4G in the UK

It has recently been revealed that EE have reached a milestone! The much anticipated 4G rollout has finally reached its 200th town. Not content with bringing 4G mobile speed to the masses, the town they chose had some significant value, after a report announced that a Welsh street has the worst broadband speed in the while of the UK. EE announced that Rhyl, a quaint seaside town in Wales, would be the 200th to receive the signal.

Only 18 months after launching the service in the UK, EE is now covers a whopping 72% of the UK

The CEO made a statement stating "We now have over two million customers using super fast 4G. That's the fastest rollout and uptake of any technology in Britain, and means that the UK's mobile digital infrastructure is now ahead of many other nations. We're proud to have been the driving force that made that happen, but we won't stop there."

He also added

"Our continued drive to deliver 4G to more of the UK means that our customers have access to by far the biggest network in the country. Hitting this landmark highlights that 4G from EE is available wherever people need it - at home, at work, or enjoying the sunshine on the beach n Rhyl, our 200th town.”

It’s amazing to see how widespread 4G has become over the last year and a half, and it can only mean good things for the UK’s technology infrastructure. Are you using 4G? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Ryan Google+

Have you ever lost a mobile phone?

For the majority of us, loosing a phone is often emotional, our mobiles aren’t just used for communication anymore. We use our phones as digital cameras, chocked full of pictures, videos, music and personal information. So what is the true cost of losing a phone?

A recent study on information on stolen phones, has revealed the cost of losing so much sensitive information. The information on our phones isn’t solely limited to nice memories anymore, now we have banking apps, Paypal, work emails and a whole barrage of information that could be used against us, if it fell into the wrong hands. In the study, only 50% of phones were encrypted, and 90% had a password lock, however, even though those phones had security - 90% of the time the owners email address was identified. 75% of the time it was possible to identify the owner itself, not just an email address.

In 40% of cases, a variety of passwords were recovered from the devices. Dermot Williams, the director of a security company stated that even those who think they have taken sufficient security measures, still aren’t fully covered. A determined attacker who has access to mobile forensic tools may be able to bypass security features such as password locks and encryption. He also added that even though the majority of mobile phone theft is petty crime often done for cash, our mobile security isn’t as secure as we think it is.

The best way of protecting yourself is to have a lock, encryption and also the ability to remotely wipe the device. That way you are protecting yourself, and your information, to the best of your ability.

Ryan Google+

"Mobile Money is the Future" - Find Out More...

Currently, our world is booming in technological advances. Advances that the human race could only have dreamed of 50 years ago - are now in our front rooms, our offices, and our hands. Smart phones are without a doubt one of the most popular pieces of technology at the moment, and the majority of us can’t manage a day without our phones, keeping us constantly connected.

The new contactless payment system which has been rolled out around the UK, allow users to pay for any item under the value of £20. However complaints have been raised with numerous banks that some users are having money taken out of their bank, without their permission, which has caused some controversy over the system. Major banks have responded saying that cases like this are ‘extremely rare.’

However much controversy previous systems have been raising, it seems to be working as similar payment methods are being rolled out across the board. The new system named “PayM” will soon be available for 9 out of 10 current accounts, meaning that users can send contacts on their smart phone money via this method. This new payment system which will be appearing on mobiles will be linked to your online banking, thus preventing the risk of unauthorised money being taken. Hopefully this extra security feature will keep payments safer than before.

Rob Skinner of Paypal UK said “mobile money is the future” and judging by the rapid way that mobile culture is spreading, we would have to be inclined to agree.

O2 Mobile Recycling Reaches 1 Million

02 are one the largest network providers in the UK, providing their service to millions of members up and down the country. As one of the top network providers, having a commitment to a greener future is a commendable action, and 02 are certainly fulfilling that requirement. Having just (this weekend!) reached their 1 million mobile phones recycled target; many other network providers are looking into how they can also take a greener look on their business.

02’s recycle scheme which has now been active since 2009 has now saved 42,000 tonnes of C02. This means that it has only taken less than 5 years to save that amount. To put that statistic in to perspective for you, the same amount of c02 would be produced by 7000 homes in a twelve month period. This is a staggering amount of emissions saved, and it’s great to see proactive steps being taken by someone as large as 02.

According to 02, this hasn’t just been beneficial to the environment. The 02 scheme has also helped to provide funding for various projects up and down the UK, as part of its Think Big Youth program. The funding has gone to projects such as anti-violence campaigns, activity clubs and STEM outreach funding, this has helped so many different people up and down the country.

It’s amazing to see such a big operator giving back in these sorts of ways, and we can only hope that the providers in the UK take note of the great work 02 is putting back into our communities.

3 Scrap 0800 Dialling Charges

Good news for 3 mobile customers this week, as the provider has scrapped all charges when calling premium rate numbers. This means that 0800 numbers are now free of charge when calling from any 3 mobile. Not only that, 3 have lowered the charges to call other premium rate numbers. 3 are the first of the top mobile providers to scrap this fee for their 9 million customers, and as 3 is Britain’s smallest telephone operator, they could pave the way to revolutionising premium rate number charges. Although, considering it’s been estimated that operators make nearly £600 million per year from premium rate numbers; we’re not sure whether other companies will be willing to accept this loss across the board.

 New customers will feel the benefit today; however old customers can opt in, at no extra charge or contract renewal. This comes into effect as Ofcom have announced that from June 2015 providers must make these charges much more clear for their consumers, as a staggering 47% of mobile users have been shocked to receive a phone bill after calling premium rate numbers. Ofcom hopes that in the battle to make things clearer for users, phone companies will properly outline the full charges.

The CEO of 3 made this statement regarding the change ““We asked people what frustrated them most about their mobile bills and confusion around the cost of calling 08 numbers came out top by a big margin.”

3 have really shown their dedication to its customers wants and needs by making this change, and we hope that other providers step forward to match 3’s offer. 

Help the Environment and Save Yourself Cash

As the mobile phone industry booms, more and more people are regularly after the latest handset available on the market. This is great news for mobile phone companies, however what happens to your old phone once you have upgraded your handset? Is it left in a drawer? Or even thrown away?

Recycling your old mobile phone has never been more imperative – not only can you get some cash for your old handset; you can also help the environment one small step at a time.

E-waste, or also known as electronic waste, is quickly becoming a massively talked about subject online and offline. A study done by the US Environmental Protection agency shows that 11% of the e-waste we produce is solely mobile phones. The good news is, this figure is slowly dropping year by year, and we hope eventually that none of the electronic waste we produce is mobile phone related. All of us contribute to this figure, if we don’t recycle. We should all be looking at how we can tackle our waste proactively.

You can help the environment by looking into recycling all electronic goods that you are no longer using. Each time you upgrade your handset (or anyone in your household does!) you should always look at recycling your old model at the same time. If everybody took these simple steps when getting rid of an old mobile phone, then hopefully we can lessen the amount of e-waste we are producing. Over time each step towards a greener earth with benefit us all.

So make money, save the planet and be green by recycling your mobile phone!

Mobile Phone Recycling

In this day and age, mobile phone recycling has never been more important. It’s estimated that only 10% of our electronic items get recycled per year, and anything we can do to increase that amount is beneficial to all of us. It’s tricky to estimate how many mobile users there are exactly in the UK, as many of us have multiple phones, as well as old phones left in the drawer, and pay as you go deals. The last estimate at mobile phones in the UK, at any given time, was placed at a staggering 90 million. However, as this study was conducted a couple of years ago, the amount could be a lot more than we think. If any of these mobiles aren’t disposed of correctly, it could lead to serious problems for our planet, further down the line.

If all those phones were simply thrown away in a landfill site, we would cause irreparable damage to our land. Some of the components in our mobiles are toxic, such as lead and arsenic. These can absorb into our soil and cause issues for generations to come. If any of those toxic chemicals seeped in our soil, crops and plat life would be massively affected. As well as being beneficial for the planet, there are legitimate safety reasons as to why you should not throw your old phone away. Some components have been found extremely dangerous, and some of these are listed in the 10 most dangerous substances known to man. Taking this into account, it has never been more imperative to recycle mobile phones.

You can recycle any type of mobile phone, the better the make and model - the more money you will receive for recycling. Even if your phone has been liquid damaged, or dropped, you can still recycle.

For more information on mobile phone recycling, visit our website for more information.