Tracy Westall, chair of Curium Solutions, Department for Transport non-executive director and former TechUK non-executive director is the new chair of digital connectivity and innovation company West Midlands. She takes over from former Giffgaff chairman and co-founder Mark Stansfeld who leaves after four years in the role. West Midlands 5G (WM5G) was the UK’s first

Focus Group has completed its second acquisition within a few weeks with the takeover of Truro-based telco and IT specialist Datasharp . Last month Focus acquired Pinnacle, a Bristol-based cloud communications and mobile specialist. Datasharp’ was established in 1984 and is the oldest business acquired by Focus Group. Its base in Cornwall adds to the

Telefonica’s MVNO giffgaff reckons more than a 100 million unused devices worth a collective £14.1 billion are gathering dust in houses. Guff Gaff’s esearch indicates that, on average, each UK adult possesses at least two unused mobile devices at home, with anotherl two devices having been discarded in the bin. Despite the potential value many

Vodafone Business estimates the slow rollout of standalone 5G is costing small and medium enterprises £8.6 billion a year in potential productivity savings. Standalone 5G networks offer superior coverage, speed, and connectivity compared to non-standalone setups, unlocking advanced services such as augmented reality, autonomous vehicles, and IoT. In its report, titled “Supercharging Small Businesses,” Vodafone

Unified comms provider Focus Group has acquired Bristol cloud communications and mobile specialist Pinnacle to boost Focus’ Southwes market presence and service offerings. Pinnacle has expertise in cross-selling IT, mobile, and fixed-line services, Then two companies believe growth potential that can be enhanced by integrating of Focus Group’s products and expertise. Brian Lodge, Regional Director

HONOR has debuted its flagship HONOR Magic6 Pro and its latest AIPC, the HONOR MagicBook Pro 16, both equipped with HONOR’s platform-level AI. The HONOR Magic6 Pro will be available in Black and Epi Green, priced at £1,100. The PORSCHE DESIGN HONOR Magic V2 RSR is available in Agate Grey, priced at £2,350.  HONOR CEO

The global market for pre-owned smartphones boomed to to 309 million units last year and its expected to reach 431 million units by 2027. So say the latest findings from the Recommerce Barometer, unveiled in collaboration with Vodafone indicating a surge in European interest towards purchasing refurbished smartphones. According to the report inflationary pressures are

Virgin Media O2 has activated its 5G Standalone network in 14 cities promising broader coverage, increased bandwidth, and reduced latency. Recent Samsung Galaxy phones and Sony Xperia devices are supported. ,But iPhone owners will not be able to access the service as Apple hasn’t released the necessary software updates. Cities covered are: Manchester, Liverpool, London,

Tesco Mobile added over 200,000 new pay-monthly subscribers and boosted its market share by 12 per cent last year. The network, which recently renewed its network agreement with Virgin Media O2 for another 10 years. also improved its churn rate and now claims to be the UK’s largest MVNO with 5.5 million customers. Tesco Mobile

BICS and Skylo have teamed up to boost global IoT connectivity using satellites by integratng Skylo’s satellite network with BICS’ IPX infrastructure, enabling direct NB-IoT-to-satellite connections for enterprises. Skylo Technologies is a global NTN service provider based in Mountain View, CA, offering a service that allows smartphone and IoT cellular devices to connect directly over

Virgin Media O2 and its shareholders Liberty Global and Telefónica are to challenge BT Openreach with their own net network company called NetCo to build fibre network infrastructure. The venture is ley to Virgin Media O2’s ambitious plan to upgrade 16 million homes across the UK to full fibre as a major competitor to BT’s

Virgin Media O2 now has 24 million mobile subscribers on both contract and pre-paid deals. The mobile base last year increased by 46,600 contract customers and 211,200 IoT and wholesale connections. The converged fixed-mobile Volt bundles also saw growth, with 1.9 million customers opting for these services. The company invested over £2 billion in 2023

Unicorn fintech Revolut has partnered with 1Global to launch an eSIM service to millions of Revolut customers offering data plans without unexpected roaming charges in over 100 countries. 1Global is the new brand for Truphone, The partnership allows Revolut customers to install the eSIM and top up their data plans in their Revolut app whenever

Virgin Media O2 has partnered with with fraud call prevention company Hiya to give the network’s customers free AI-powered spam-fighting tools and advanced caller identification services across its network to protect against fraud. The initiative uses Hiya’s Adaptive AI technology to flag suspected spam calls or and block fraudulent ones, by preempting potential fraud before

Likewize and airport experience company DragonPass have teamed up to offer Likewize’s device insurance and support services to its members. The collaboration is aimed at providing travellers with tech support and travel benefits in one package, accessed via digital devices. Likewize customers will now have access to over 700 airport lounges worldwide and other DragonPass

Mobile News’ Circular Summit conference held last November has facilitated the establishment of a UK Circular Standards Committee to oversee agreed standards of quality for the sale of used devices. Leading figures from VMO2, GiffGaff, EE, Vodafone, Three, PhoneCheck, eBay, BackMarket, CCS Insights, Currys, and Music Magpie have already joined the committee,following a presentation at Circular

GK Telecom MD Ravi Navaratnam has been awarded the UK Business Leader Award for Best Business Leader in Marketing and Advertising for 2024 in the UK Business Awards This award acknowledges individuals in the marketing and advertising sector who have made notable contributions through innovation and effective strategies. Navaratnam was selected for helping to improve

Virgin Media O2 and Tesco Plc have renewed their Tesco Mobile joint venture for another 10 years to continue the partnership which has been in place for 20 years. Tesco Mobile now has a customer base of over 5.5 million users. Lutz Schüler, CEO of Virgin Media O2, commented “ “We have enjoyed great success

The Competition and Markets Authority wlll soon begin the first phase of its probe into the planned merger of Vodafone and Three. Ahmed Essam, CEO of Vodafone UK?, said: “We have formally submitted our Merger Notice to the CMA, having worked with them closely through the pre-notification process. “We look forward to continuing the constructive

OPPO and Nokia have settled their legal dispute over the alleged unauthorised use of unlicensed 5G patents by OPPO. The two companies have agreed to a global patent cross-license agreement, encompassing standard-essential patents in 5G and other cellular communication technologies. As a result of this agreement, all pending litigation in various jurisdictions will be resolved.

London’s skyline was lit up by a huge hovering spaceship last evening made up of hundreds of illuminated drones. More than 550 drones and took an awestruck audience on a journey through the solar system with a series of colourful celestial scenes above Canary Wharf. The mysterious spectacle wasorchestrated by Samsung to celebrate the landing

Samsung has launched the new Galaxy S24 Ultra,Galaxy S24 Plus and S24 with Snapdragon’s 8 Gen 3 Mobile Platform chip. This integrates Galaxy AI with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy said to offer improved performance and energy efficiency. Chris Patrick, Senior Vice President and General Manager of mobile handset at Qualcomm Technologies said

International mobile comms connectivity provider Cellhire has appointed former Vodafone IoT sales chief Tony Guerion as its new CEO. Guerion has more than 27 years of experience in the communications industry. He joined Vodafone in 2010 and become Global Head of Sales for IoT in 2016. Cellhire provides mobile communications, M2M/IoT services and data connectivity

Focus Group has acquired RPM Communications which sells cloud-based telephony to the healthcare sector. The move bolsters the growth of Focus’ specialist healthcare division Think Healthcare which is an approved supplier to NHS RPM Communications and is also a preferred supplier to NHS England. “When the opportunity arose to further enhance our capabilities and bolster