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Appy achievement for JT

JT’s My Account app is in the running for one of this year’s top digital awards, having shortlisted in the Best App category in the UK Digital Experience Awards 2019 (UKDXA).

Judged by a panel of independent international business professionals, against a strict criteria endorsed by Cranfield School of Management, the awards recognise how leading-edge technology and solutions can improve customer’s experience.

The ‘JT My Account’ free app was built locally in-house, by JT’s team of software developers following customer insight gained from focus groups and from JT’s customer insight panel. From this JT identified an opportunity and demand for a unique app which would provide JT customers with a way of managing their services and viewing their bills on mobile devices giving them the freedom and flexibility to monitor, track and control their usage on the go, when and where they needed to.

The aim is to take complex billing information, including a large range of pricing packages in a simple and easy-to-use way – designed and built in a highly scalable and responsive way to ensure customers can use it securely.

The app, which is the only one of its kind in the Channel Islands, allows JT customers to personalise their accounts, set up a roaming ‘bolt on,’ and even create data usage alerts to give them access to real-time information.  The ability to tailor services, add value options and stay in control means JT’s customers are aware of usage and if needed can change services to suit their situation wherever they are. The free app has been downloaded over 40,000 times with over 55% of JT customers now using it daily. Since its launch in 2015 the design and functionality has grown significantly, thanks to customer feedback and new technology it now includes a ‘live chat’ facility which lets customers interact directly with the JT team to resolve queries faster than ever before and even log faults.

Dominic Vye, Head of Commercial Development, Customer Management and Digital Services at JT commented: “The team and I are so pleased to have our app shortlisted for this prestigious award, putting us side by side with many leading tech companies across the UK. Since the deployment of high-speed networks, mobile and internet usage has massively increased, and customers want a quick, easy and reliable way to manage their services. This shortlist is testament to great teamwork between our customers and our development team and encourages us to continue to invest in similar services as part of JT’s ‘digital first’ policy of tech innovation. With a single aim of helping our customers access JT’s products in the easiest way, when where and how they want to.”

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Notes to editors

For more information please contact Anna Thorne at Direct Input on 01534 735253 or at anna@directinput.je



JT Living Wage Employer
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JT accredited as living wage employer

Caritas Jersey has recognised JT’s commitment as a living wage employer with the presentation of a plaque at the company’s Forum headquarters.

JT is Jersey’s first large-scale commercial organisation to become a Living Wage Employer, ensuring that all its employees in the Channel Islands and around the globe are paid a fair wage for their work.

In Jersey JT employs over 400 people, and over 600 worldwide. The company’s pledge to provide access to a fair wage across its jurisdictions has been welcomed by Caritas Executive Director John Scally. “JT has set a great example as a large organisation which fully understands the value of its employees and is committed to working with the community to help eradicate poverty in Jersey. The living wage is a two-way street, supporting the community and supporting better business practice. Having valued and respected employees mean that businesses benefit from lower absenteeism, lower turnover and better service from their teams,” said Mr Scally.

The government’s minimum wage rate is separate to the living wage which is an hourly rate calculated by the Living Wage Foundation to cover the basic essentials of living, like housing, food and transport and the aim of the Caritas campaign is to raise people out of poverty by working with local employers.

JT Group HR Director, Nicola Reeves, said: “JT prides itself on being a responsible employer, we have supported Caritas since the Living Wage was formed and this recognition is our step to ensuring that people who live and work in Jersey have access to a wage which covers their basic needs, starting with our own people. We really hope that other Jersey employers across all industries recognise the worth of this campaign and more importantly the value and welfare of their employees which in turn will benefit our community as a whole.”

Today, over 2,500 employers throughout the UK and the Channel Islands display the Living Wage Employers Mark. In April 2019 Caritas announced a living wage rate for Jersey of £10.55.

Companies wanting to know more about becoming a living wage employer can find out more on the Caritas Jersey Living Wage Project website.

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Notes to editors

For more information please contact Anna Thorne at Direct Input on 01534 735253 or at anna@directinput.je



E-safety top tips on the cards for Les Quennevais new starters
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E-safety top tips on the cards for Les Quennevais new starters

Thanks to the continued partnership between Les Quennevais School and JT, students joining in September 2019 will not only have a new school uniform as they transition from primary to secondary schooling, they will also have a set of e-safety skills as they begin this new stage of their education.

The Transition Day programme aims to overcome those first day nerves for pupils as they prepare to leave their primary schools and make sure they are familiar and happy with their new surroundings and the new faces that will greet them.

John Assiter, Customer and Digital Services Manager at JT will be speaking to the students and their parents at the briefing on 4th July about the importance and understanding of e-safety, giving an insight into how to stay safe online.

Les Quennevais head-teacher Sarah Hague said that this partnership meant that as well as getting information that would help parents and students feel like part of the Les Quennevais family, they would be getting expert advice on an increasingly important topic.

“Technology and online access are central to enabling learning and open many exciting avenues for our young people, but they do need to know how to use this technology safely and in ways that support their well-being. JT’s presence at our Transition Days furthers our aim to provide our students with the right tools to start secondary school life,” said Mrs Hague.

Tamara O’Brien, Head of Customer Experience at JT said: “Our team hopes to help those attending learn how to strike the right balance between access and e-safety, helping parents understand the ways we can work together to keep our young people safe online and the tools available to help them to do so.

“We’re really excited about partnering with Les Quennevais for a second year, sharing our e-safety knowledge and helping our children make the most of the amazing learning benefits that today’s technology can bring. As a Mum myself I know first-hand how it can sometimes feel like parents are being left behind, but together we can make it less daunting and not just something our kids understand.

At JT we have a range of tools and educational literature to help ensure children are aware of the dangers which can exist. At the evening presentation we plan to share some practical ways to help, demonstrating the Haandle box (exclusive to JT) an affordable piece of technology which allows parents to monitor internet access and the free JT My Account App which includes parental controls.

Socially inclusive access to technology is really important to JT, so we will also be donating JT Smart 2 phones for students whose parents give consent, safety is all about a balance of education, awareness and providing the right tools and we’re pleased to have been invited again to participate in these events.”



JT Annual Review
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2018: a milestone year for ‘Fibre Island’

JT has today published its Annual Review for 2018, describing a year when the Group laid solid foundations for future growth; both in terms of the completion of the full-fibre network in Jersey, and investment in its growing International business.

Overall, JT’s gross profit increased from £92.0m (2017) to £94.5m (2018) on a turnover of £250.5m 4% below 2017 due to a reduction in low-margin voice revenue. As a result of increased investment in our International business and software development capabilities, JT’s operating profit was £7.4 million in 2018, a fall of £3.7 million on the figure recorded for 2017. The decrease is in line with shareholders’ expectations and the company’s intentional strategic plan to invest heavily in future capability.

It also reflects the Group’s considerable investment in customer experience, including a ‘customer dividend’ in the form of substantially lower mobile roaming charges, and unlimited broadband offers.

The Group returned a slightly increased dividend to its owners, the States of Jersey at £4.8m (2017: £4.7m), which formed a total of more than £17m paid to the Government in terms of employee related taxes, corporate tax, GST and dividends.

69% of JT’s revenue now comes from outside of the Channel Islands. This supports JT’s continued investment back into the world-class local infrastructure for our islands, such as the advanced super-fast 4G networks and island-wide full-fibre network in Jersey.

JT Group Chairman, Phil Male, commented: “Following the completion of the full-fibre network, 2018 was a time to look to the future of our business, which we did by investing strategically in our International operations. Grown from a standing start, JT SIMs now power more than 4,000,000 devices around the world, from connected heart monitors in Canada, to traffic management systems in Central America, right through to ‘smart cows’ here in Jersey. We now have a global reach and a growing International
reputation which has seen us secure projects and partner with global brands such as Kraft, BBC, CNN, Nokia, SAP and Amazon.

“JT is an innovative, global communications player, which is making sure the Channel Islands are amongst the most connected places on earth, while also securing our long- term future as a valuable, locally-owned asset, through growing our International business.”

JT CEO, Graeme Millar, added: “When I first joined JT nearly a decade ago, the most common and often strongly worded feedback I got was that broadband speeds were really slow, performance was poor, and coverage could be very patchy. The maximum download speed was just 2Mb/s, making it probably some of the worst in Europe/UK.

“We listened closely to that feedback from our customers, and by 2018 we had completed the island’s full-fibre broadband network more quickly than it has been done anywhere else in the world, and at no cost to the vast majority of its users.
That achievement by JT’s dedicated team has now pushed Jersey to first place in the world in term of the percentage of users directly connected to fibre broadband.

“When we began the project, some people doubted that we would need it – now it’s fair to say we all might question how we would live our connected lives without it.

“With 5G now firmly on the horizon we’re again looking forward and JT will get a trial network in place by the Summer. For broadband, we are preparing to offer customers speeds of up to 10 Gb/s on Jersey’s full-fibre network; and internationally, we’ll be working with global tech innovators such as ARM to get JT SIMs into millions more devices around the world.

“We will continue to couple our investment in technology with our commitment to providing award-winning standards of customer service across all our disciplines so that we are providing the same high quality of service to both our global partners and our valued local customers.”

ENDS

For further information or to set up interviews please contact Anna Thorne at Direct Input on 01534 735253 or email anna@directinput.je

To view the full Annual Review, please click here.



JT Cisco accreditation
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JT extends its accreditation with global tech giant Cisco

JT’s Business teams across the Channel Islands and London have boosted their already strong relationship with world technology giant Cisco by achieving a further premier accreditation; ‘Advanced Enterprise Networks Architecture Specialisation’ reflecting their growing depth of skills and knowledge.

This makes JT the first Channel Island-based provider to have gained two full Cisco architectures enabling JT to expand the range of Cisco products within their portfolio. These products include JT’s newly launched ‘next generation’ firewall which allows JT’s customers to actively monitor systems and, if needed, lockdown and isolate any devices which have been compromised with an advanced managed service approach.

By achieving this Advanced Enterprise Networks Architecture Specialisation, JT’s team has demonstrated that they have met the stringent training standards required and have further secured the team’s expertise in supply, design and deployment of complex Cisco solutions.

Katie Corbett, Director of CI Enterprise & Business Services at JT said: “Cisco is the largest networking company in the world and our 20-year partnership with them helps us to deliver the very best solutions for our global customer base. We pride ourselves on having within our dedicated team some of the finest Cisco experts in the islands, who between them have now clocked up some 60 hours of intensive training, often in their own time. So, we are delighted to add this second architecture specialisation to our portfolio further expanding what we offer to our customers in the Channel Islands and around the world.

“This achievement is testament to their hard work putting in a huge amount of time and effort to reach this status. As one of the Channel Islands largest digital employers we are committed to investing in our teams and encouraging them to take part in training like this, so that they can maintain the standards that our customers need and further their own professional development.”

To find out more about JT’s Cisco solutions visit https://business.jtglobal.com



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Europe’s most connected telco partners with 1oT to unveil a new eSIM solution at MWC

In a bid to firmly establish itself as Europe’s most connected operator and cement its reputation as one to watch State-owned 120-year young operator JT Group has joined forces with 1oT to launch an innovative eSIM solution at this year’s MWC. This eSIM solution is set to open up a new level of global connectivity for IoT service providers.

Designed specifically for the needs of start-ups and small and medium-sized IoT service providers, this new 1oT eSIM, technically known as eUICC, will enable them to operate in multiple regions worldwide. What’s more, through this partnership with JT those customers will now also benefit from JT’s extensive worldwide roaming network.

This eSIM is set to simplify and revolutionise the market for these users by enabling a ‘virtual swap’ in the air between pre-negotiated operator services without the need to physically change the SIM card. It will also leverage the global roaming deals provided by JT opening up access to over 700 of JT’s partner networks potentially making it the world’s most flexible SIM.

Graham Hart-Ives, JT’s Head of IoT Sales, said: “We have continued to grow our offering over recent months and we are delighted that the work we have done to build a strong position in this market is bringing substantial benefits to our forward-thinking and long-term partners, like 1oT. This is a great example of leveraging partnerships and innovating using latest SIM technology to jointly provide the best possible product for customers.”

1oT is an operator independent global connectivity provider which handles the complexity of working with multiple operators in different regions for IoT service providers and device makers.

Märt Kroodo, founder and CEO of 1oT said: “This launch is an exciting next step in SIM technology which provides vastly improved convenience for customers. This partnership of JT’s innovation and flexibility in working with different partners and our expertise will together deliver connectivity products for IoT which greatly improve customers experience and take the market forward.”



Speednet SMART JT partnership
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JT adds to its global reach with new Belize partnership deal

In its pacy drive to establish itself as Europe’s most connected operator, JT has announced the addition of another significant partner to its extensive global network; Speednet Communications. Through this new partnership with Belize’s leading mobile network operator, JT’s International team is pushing ahead with ambitious plans for global growth.

JT will provide a fully managed service, which is GSMA compliant, for both inbound and outbound roaming to Speednet Belize, using JT’s existing 2G, 3G and 4G roaming connectivity and supported through JT’s network extension platform.

Thanks to JT’s Roaming as a Service provision, Speednet Communication’s end-users also gain access to international roaming coverage across JT’s substantial 700+ networks around the world. In addition, JT will provide inbound roaming services, enabling visitors to Belize to connect and roam on Speednet Communications world-class 4G network.

Tom Noel, Managing Director of JT International, said: “JT’s customers in the Channel Islands already have access to one of the widest roaming networks available and our International team are using these unrivalled partnerships to now enable leading emerging markets to benefit from this service. Our energetic roaming team work tirelessly to enable customers access to roam where they want, when they want and this roaming as a service partnership is a natural extension of that success. Adding Speednet to our trusted global network of partners offers benefits and cost savings for their customers and for ours; with the freedom to roam with confidence.”

Leonardo Calle, the CTO at Speednet, said: “JT’s Roaming as a Service is a unique product that brings us the benefits of direct roaming relationships. The immediate access to over 700 of JT’s direct partners will give our customers the ability to roam across the globe seamlessly.”



JT Head of Culture and Values
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JT Teams pull together to raise money for charities in their communities

In 2018 JT teams raised £21,831 for their chosen charities through a combination of group events and individual challenges across all JT’s locations.

In Jersey the team worked with Littlefeet Environmental and Jersey Marine Conservation while the Guernsey team supported the Marine Biology Section of the Société Guernesiaise. The money raised by the teams will directly benefit local environmental causes, providing much needed funds to support valuable work in the communities that JT is a part of.

Spurred on by the JSPCA’s plea for help to save the Jersey Animal Shelter, the JT team in Jersey have decided to put their full support behind the charity in 2019. While in Guernsey the JT team will focus on supporting the great work of the much-loved local animal charity, the GSPCA.

Christophe Chateau, JT Group Head of Culture and Staff Engagement, said: “Animals play an important role in many people’s lives, as valued companions for some and for many others they are a lifeline. Right now, help is needed to ensure that the people that look after the animals and pets in our community have what they need to continue to provide islanders with a vital service.

“We are committed to supporting the JSPCA’s efforts to help fund the shelter in the same enthusiastic way that we have supported local charities and initiatives for decades. For us, it’s a great way to bring people together, have fun, raise money and change something in our community that needs our help.

“We are in close contact with the JSPCA to ensure that volunteering and fundraising efforts meet the charity’s most immediate needs, working out a programme of events for JT’s people to get involved in. We have had some great successes with charity-focused events in the past, they are enormously popular and attract a lot of participation from the wider community. We hope to be just as successful this year.”

More information about the company’s work in the community is available on the charity and community pages of the JT website.

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Notes to editors

Issued by Anna Thorne at Direct Input on 01534 735253 or at anna@directinput.je

The charities JT offices will be supporting are:



Team Gravity
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JT Presents Tim McGuinness of Team Gravity

Jersey based Team Gravity captain and VR Business owner, Tim McGuiness takes some time out from the intense world of Virtual Reality Esports to give us an insight into how JT’s full fibre technology has turned his passion into a business and made him a household name in the world of VR Esports. Watch the video to hear from Tim about Virtual Reality Esports, training and his journey to some of the biggest gaming events on the planet.



About JT
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Jersey Landline issue

We would like to apologise once again to all customers who were affected by service problems with the Jersey Landline issue on 27th December and then on 30 December. Thank you for your patience and support. The network is normally extremely robust, but we fully understand that is cold comfort when there is a problem.

The two incidents were unrelated technical issues. We will now undertake a full investigation to isolate the exact root cause of each one so that we can make sure it isn’t repeated. Needless, to say we will be monitoring the network very closely indeed over the coming days.

Given the timing over the holiday period, the fact we had two problems close together, and that they collectively affected the majority of our customers in some way, we will be offering compensation in line with our customer promise. Compensation will be seen in our customer’s January bills. This will take the form of a week’s free landline rental . And for broadband customers, a waiver on charges for data use in excess of broadband bundles in January.

We take our responsibility as one of Jersey’s core infrastructure providers very seriously indeed. We would like to reassure our customers that problems are rare. But if something happens we have careful plans in place to deal with it as quickly as possible. We always aim to get back to normal as soon as we can. Part of our protocol includes notifying the emergency services as the Health and Social Services community alarms used by some customers are affected by loss of landline service. We have been working pro-actively with all Emergency Services to continually improve the services.