreach to undercut alternative networks full fibre prices

In a blow to alternative network providers, Ofcom has allowed Openreach to sell its Equinox 2 full-fibre services at lower prices to retail providers.

Emporia Channel Islands retail partnership is a Sure thing

emporia Telecom, has a signed a retail partnership with Channel Islands network operator Sure to sell its devices in Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man.

Twelfth Sim Local airport store takes off in Vienna

Sim Local, which clams to be the largest seller of SIM cards in the UK travel market, has opened its newest store at Vienna Airport. The store is Sim Local’s 12th, and will provide a choice of local SIM cards from Vienna networks eety, Drei (Three) and Lyca to international travellers and a range of

A million people give up broadband as cost-of-living crisis bites

A million people disconnected their broadband in the last year because they couldn’t afford it according to research from charity Citizen’s Advice’s survey of 6,000 adults and 243 respondents who receive Universal Credit.

Three has quickest customer call waiting times says Ofcom report

Three has the best customer service average response times of just 47 seconds according to Ofcom’s latest annual customer service report

BT Group to cut up to 55,000 jobs by 2030 for a “leaner business with a brighter future”

BT Group will cut up to 55,000 jobs by 2030 to reduce the current 130,000 number of employees to between 75,000 and 90,000. “The end of the 2020’s BT Group will reply on a much smaller workforce and a significantly reduced cost base. New BT Group will be a leaner business with a brighter future”,

Talk Talk and CityFibre team up to offer range of Ethernet services to wholesale partners

TalkTalk and CityFibre have agreed a strategic partnership to accelerate their B2B Ethernet offering to wholesale partners.

Lyca Mobile launches UK eSIM service

Lyca Mobile, which claims to be the world’s largest MVNO, has launched an eSIM service in the UK.

Vodafone Group will slash 11,000 jobs over the next three years as business is ‘rebalanced’

Vodafone Group plans to axe 11,000 jobs over the next three years as new CEO Margherita Della Valle announces a “rebalancing” of the of the global company

Wizz Air to sell eSIM Go data packages directly from its app

Hungary airline Wizz Air has partnered with eSIM Go to allow Wizz Air passengers to buy and activate eSIMS to access mobile data services in more than 150 countries

Virgin Media O2’s 50th Shared Rural Network site brings 4G coverage to Highlands village

Virgin Media O2 has commissioned its 50th site as part of the £1 billion Shared Rural Network (SRN) programme.

Cyberstalkers Using New Windows Feature to Spy on iPhones

A Windows app called Phone Link now on iOS may have created a backdoor for cyberstalkers to target iPhones.

Three to stock £1,749 Google Pixel Fold next month

Three has confirmed it will soon be stocking the £1,749 Google Pixel Fold announced yesterday.

West Midlands leads UK 5G coverage says Umlaut report.

The West Midlands Combined Authority is the best-connected region for 5G according to a mobile coverage study from telecoms analyst Umlaut. The report analyses 5G coverage across the UK’s Combined Authority areas and shows two-thirds of locations in the region can get 5G from at least one network operator. This is 300 per cent coverage

New £1,399 Sony Xperia 1V emulates features of Sony’s dedicated cameras

Xperia 1V flagship available in late June for £1.299 to £1,399.

Samsung leads 6G research and development says uSwitch

Samsung spent $2.24 billion on 6G research and development in 2021

$10 billion global roaming revenue could take a hit from eSIM growth- Juniper

Global roaming data revenue to reach $10 billion next year but eSIMs could curtail income.

Virgin Media O2 added 297,000 mobile connections in Q1

Virgin Media O2 added 297,000 mobile connections during the first three months of the year. This includes connections from wholesale customers such as Sky Mobile.

Huawei reveals £2,000 X3 folding phone and £1,400 P60 Pro

Huawei has launched a £2,000 flagship smartphone called the Mate X3 claimed to be the world’s slimmest and lightest large-screen foldable smartphone”

Italian network TIM gets €360 million loan package from European Investment Bank

Money will help expand 5G mobile coverage across Italy by the end of 2025

Vodafone 3G switch off starts next month in Hull, Oxford and London

2G network remains in place for voice and texts

Three Q1 revenue up five per cent but slight rise in monthly contract churn

Three’s revenue Q1 revenue grew by five per cent to £610m, while margin increased by seven per cent to £389m according to figures released today,

Networks furious at Virgin Media O2 “misleading and confusing” accusations that customers are overpaying.

Vodafone, Three and BT have accused Virgin Media O2 of confusing customers with “misleading and incorrect information and chasing publicity with sensationalist headlines”.

Networks remind new councillors of the need for effective connectivity strategies

Mobile network operators are urging newly-elected local councillors to put digital policy and connectivity strategies high on their agenda as they start their new terms. “We congratulate all newly and re-elected councillors in England’s local elections and are encouraging every councillor to actively support our ongoing campaign to fund and roll out local Digital Champions”

Ex-Assurant Europe CEO to head Likewize development into new global markets

Former Assurant Europe CEO Andy Morris has joined Likewize to run its global strategy and develop new markets in device protection, repair, warranty and related solutions

Ex-Assurant CEO to head Likewize development into new global markets

Former Assurant CEO Andy Morris has joined Likewize to run its global strategy and develop new markets in device protection, repair, warranty and related solutions

Ericsson Germany MD to also run Customer service Unit for Western Europe

Ericsson’s Germany managing director Daniel Leimbach has also taken the role of Head of the Customer Unit Western Europe for customers in Germany, the Netherlands & Switzerland. The three countries have 3.300 Ericsson employees supporting key customers Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, Telefónica, Swisscom, KPN and T-Mobile Netherlands. His task will be to turn Ericsson innovations

Used Samsung models are the top refurbished phones to buy – uSwitch

The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is the highest-rated refurbished mobile phone according to a study by Uswitch.com mobiles which analysed popular mobile phones that have been discontinued in the last two years.

New Nokia XR21 rugged phone comes with three years’ warranty

HMD Global, has brought out a new Nokia rugged smartphone as a successor to the original Nokia 3310 rugged phone. The new XR21 will come with four years of monthly security updates, three years of OS upgrades, three years of warranty and a one-year screen replacement guarantee The XR21 is claimed to withstand a soaking

Brand image more important than price for many contract customers claims Lyca Mobile

Misplaced loyalty means many consumers are willing to pay more to be on a top-tier mobile network rather than a lesser-known MVNO.

Virgin Media O2 bets on ex-William Hill CEO to improve customer experience

Former William Hill CEO Ulrik Bengtsson has joined Virgin Media O2 as chief operating officer. He replaces Jeff Dodds who has taken a CEO position at another company and will leave in the summer.

700 smartphone models now use fingerprint recognition technology

Seven hundred smartphone models now use fingerprint recognition according to biometrics company, Fingerprint Cards AB.

AO joins the refurbished revolution

AO is to sell refurbished ‘as new’ mobile phones through its Mobile Phones Direct brand.

Apple buyer jailed three years for stealing $17 million from Apple in massive parts and warrantee repair scam

Dhirendra Prasad stole parts faked invoices and took bribes from crooked Apple vendors. Must repay $19 million to Apple and IRS

Margherita Della Valle appointed Vodafone Group CEO full time after caretaker role

Interim CEO lands top job on a full-time basis following internal and external search for a replacement for Nick Read

Mike Short announced as chair of advisory board of £10 million telecoms innovation forum established to boost R&D and telecoms ecosystem

Government reveals advisory board and action plan for telecoms industry forum to accelerate R&D investment, collaboration and commercialisation of emerging technologies