14 technology
City chosen to receive 4G mobile internet
Southampton is set to receive 4G mobile internet by the end of the year, as one of 16 cities targeted by Everything Everywhere (EE), the country‘s largest network operator.
Unveiled at the Science Museum in London, the 4G network, which offers speeds up to five times faster than 3G, will be available on HTC, Samsung, Nokia and Huawei devices, as well as Apple‘s iPhone 5.
EE‘s competitors, including Vodafone, 3 and O2, have threatened legal action over telecoms regulator Ofcom‘s decision to allow EE, which owns the T-Mobile and Orange networks, to launch 4G on its existing network.
The 4G services will allow uninterrupted access to the web on the go, high definition movies to be downloaded in minutes and TV to be streamed without buffering.
London, Bristol, Cardiff and Birmingham were switched on last month for live testing and
systems‘ integration. EE said 4G will be available by Christmas to its customers in London, Southampton, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Derby, Glasgow, Hull, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield.
The group plans to roll out the service to further towns, cities and rural areas next year, with population coverage rising to 98% in 2014.
The company and network will be re-branded EE but the Orange and T-Mobile brands will continue to exist alongside. The EE brand will cover the 4G service as well as a fibre broadband product, set to reach 11 million households and businesses by the end of the year. The company is also opening EE-branded stores, with more than 700 being unveiled across Britain‘s high streets in line with its customer brand launch. These former Orange and T-Mobile shops will serve customers of all three brands.
Sponsorship gamble pays off
Not many companies would look twice at investing in a business emerging from administration having been near its lowest ebb in decades.
Jackson said: “We had a link with the club through the Saints‘ charity foundation, but the year the club came out of administration it had no shirt sponsor, as its previous deal had ended. Promotion was way off, but we backed our instincts, had faith in the new ownership and were rewarded. Saints won promotion into the Championship that year and, with our logo on their shirts, succeeded in a second successive promotion to the Premiership.
“We saw a great chance to raise our profile in the most popular sport in the world, and backing our home team has been rewarded with global reach for our brand.“
The partnership has proved ideal: aap3 has its
Rod Jackson with Southampton players Kelvin Davis (left) and Morgan Schneiderlin (right)
However, in a classic case of who dares wins, IT services and recruitment provider aap3
is
reaping the rewards from signing up to sponsor Southampton FC, which has since soared out of League 1 into the lucrative limelight of the Premier League.
Promotion was a distant dream when aap3 chief
executive and Saints fan Rod Jackson spotted the opportunity. When first considered, the club was languishing halfway down League 1 and reeling from the financial crisis of the previous 2009-10 season. It had been docked 10 points and was on the latest in a string of managers, but fewer than two years later, the shrewd investment paid off.
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roots in Southampton, but is a global player with offices in Europe and the US; Saints is at the heart of the city, but the games will be watched around the world as it takes on the big names.
The results of the sponsorship have already been impressive, with the combined media exposure gained for aap3
from Saints‘ 2011-
12 Championship season estimated at an equivalent advertising value of more than £2.54 million in the UK and $5.45m worldwide.
The aap3 brand was seen by a cumulative
audience of 9.5 million from the 11 times Saints‘ matches were broadcast live in the UK, and a cumulative 26.67 million from highlights. With Premier League exposure, this will grow. The company also has a presence on the club‘s official website, match programme and a range of other benefits included in its sponsorship deal.
Staff rewards are taylor made
A day of horse racing was the latest in a series of fun staff days out to thank the workforce at Fareham-based IT services‘ firm Taylor Made Computer Solutions for their hard work, which has helped the company enjoy a bumper year.
Trips to Paultons Park, paintballing, wine tasting and even skiing, have all been laid on for the 100-strong workforce in a series of nine fun days out.
Staff voted to select their favourite events from a list of 14, with visits to tree-top adventure park Go Ape, beer festivals, and a virtual F1 Racing Challenge all being organised.
The eye-catching events‘ programme follows a similarly high-profile year for the company, which has signed a succession of major clients and launched a recruitment drive to cater for the growth in the business.
Since January, Taylor Made has recruited 25 new employees in both engineering and account management roles, to keep up with demand for its services, and is still seeking more staff.
Managing director Nigel Taylor said: “We‘ve done staff events for years, but this is the first time we turned it around to staff and asked what they wanted to do and we‘re delighted with the response.
“The business has been going from strength to strength and we know our people have been working their socks off to make that happen. We really value their efforts and thought this was a fantastic way to say thank-you and encourage them to keep it up.“
Blue Chip shortlisted for service award
IT specialist Blue Chip has been shortlisted in the Services Provider of the Year category for this year‘s prestigious CRN (Computer Reseller News) Award which recognise ‘the ingenuity and exceptional achievements of the UK channel industry‘.
Managing director Richard Cook said: “This is a great achievement because it recognises how we have developed and evolved our customer centric services‘ portfolio beyond the industry norm. By developing our services alongside our customers, we have made elements such as 24/7 monitoring and support a standard offering, rather than an optional extra, which in itself is an industry first.“
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – SOLENT & SOUTH CENTRAL – OCTOBER 2012
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