08 NEWS


Olive Communications invests £100,000 in academy for staff


By Pádraig McGarrigle


B2B dealer Olive Communications is investing over £100,000 on its biggest staff training programme in its 11-year history. The O2 CoE and Vodafone Platinum Partner has launched Olive Academy, which will see all 160 staff at the company attend a training programme delivered by skills development firm Space2. The telecoms company says the training is a “key part” of its plans to attract the brightest minds to the company. Olive has worked with Space2


to draw up a bespoke programme of 32 modules that are tailored to each different job function at the company. “This isn’t a ‘one-size fits all approach’ either, as much like our customers, everyone within Olive


“This isn’t a ‘one-size fits all’ approach, everyone within Olive is different”


Flick: Training programme is key to attracting brightest minds


is different,” said chief executive Martin Flick. “That’s why they all have their own individually


training programme that


structured will


enable them to grow in their roles and develop new skills, and help them build their career.” The training will see staff attend workshops as well as one-


on-one and telephone sessions to ensure the teaching is put into practice. All employees will go through the process over the next 12 months.


The firm has also hired Nick


Evans as HR manager. He joins from online retailer Shop Direct where he held a similar role for seven years.


OneCom doubles HQ to build on being biggest B2B mobile provider


OneCom has doubled the size of its headquarters in Whiteley, Hants, to 12,000 sq ft with the opening of new offices. The premises, OneCom House,


is next to its existing base on the Solent Business Park and will host the Vodafone Platinum Partner’s senior management and its customer services team of more than 70.


The office was officially opened


by comedian and Celebrity Big Brother winner Jim Davidson, who is also a OneCom customer. OneCom, which handles over 200,000 mobile connections, employs more than 300 staff at its offices in Camberley, Brighton, Plymouth, Leeds,


OneCom House: Celebrity start Southampton,


Telford,


few months as the company looks for continued growth.


These include Stephen Hunter, formerly a director of Hampshire Trust Bank, as chairman in December, and former Vodafone finance director Richard Schafer as chief financial officer in March. OneCom chief executive Darren


Norwich and


Edinburgh. The latest expansion follows a number of key senior staff appointments over the past


Ridge said: “OneCom is a rapidly growing company and we simply needed more space to house our customer services team. “Our new expanded offices are bigger, brighter and a much better fit for our staff, and there’s room to grow further as we build on our position as the UK’s biggest independent business-to- business mobile provider.”


Vodafone customers are most loyal while Three’s most likely to churn


Vodafone has the strongest network loyalty, with average customers staying for over six years, a recent survey by a SIM- only price comparison site has found. Visitors to simonlycontracts.


co.uk, which compares deals offered by the UK’s four major operators (EE,


Three, O2,


Vodafone) also indicated that Three has the lowest level of customer loyalty, with average subscribers staying for only one year and three months. O2 customers stay with the operator for three years and one month on average, while EE


(Orange and T-Mobile)


customers stay for an average of four years and 11 months. Vodafone customers on


stay average six


years and three months. Of 2,385 respondents aged 18 and over


who


had moved to Vodafone, 41 per cent said the main reason was network coverage. Over a quarter (28 per


cent) had acted on the recommendation


of


family or friends, and 21 per cent said their move was due to Vodafone’s reputation for good customer


service. Reasons for staying with Vodafone included good network coverage (78 per cent),


quick


customer service (71 per cent) and reasonable pricing (67 per cent), as respondents could select multiple options.


More than half (55 per cent) of Vodafone customers said they would not look at other networks for their next phone


or with Vodafone”.


China gives the nod to Microsoft’s £4.5 billion purchase of Nokia


Microsoft’s planned purchase of Nokia’s devices and services business for €5.4 billion (£4.5 billion) has received regulatory approval from the


Ministry


of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China.


When the acquisition was first announced on September


3, 2013, both parties said it would be subject to regulatory approval.


They have now


received this from China, the European Commission and the US Department of Justice. The deal is still scheduled to be completed this month. Nokia said the regulatory


approval process has involved a thorough review of its patent licensing practices by several global competition authorities. It claimed no authorities


have challenged its compliance or requested it to make changes to its licensing programme or royalty terms.


McManus: Fastest rollout


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Europe bans roaming charges from December


Members of the European


Parliament have voted in favour of banning roaming charges from 15 December 2015. The ban is part of wider telecoms


EU regulators, which would see net neutrality safeguarded and more efficient management of the radio spectrum to free up space for 4G/5G services. A


European Commission


survey earlier this year said that 94 per cent of Europeans restricted their use of mobile browsing due to the cost of roaming.


In 2013 MEPs voted to cap


browsing costs at 45 cents (39p) per MB, compared with 70 cents (60p) the year before. “This is what the EU is all about – getting rid of barriers to make life easier and less expensive,” said European


reform planned by


commissioner for digital affairs Neelie Kroes. “We should know what we are buying, we should not be ripped off, and we should have the opportunity to change our mind.” The law still requires approval by individual EU governments.


Kroes: Getting rid of barriers


O2 to spend £16m on 3G in 200 UK areas


O2 is to spend more than £16 million to provide 3G (not 4G) to 200 new areas of the UK for the first time. The news came earlier this after the operator


month,


announced it was upgrading a quarter of its 2G and 3G network masts (4,500) this year, and claims its 4G network now reaches a third of the UK (20 cities and around 171 towns). O2 said it had completed 3G upgrade work in Coventry and Nottingham, but was unable to provide examples of areas it will be upgrading this year.


O2 UK chief operating officer Derek McManus said: “Last year we launched our 4G network


and undertook the fastest network rollout in the history of our company. This year we’re continuing that rollout and concurrently modernising our 2G and 3G networks. “Building a network isn’t just about bringing faster speeds to people that already have coverage. It’s vital that we also bring


seamless coverage to


people that have never had it before.”


O2 first launched its 3G


network back in 2003 and currently has around 90 per cent coverage. The operator claims it is spending £1.5 million per day upgrading its existing 2G and 3G networks and expects to have 98 per cent of the UK population covered on its 2G, 3G and 4G networks before 2017. It claims the upgrades will enable it to deliver increased call quality, improving both call and data connectivity at peak times and in high-density areas. The upgrade work


will be


covered on an area-by-area basis with key components refreshed or replaced, such as fibre connections, radio equipment, remote monitoring and device antennas. O2 has signed up more than one million 4G customers since launch.


contract,


while 33 per cent said they would shop around, but would “most likely stay


Tooley replaces Kangle as Lycamobile boss


Lycamobile has appointed Chris Tooley as its new chief executive. He replaces Milind Kangle, who left the company on February 14 after more than 10 years at the helm. Tooley will be responsible for the business in all 17 countries that Lycamobile operates in, and will include expansion to further territories throughout this year.


years at the company and was previously


He has spent the past 10 responsible for


MVNO development, corporate governance, compliance and international affairs.


Premananthan Sivasamy, who has been Lycamobile’s chief operating officer for the past eight years, has taken on the role of deputy chairman. He will report directly


to


group chairman Subaskaran Allirajah. Lycamobile said a new chief operating officer to replace Sivasamy will be announced later this year.


Allirajah said: “It is crucial to the future development of Lycamobile’s success that our management team is rich in experience and understanding of the business.”


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