Telecoms support for remote education, connectivity and digital skills
The UK telecommunications sector has announced a raft of supportive measures for disadvantaged children and young people, as the majority of the British population enters a new lockdown.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the latest restrictions for England on Monday 4 January, instructing people to stay at home. A key tenet of the new measures is the closure of English schools, with similar school closures and remote education arrangements in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Connectivity Support
To ensure disadvantaged students can access virtual lessons and remote educational resources, a number of UK telecoms providers have pledged their support to children and schools across the country.
Three, Smarty, Virgin Mobile, EE, Tesco Mobile and Sky Mobile have signed up to the Department for Education’s Help with Technology programme, enabling schools and local authorities to request mobile data for children without a fixed connection at home, or unable to afford the additional data for devices. The programme also offers 4G wireless routers as an alternative to the data offer. Connectivity needs are also being met by 350,000 free data SIMS from Vodafone through its schools.connected campaign and Virgin Media’s tailored broadband packages to help those facing financial difficulty. Vodafone is supporting small businesses as well, with a free broadband offer to all small businesses, including its existing customers. Families in over 30 local authority areas that are struggling with remote learning due to poor or no internet will be offered the chance to have a high speed connection installed with no usage charges by Hyperoptic until the end of the summer term.
The support pledged by the UK’s telecoms networks and providers at the start of 2021 echo many of the existing measures offered at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In March, industry agreed a set of commitments with government and Ofcom to support and protect vulnerable consumers, such as help with bills and increased data allowances.
Support was given to frontline NHS staff who were offered the mobile data access, voice calls and text they need, at no extra cost, on their personal mobiles used for work purposes. Providers also gave their customers free access to health information websites such as nhs.uk.
Devices and content
For those without devices, DfE has pledged to deliver one million laptops and tablets to schoolchildren by Easter, and children will be able to access the BBC’s “biggest education offer in its history” across multiple platforms like Bitesize Daily from Monday 11 January. This builds on the continued support provided to vulnerable and disadvantaged young people by supplying digital devices and internet access. 560,000 devices have been provided so far—the outcome of efforts by Government and the tech industry in partnership to deliver rapid infrastructure transformation. Schools, educators, and parents must be given the right tools to ensure young people are safe online and able to continue their education while at home. To tackle the digital divide, 2020 also saw initiatives like Vodafone and Barnado’s ‘The Great British Tech Appeal’, BT’s Skills for Tomorrow training resource and Top Tips for Tech with ITV.
While these measures are as welcome in the new year as they were in 2020, it is clear more needs to be done to tackle the digital divide and ensure that every child in the UK can successfully learn and thrive in their homes. And while these efforts go a long way, we know that there is more urgently needed and we will be working with Government, the tech sector and education providers to explore how to target this support.
Josh Turpin
Josh Turpin
Josh joined techUK as a Programme Manager for Telecoms and Net Zero in August 2024.
In this role, working jointly across the techUK Telecoms and Climate Programmes, Josh is responsible for leading on telecoms infrastructure deployment and uptake and supporting innovation opportunities, as well as looking at how the tech sector can be further utilised in the UK’s decarbonisation efforts.
Prior to joining techUK, Josh’s background was in public affairs and communications, working for organisations across a diverse portfolio of sectors including defence, telecoms and infrastructure; aiding clients through stakeholder engagement, crisis communications, media outreach as well as secretariat duties.
Outside of work, Josh has a keen interest in music, painting and sailing.
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- [email protected]
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- 020 7331 2038
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- https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-turpin/
Tales Gaspar
Tales Gaspar
Tales has a background in law and economics, with previous experience in the regulation of new technologies and infrastructure.
In the UK and Europe, he offered consultancy on intellectual property rights of cellular and IoT technologies and on the regulatory procedures at the ITU as a Global Fellow at the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI).
Tales has an LL.M in Law and Business by the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV) and an MSc in Regulation at the London School of Economics, with a specialization in Government and Law.
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- [email protected]
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- +44 (0) 0207 331 2000
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- www.techUK.org
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- www.linkedin.com/in/talesngaspar
Nimmi Patel
Nimmi Patel
Nimmi Patel is the Head of Skills, Talent and Diversity at techUK. She works on all things skills, education, and future of work policy, focusing on upskilling and retraining. Nimmi is also an Advisory Board member of Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (digit). The Centre research aims to increase understanding of how digital technologies are changing work and the implications for employers, workers, job seekers and governments.
Prior to joining the techUK team, she worked for the UK Labour Party and New Zealand Labour Party, and holds an MA in Strategic Communications at King’s College London and BA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from the University of Manchester. She is currently taking part in the 2024-25 University of Bath Institute for Policy Research Policy Fellowship Programme.
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- [email protected]
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- 07805744520
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- @nimmiptl
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- www.techuk.org
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- https://www.linkedin.com/in/nimmi-patel1/
Antony Walker
Antony Walker
Antony Walker is deputy CEO of techUK, which he played a lead role in launching in November 2013.
Antony is a member of the senior leadership team and has overall responsibility for techUK’s policy work. Prior to his appointment in July 2012 Antony was chief executive of the Broadband Stakeholder Group (BSG), the UK’s independent advisory group on broadband policy. Antony was closely involved in the development of broadband policy development in the UK since the BSG was established in 2001 and authored several major reports to government. He also led the development of the UK’s world leading Open Internet Code of Practice that addresses the issue of net neutrality in the UK. Prior to setting up the BSG, Antony spent six years working in Brussels for the American Chamber of Commerce following and writing about telecoms issues and as a consultant working on EU social affairs and environmental issues. Antony is a graduate of Aberdeen University and KU Leuven and is also a Policy Fellow Alumni of the Centre for Science and Policy at Cambridge University.
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- [email protected]
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- 07780603065
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- @techUKdepCEO
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- www.techuk.org/
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- https://www.linkedin.com/in/antonywalker/