JT’s home Wi-Fi service shortlisted for revolutionising user experience

JT is excited to announce that it has been shortlisted for its innovative home Wi-Fi service and is up against one of the world’s leading telecoms companies. JT, and its partner Plume, are one of three finalists for Best In-Home Wi-Fi network in the Wireless Broadband Alliance Industry Awards.

JT Total Wi-Fi was launched to give customers a better experience from their home fibre broadband network. It is competing against the French global telecommunications operator Orange in the awards which have recognised and celebrated achievements in Wi-Fi innovation for ten years.

JT teamed up with Plume, a leader in consumer experience management, two years ago to give customers improved Wi-Fi coverage and a higher level of control over their home networks. On average, homes in the Channel Islands have over 17 connected devices and more than 44,000 devices are managed through JT’s home Wi-Fi networks that are powered by Plume’s SaaS Experience Management Platform.

Learn more about how JT and Plume are revolutionising smart home experiences in this case study written by Omdia.

Pip Carpenter, JT’s Head of Commercial Market, said: “The Best In-Home Wi-Fi category recognises the operators that put their customers’ needs first. People rely on their home fibre broadband network for work, everyday tasks and entertainment, so we are delighted to be up there with some of the biggest companies in the world. What our customers like the most about it is the way it improves the distribution of their Wi-Fi signal around the home, with many reporting a massive improvement in their Wi-Fi user experience.”

The service includes content filtering and protection, and this year the parental control function on Plume HomePass has automatically protected younger family members nearly seven million times. Over 1.4 million malware attempts have been blocked and the system has prevented attempts to access customers data through spy, adware and phishing more than 450,000 times.”

Stefan van den Broek, VP Customer Success at Plume, added: “We value our partnership with JT because they share our aim of providing the best connected experience possible. Following independent tests, JT’s network was recently declared the fastest in the world, and pairing that with Plume’s cloud-based platform ensures that the highest quality of experience is maintained throughout the home and to every connected device. Our adaptive Wi-Fi, robust cybersecurity and advanced user controls combine to bring users a highly personalised and state-of-the-art smart home service.”



Digital projects exceed expectations at Les Quennevais School

A vlog presentation on Jersey’s dolmens, drone footage of the island’s heritage sites and a stop motion film were among the 200 projects produced by Year 7 students over the summer break.

For over five years, JT has partnered with the school to support its new intake and every summer the school sets its new pupils a task to complete over the holidays. The students, all aged between 10 and 11, must produce a piece of work inspired by the lessons they were taught during their transition taster days in their last term at primary school.

This year’s theme was ‘Our Island Home’ and the introduction of a new award for best use of digital technology, sponsored by JT, inspired many to take their project to another level. The students used a wide range of technology including digital photography, coding, animation and videos to present their work. The projects were judged in each subject category the winner for the ‘Best use of Digital Technology’ was Mia Le Marquand, whose Lego stop motion video wowed the judges from JT. Just over a quarter of the presentations made this year were digital, up from 10% in previous years.

Pip Carpenter, JT’s Head of Commercial Market, said: “We have been supporting the Year 7 transition process for several years and have been blown away by the standard achieved this year, it made selecting the best project much harder than usual. I particularly liked the way that so many of the students brought their work to life using digital technology to explain their findings. One pupil produced a video of herself painting a beautiful piece of artwork, the attention to detail and ingenuity of all the projects was exceptional. Having good digital skills is essential in today’s world, and more so for these students who are tomorrow’s leaders. That’s why it’s so important for us to support the next generation as they begin this part of their learning journey, helping them to gather the skills they will need to succeed.”

Pete Jones Assistant Headteacher at Les Quennevais School, added: “This year’s Transition Project is by far our best yet with our most consistent level of work. There was certainly an increase in digital projects, largely due to JT’s support of our Transition Days and students’ ability to harness digital technology from a younger age. It was lovely to also see students use digital technology alongside their physical projects via QR links to videos that showed how their work was made or to complement their project. I can only see the number of digital projects increasing going forward and we are very grateful of JT’s ongoing support of our students’ transition experience into Les Quennevais School.”



JT Board appoints new Chair

The Board of the JT Group is pleased to announce Meriel Lenfestey has been appointed as its new Chair, taking over from Phil Male, who has held the position since 2018. Meriel has been a Director on the JT Board since 2016 and was its Senior Independent Director until this new appointment.

Meriel is a customer experience entrepreneur with experience across a wide range of business sectors. Her attention is always on the impact business decisions have on stakeholders, in the short and long term.

After completing a Masters degree from the Royal College of Art, she worked for Microsoft in Seattle and the BBC in London in the 1990s. She founded, grew and sold a pioneering Customer Experience Design agency in London over the next 19 years. Meriel currently chairs Gemserv, a professional services and consulting firm in the energy and low carbon market, is a Non-Executive Director for Boku, an AIM listed global leader in mobile payment solutions, Aurigny in Guernsey, and two FTSE 250 infrastructure funds. She holds voluntary Board roles with the Guernsey IoD, and Art for Guernsey.

Meriel has lived and raised a family in the Channel Islands over the past 18 years.

Daragh McDermott, CEO of JT Group, said: “With her experience in the Channel Islands, and long-standing role on the JT Board, Meriel is the ideal candidate to help guide JT forward, and deliver on our five-year strategy. Making sure we deliver the very best customer experience for the future is a key part of that strategy, and Meriel is ideally placed to lead that.

She is taking over from Phil Male who helped to steer JT through some huge developments including making Jersey the first place in the world to connect full fibre broadband to every property, followed by the creation and eventual sale of the IoT business. I would like to thank Phil for his leadership, support and considerable achievements.”

Meriel Lenfestey added: “I’m really looking forward to taking over as Chair from Phil and supporting JT as we deliver our new five-year strategy. JT is already making great strides in ensuring the needs of all our stakeholders are at the heart of everything we do, and I’ll be working closely with the team to develop that further.



Baking scarily good creations for Autism Guernsey

Halloween treats, towers of terror and deliciously wicked pumpkin-inspired delights will be judged for their spookiness, technical skill and taste at The Great Charity Bake Off for Autism Guernsey later this month.

The Halloween-themed competition that is raising money for Autism Guernsey is being judged at Les Cotils in St Peter Port, with the overall champion receiving a JT One Ultra package* worth £684.

Every bake must be Halloween themed and will need to be dropped off with their form and entry fee at Les Cotils between 9am and 10:30am on Saturday 29th October. Based on the popular TV show, there are five categories to choose from including a biscuit baking and decorating challenge for children, showstoppers and a technical ‘free from’ bake which must be either gluten/wheat free, dairy free or vegan.

The judging panel, led by the wife of the Lieutenant-Governor, Louise Cripwell, who is also a Patron of Autism Guernsey, will decide which bakers would be worthy of approval from the Great British Bake Off’s Prue Leith or a handshake from Paul Hollywood, so the pressure is on.

Joining Mrs Cripwell on the panel will be Kate Marshall, Head of Guernsey Enterprise at JT, who said: “I’m really looking forward to seeing and sampling the cakes and desserts. This is a fantastic opportunity to raise the profile of Autism Guernsey and get all those would-be bakers who have been inspired by the TV show to have a go and have some fun.”

For those that don’t fancy baking,  the event is open to the public to come along and join in the fun, enjoy a piece of cake for £3, vote for your favourite and take part in the raffle. The Showstopper cakes will be auctioned off at 4pm.

Mandy Rowlinson from Autism Guernsey, added: “The phenomenal success of programmes like the Great British Bake Off has inspired people to try their hand at chocolate ganache, baked Alaska and even showstopping toadstool cakes. Their creations are only limited by their imagination, and I really hope that we have some fantastically scary cakes and bakes in this competition. The judges will be looking for the wow factor but if they taste good too, then they should be onto a winning formula because those that don’t want to bake and are just there for cake can vote for their favourites too.”

The event takes place at Les Cotils between 9am and 10:30am on Saturday 29th October. Further details and entry forms are available from Autism Guernsey by calling Mandy Rowlinson on 01481 232879 or office@autismguernsey.org.gg.