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International line-up will take the stage at Cobo Bay once again

The Cobo Bay Balcony Gigs, proudly sponsored by JT and seen by many as an essential part of the Guernsey summer, is back for 2022 and for the first time in three years has a line-up of international acts, supported by Guernsey’s leading local talent.

The Balcony Gigs have always been about bringing people together and for a number of years JT has been using its technical support to live stream them on so that anyone who can’t make it to the gigs can join in the fun online from wherever they are.

A tribute to the legendary Duran Duran will kick off the series of free family friendly gigs continuing through the summer to the August Bank Holiday.

Tamara O’Brien, JT’s Deputy Managing Director in Guernsey, said: “Once again an awesome line up has been announced for the Cobo Bay Hotel Balcony Gigs, in this our 11th year of sponsoring the events. We know how lucky we are to enjoy these free events in such an idyllic location, which provided a massive boost for islanders over the past two years. Now as the world opens up, we can once again enjoy large outdoor gatherings with family and friends from outside the Bailiwick and this event marks a very special moment for Guernsey and our hospitality industry.

I always look forward to these events which to me signal the start of the Guernsey summer. There is some amazing musical talent here and the Cobo Bay Balcony Gigs are the best place to see them perform live.”

David Nussbaumer, organiser of Cobo Bay Hotel’s Balcony Gigs, said: “We are itching to get going and I am thrilled that we are bigger and better than ever, welcoming bands from the UK once again to this amazing west coast venue. Thanks to more than a decade of support from JT, we have together transformed the Summer Balcony Gigs into the most sought after event series each year. With this partnership we have kept the Guernsey summer alive even during the challenging times we have all faced. We have so much to celebrate and to be thankful for and we will be doing that all the way from May until the end of August. The true spirit of the Guernsey summer is coming, and I can’t wait.”

Keeping with the great Guernsey tradition of supporting local charities, a collection at every event will support the two charities being supported by Cobo Bay, Guernsey Cheshire Home and JT, Autism Guernsey.

Holding events in such beautiful surroundings comes with added responsibilities and all those attending will be asked to play their part to help ensure that Cobo Bay remains litter free by collecting and taking home their rubbish.



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Telecoms & postal services to be made free to support Ukraine

JT and Jersey Post are working together to support Islanders who have relatives and friends in Ukraine.

As of 1st March 2022, all fixed and mobile calls and SMS messages from the Channel Islands to numbers in Ukraine will be free.

Meanwhile, Jersey Post will waive postage charges for mail addressed to Ukraine from today.

Pip Carpenter, Head of Consumer Market at JT, said: “We have all seen the deeply disturbing images and news coming from Ukraine and our hearts go out to the people caught up in this tragedy. We want to do what we can to help and, working with Jersey Post and others, we hope by making phone calls free will support those who are trying to contact and stay in touch with friends and loved ones.”

David McGrath, Group Marketing Director from Jersey Post, said: “As both JT and ourselves are in a position to help, we started working on how to make this happen over the weekend. Keeping in touch with people at moments like this are vital, and we will do all we can to help those caught up in these tragic events.”

Mail should be hand-delivered to both Broad Street Post Office and Rue des Pres Post Office for processing by Jersey Post.



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Autism Guernsey to benefit from JT’s support

JT’s people have chosen to support Autism Guernsey as their main charity this year. The company’s team members have always played a central role in choosing which charity to support and decided that Autism charities across JT’s locations in Jersey, Guernsey and Australia would be the focus of their attention in 2022.

Autism Guernsey was set up in 2012 to provide assistance and support to people on the autism spectrum in Guernsey. The charity’s aim is to ensure that those with autism lead full, positive and inclusive lives with a reasonable level of independence. The charity is self funding, relying on the continued support from the islands community and companies like JT.

JT and the charity are planning to work together to increase fundraising, awareness of services and needs while also helping to recruit people into critical support roles.

Andrew Warren, Chairman of Autism Guernsey, said:“ As a charity, we are dependent on the support of organisations and individuals to fund the valuable work our staff undertake with islanders on the autistic spectrum and their families.  We’re delighted that JT chose to partner with us this year, their collaboration with other local charities has been extraordinarily successful at generating awareness. We’re all really looking forward to working together and with JT’s digital expertise and telecoms infrastructure, we are hoping to take our fundraising to a new level.’’

Tamara O Brien, Deputy Managing Director JT Guernsey, said: “I am delighted that our people have recognised the great work that autism charities do across the locations we work in, especially here in Guernsey. As a society we are learning more about autism and the needs of adults and children who are on the autism spectrum.  Helping and supporting charities has always been a huge part of the culture at JT and we’re really keen to explore new ways of supporting Autism Guernsey using our technology, expertise, and network.”

For more information about Autism Guernsey or to make a donation, please visit www.autismguernsey.org.gg



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A Very ‘Techy Christmas’ thanks to JT partnership with global Wi-Fi leaders

JT’s superior performing Wi-Fi and super-fast fibre broadband network enabled islanders to keep connected with loved ones, ensure gamers were seamlessly able to multiplay, and allowed families to binge watch their favourite shows without interruption over the festive period.

Christmas is always the busiest time of the year for internet traffic and JT’s fibre broadband network, which recently became the world’s fastest, handled an incredible 9,641 Terabytes of data in December which was a 12% increase in volume compared to the same period in 2020.

Although Wi-Fi signals can vary within people’s homes; everything from building materials like steel, granite, insulation to domestic appliances and electronics can block or potentially disrupt Wi-Fi signals, that wasn’t an issue for the many Jersey households now enjoying the exclusive JT Total Wi-Fi service. JT Total Wi-Fi is powered by an industry defining global technology developed by world leader Plume. It means Wi-Fi is evenly and seamlessly distributed throughout the home, guaranteeing superior Wi-Fi no matter what the size, or how many people or devices are using it. Christmas alone saw over 30,000 devices, of which Apple represented nearly 50% connected to JT Total Wi-Fi units across the islands.

Thomas Helbo, JT Group Chief Operations Officer, said: “The figures from this Christmas and over the New Year when people were almost permanently on their devices show how resilient our local network is. This Christmas we saw a rise in the use of tablets/phones/games consoles which our network and those homes connected to JT Total Wi-Fi products, managed with ease. Since we introduced JT Total Wi-Fi our customers have told us there’s been a massive improvement in their user experience. We started working with Plume in 2020 and have recently extended this partnership with them, given how well their next generation Wi-Fi service is working on our fibre network in the Channel Islands, further improving our customers quality of experience.”



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JT and Guernsey Cancer Support, together making a difference

At the beginning of 2021, JT selected Guernsey Cancer Support as its chosen charity for the year and together they have achieved a great deal in a short amount of time.

Over the past year, their partnership has raised over £5000 through various fundraising initiatives and more importantly helped to create a much greater awareness of the Charity’s offering in the island, which has seen an unprecedented level of demand for the charity’s services and growth in their social media following.

In addition, thanks to equipment and technology provided by JT, Guernsey Cancer Support’s members were able to stay connected to their loved ones when travelling off-island for treatment, with free data devices.

The fundraising efforts of JT employees and islanders at such events as the JT sponsored Cobo Bay Balcony Gigs has helped with much needed operational changes, supported islanders travelling for medical treatment, and funded several social gatherings for members, family and friends.

In particular the new and much-anticipated morning group sessions. These meetings are crucial for Guernsey Cancer Support to help members who are undergoing treatment or those who are dealing with loss or grief due to cancer.

Tamara O’Brien, Deputy Managing Director, JT Guernsey, said: ‘Guernsey Cancer Support is a unique and very special charity, offering support to islanders who are going through difficult times. Through working with the team, we have seen first-hand how the charity plays a huge part in the lives of so many people in our community and we were delighted to support such an amazing team of dedicated people. We have accomplished a great deal together this year, from kickstarting their fundraising to growing their profile in the island which has led to many more enquiries from potential new members.

‘I speak on behalf of everyone at JT in saying that it has been our privilege to watch this wonderful charity grow. We wish them every success as they continue to build on what we have achieved together.’

Gill Syvret-Berboda, Chair of Guernsey Cancer Support, said: ‘JT have been a pleasure to work with and have given our charity vital support during what has been a particularly difficult period. With their support, 2021 initiatives have made such a positive impact on islanders who are living with cancer. Before this, there was a small number of people who knew about our services, now the whole community recognises who we are and what we do. Thanks to JT, our profile has grown and we can now offer new services to our members that we didn’t have before.’



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Increase in JT fibre connections in Guernsey

With the exciting news that every home in Guernsey is due to be connected to full fibre by 2026, the Channel Islands most experienced fibre network provider has already connected nearly 300 customers to JT Fibre.

Since 2013 when JT made the first-full fibre connection to homes in Guernsey, 271 customers are now using the JT Fibre service and getting speeds of up to 1Gb/s with a further six connected through the new Guernsey community fibre project.

Daragh McDermott, Managing Director JT Channel Islands, said: “As a world leader in fibre roll out, we are fully supportive of the ambitious plans in Guernsey to connect every property. We have been steadily connecting customers to the JT Fibre network in Guernsey since 2013 and we are now offering connections onto the Wholesale Guernsey Fibre network as they become available. The businesses who are already connected to fibre will tell you that being connected to fibre gives you a massive advantage. We are delighted to play our part in opening up the opportunities that access to super-fast speeds provide to homes and the local economy.”



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JT welcomes double win at IoD awards 2021

Responding to their IoD Director of the Year 2021 Award wins, Phil Male, JT Group Chairman, and Tom Noel, JT’s Director of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability, commented:

Phil Male – winner of Non-executive Director of the Year (sponsored by Club NED):

“Clearly, I’m delighted to receive this fantastic award, because I think it recognises just how much everyone at JT has pulled together through the last eighteen months, which has seen us keep the island connected through COVID, be recognised as having the world’s fastest broadband network, launch a critical Sustainability Strategy and complete the largest corporate transaction in the digital sector that the island’s ever seen. There is no way that could all have been achieved unless it was preceded by many years of careful planning, hard work and talent, and that is exactly what I have seen throughout my colleagues in the JT Group. Thank you to the IoD and Club NED, on their behalf, for this fitting recognition of their achievements.”

Tom Noel – winner of the Director of the Year – Sustainability (sponsored by Jersey Water):

“There is nothing more important in business today than sustainability, and my team was really proud to be able to launch JT’s strategy earlier this year. JT will be working with our partners to help the island meet its carbon-neutral target, and we knew it was essential that we set out clearly exactly what we planned to achieve, with measurable objectives.

“In many ways though, publishing that strategy brought together much of the work which was already happening, and clearly set out the road ahead – which means the hard work starts now, and as a provider of critical national infrastructure, JT will be doing all it can to make sure its own operations are delivered sustainably, but also working together with our partners to enable the island to do the same.

“This award is recognition for everyone at JT who had worked so hard to get us to this point; I’d like to thank the IoD, and the Award’s sponsor, Jersey Water.”



Jersey’s fibre broadband network ranked as best in the world
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Jersey’s fibre broadband network ranked as best in the world

Responding to the news that Jersey’s full-fibre broadband network has been listed at the very top of the World Broadband Speed League 2021 (produced by the comparison site, cable.co.uk), JT’s Managing Director, Daragh McDermott commented: “When we began the rollout of fibre to the home in Jersey a decade ago, we knew it would be a hugely challenging programme of work, but we also knew it was the right thing to do and that we needed to get it completed ahead of the customer demand that we predicted was coming down the line.

“Following completion of the fibre rollout four years ago, we have continued to invest in our quality of service and our customer experience, as well as proactively increasing the minimum speeds provided to our subscribers. By way of an example, the package of measures introduced by JT to assist subscribers with their connectivity requirements during the pandemic included an increase of speeds to 1 Gb/s (synchronous) for all subscribers. These increased speeds remain in place at no additional cost to JT subscribers, and the use being made of the connectivity has helped us reach the very top of the World Broadband Speed League 2021. It is also noteworthy that we are ahead of the closest comparator by a significant margin.

“Jersey’s full-fibre network will serve the island well for generations to come, and we are excited about how islanders and businesses can now use the infrastructure we have built to make the most of the amazing digital opportunities which are out there. We are also now looking forward to assisting our colleagues in Guernsey to achieve a similar outcome, following the announcement yesterday by the Committee for Economic Development to commence an island wide fibre rollout.”



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Connected Britain shortlists JT for two major awards

JT has joined the likes of Vodafone,  BT and O2 on the shortlist of the Connected Britain Awards, in recognition of the work it has done on sustainability, and supporting the community.

The 2021 Awards shortlist includes JT in both the Sustainibility Award, and the Community Improvement Award.

The final winners will be announced at Connected Britain’s ‘The Future of UK Connectivity” conference on 21st September in London, at which the Managing Director of JT, Daragh McDermott will also be giving a presentation on “The role of digital infrastructure in the delivery of critical public services.”

You can watch more about this major telecoms sector conference here.

#ConnectedBritain is one of the top UK events covering the technology, regulation and investment environment for the rollout of next generation broadband. It says that 2021 will explore in more depth how next generation broadband technologies, especially fibre and 5G, are enabling an economic revolution in the UK.

JT’s MD, Daragh McDermott added: “I’ll be speaking at the conference about how companies like JT can use their digital infrastructure – such as a full-fibre broadband network – to support their communities, particularly in challenging times such as the recent pandemic. I’m really proud of the way the team at JT has pulled together to keep islanders connected throughout everything we have all had to cope with.”

JT’s Director of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Tom Noel commented: “JT intends to do all it can to help the island meet its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2030, and we have recently published our sustainability strategy to do just that. To see our efforts marked with this shortlisting suggests we have started in the right way, and can now really ‘kick on’ to support this exceptionally important goal in the years to come.”



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JT Engineers take home Gold at International awards

JT has won Gold and Silver awards at the International Digital Experience Awards, facing tough competition from global business giants.

The telecoms company was shortlisted for three customer experience (CX) initiatives and won Gold in the Best Use of a Digital Platform for JT’s Field Engineering Worx App which was developed in-house during the COVID-19 pandemic.   Linking the Operations Team at base to JT Engineers out working with customers, the App allowed the teams to work more efficiently and resolve issues quickly when JT’s services were in high demand.  Competition in this category came from global businesses including the Indian telecoms company Tata Communications.

JT also had two CX entries shortlisted in the Best Use of Customer Feedback category, winning Silver after coming second to international energy giants, Shell.

Sara McCarthy, Head of Channel Islands Customer Operations, presented the Worx App to the panel of judges: “I am really thrilled that the many talented people who make up our Operations Team have been recognised with a gold award for all their hard work. We started developing the App before the COVID-19 pandemic because we needed to improve the way we managed the engineering services we provide our customers. JT played a critical role in supporting the community during the pandemic and based on the real experiences of the Ops Team and our Engineers, the team were quick to adapt the App and turn it into a reliable tool so that those out in the field could concentrate on providing a great service to customers. It also reduced the amount of face-to-face contact, helping to keep JT’s people and customers safe.”

Winning silver for the ‘JT Voice’ insight panel in the Best Use of Customer Feedback category, the judges recognised the extensive work done by JT to give people the opportunity to digitally share their views and experiences, and how JT then used those learnings to improve their offerings.

Tamara O Brien, Group Head of Corporate Communications, Brand & CX, added: “Everyone has had to work together in trying circumstances over the last year and that spirit of togetherness is what shines through in the way JT’s people approach their jobs. Our people worked extremely hard to improve the technology that helps us to deliver a better customer experience. We are always learning as a business, and we really appreciate customers who take the time to give us feedback via our JT Voice customer panel, giving us vital and welcome insight into how they feel about our products and services which then helps us to continuously improve.  We now have thousands of customers on our panel and their invaluable feedback helps drive us forward.”