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Double shortlisting in telecoms ‘Oscars’ for Jersey’s full-fibre network

Jersey’s full-fibre network has earned the Island a place on the shortlist of the 21st annual World Communication Awards.

The successful completion of JT’s Gigabit Jersey project has been shortlisted in both the ‘Best Network Transformation Initiative’ and the ‘Broadband Pioneer’ categories of the distinguished awards, which will be presented at a ceremony in London at the end of October. The shortlisting sees JT joins some of the biggest names in the telecoms industry across the world – including BT, TalkTalk and O2. This in itself is a significant tribute to the talented and diverse team at JT that have worked to deliver this project from the beginning.

The shortlisting recognises the commitment made by JT’s teams to the island to deliver a reliable, high speed full-fibre network which would benefit the entire community. It has already paved the way for new business start-ups, contributed to the growth of Jersey’s digital sector and supported expansion of the finance industry, as well as opened the door to new ways of learning in our schools and enabled householders to embrace smart technology in their homes.

Graeme Millar, JT’s CEO, said: “A year on from the completion of this landmark project we can begin to assess the longer-term benefit that full-fibre is having for Jersey. Many of the advantages of a full-fibre network are now a reality. The network has had a truly transformative effect on Jersey’s position as a world leader in connectivity and innovation.

“The success of Jersey’s full-fibre network is down to the hard work and dedication of all those who worked on the project over the years. Together, we have created a legacy for Jersey and contributed to the current and future success of our Island economy and generations to come, which we’re all very proud of.”

Amy Bryant, Deputy CEO, Jersey Finance said: “Jersey’s ability to harness technological innovations lies not just in its community of skilled professionals but also in its world class infrastructure and digital capability. Advances in the internet of things (IoT), blockchain, fintech, cryptocurrencies and artificial intelligence depend on a fast and reliable connection and JT’s full-fibre network has provided that backbone to take them forward.”

Over 550 telecom companies, representing over 35 countries, are taking part in World Communications Awards 2019 and the winners of the 25 award categories will be announced at a ceremony in the De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms, London, on 30 October 2019.

National Coding Week Guernsey
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Coding across the generations

Take a robotic ball, an adult, a child and a smartphone and you have the perfect recipe for an exciting coding workshop with a difference during the 2019 National Coding Week, sponsored by JT.

This year, JT is providing a FREE coding workshop for budding techno families, called ‘JT Generations Code Together’ at the Digital Greenhouse. This workshop is designed to bring adults and children together for a few hours to share their different skills and, in the process, learn how to programme an app-enabled robotic ball called a Sphero BOLT.

The interactive session has been specially planned with step-by-step guides for pairs of one child (aged 8 – 13 years) and one adult (no age limit) each to take part in. During the free two-hour session, which will be led by Jersey Coders expert Mentor Colin King, the pairs will complete a series of challenges which may include navigation, IR (infrared) communication and direct interaction between the Spheros.

Paul Taylor, Managing Director, JT (Guernsey) said: “National Coding Week always presents a great opportunity to inspire and inform through raising awareness of coding. This year we wanted to take this ideal opportunity to get generations of families to partner and share skills with each other, in a fun digital learning environment. Many adults have not grown up with technology the way their children and grand-children have, so part of our intention is to unravel some of the mysteries of coding in a friendly and jargon-free environment. At JT we’re keen to help more people to use and understand digital technology, as we have one of the best digital infrastructures in the world – which in turn benefits the whole community and encourages the digital leaders of our future.”

National Coding Week founder, Richard Rolfe, said: “It has always been our aim to encourage schools and businesses to deliver events which showcase innovation and give people an insight into how digital technology is influencing their lives and how they can use it. The JT Generations Code Together sessions are a fun way to demonstrate the latest digital capability using a fantastic learning tool which will appeal to all age groups. We would also like to take the opportunity to thank JT for their constant efforts in bringing our digital community together, this is the 5th year JT have sponsored the annual event, supporting us since we began in 2014”.

Lucy Kirby of Digital Greenhouse said “building coding skills is a vital asset for our island’s future generation and building understanding amongst the current generations of adults is equally important.  It’s great to see JT arranging events like this alongside National Coding week.”

The session take place from 6 pm to 8 pm on Monday 16 September at Digital Greenhouse. Places on the JT Generations Code Together session can be applied for online at www.jtglobal.com/ncw and are limited so we encourage islanders to register their interest fast.

More information about getting involved can be found on the National Coding Week website.

National Coding Week Jersey
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Coding across the generations

Take a robotic ball, an adult, a child and a smartphone and you have the perfect recipe for an exciting coding workshop with a difference during the 2019 National Coding Week, sponsored by JT.

This year, JT is providing two FREE coding workshops for budding techno families, called ‘JT Generations Code Together’.  These workshops are designed to bring adults and children together for a few hours to share their different skills and, in the process, learn how to programme an app-enabled robotic ball called a Sphero BOLT.

Two exciting and interactive sessions have been specially planned with step-by-step guides for pairs of one child (aged 8 – 13 years) and one adult (no age limit) each to take part in. During the free two-hour session, which will be led by Jersey Coders expert Mentor Colin King, the pairs will complete a series of challenges which may include navigation, IR (infrared) communication and direct interaction between the Spheros.

Tamara O Brien, JT‘s Head of Customer Experience said: “National Coding Week always presents a great opportunity to inspire and inform through raising awareness of coding. This year we wanted to take this ideal opportunity to get generations of families to partner and share skills with each other, in a fun digital learning environment. Many adults have not grown up with technology the way their children and grand-children have, so part of our intention is to unravel some of the mysteries of coding in a friendly and jargon-free environment. At JT we’re keen to help more people to use and understand digital technology, as we have one of the best digital infrastructures in the world – which in turn benefits the whole community and encourages the digital leaders of our future.”

National Coding Week founder, Richard Rolfe, said: “It has always been our aim to encourage schools and businesses to deliver events which showcase innovation and give people an insight into how digital technology is influencing their lives and how they can use it. The JT Generations Code Together sessions are a fun way to demonstrate the latest digital capability using a fantastic learning tool which will appeal to all age groups. We would also like to take the opportunity to thank JT for their constant efforts in bringing our digital community together, this is the 5th year JT have sponsored the annual event, supporting us since we began in 2014”.

With Digital Jersey’s new Academy opening during September digital skills are firmly on the agenda so we expect these sessions to fill fast.  Tony Moretta, CEO, Digital Jersey said “building coding skills is a vital asset for our island’s future generation and building understanding amongst the current generations of adults is equally important.  It’s great to see JT arranging events like this alongside National Coding week.”

The sessions take place from 6 pm to 8 pm on Tuesday 17 September at Digital Jersey Hub and Thursday 19 September at the Digital Exchange in St Brelade. Places on the JT Generations Code Together sessions can be applied for online at www.jtglobal.com/NCW and are limited so we encourage islanders to register their interest fast.

More information about getting involved can be found on the National Coding Week website.

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JT Rewards Guernsey, the guilt free way to treat yourself to an island staycation

With exclusive deals, money off discounts and offers on local restaurants, hotels and overnight stays NEW JT Rewards is on its way, offering Islanders a fantastic variety of special deals and great savings from a range of well-known local businesses.

Islanders are being invited to sign up to JT Rewards ahead of its official launch on Friday 6 September to be able to receive weekly deals, offering massive savings of up to 70% off hotels and restaurants. The weekly deals will be listed on the JT Rewards Facebook and Instagram pages, where people can sign up for a weekly email notification bringing all the latest deals direct to them. Plus, for JT customers there will also be extra, exclusive discounts.

To celebrate the launch, every new subscriber to JT Rewards, signing up before Thursday 5 September will have a chance to win an amazing £3,000 TUI travel voucher giving a lucky winner the family holiday of a lifetime.

JT’s Dominic Vye, Head of Digital Services said: “JT Rewards is something that our customers have consistently said they want, and Guernsey businesses have been really keen to get on board. Our Rewards have been hugely successful in Jersey for many years and we’re delighted that everyone in Guernsey will now have the opportunity to access exclusive deals for local restaurants and hotels.

“JT Rewards is a really easy way for local companies to reach a wider audience. We have an amazing team of people working hard to secure the biggest exclusive offers. Among the businesses who have partnered with JT Rewards are Handpicked Hotels – a long-standing Jersey rewards partner – who will be offering some great deals at St Pierre Park Hotel.”

Emma Knights, Deputy General Manager, St Pierre Park Hotel said: “We are looking forward to promoting the many ways in which islanders can enjoy the St Pierre Park as much as our visitors do, whether that is a treatment at our spa, a romantic meal or an overnight staycation. JT Rewards has already proved to be a very successful and popular way for us to promote deals and reach out to new customers.”

The aim of JT Rewards is to support local businesses by promoting their products or services to islanders and this year there will be a bumper campaign of offers for the Christmas season for those who sign up.

People can sign up online at https://www.jtrewards.com/guernsey/  and find more information on our JT Rewards Facebook page.

Customer Experience
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Customer Experience ambassador in the spotlight for international award

The gatekeeper of a programme to put JT’s customers at the heart of every conversation has been shortlisted for her leadership at the International Customer Service Awards.

Tamara O Brien, JT’s Group Head of Customer Experience, has been named as one of the six finalists in the Customer Experience Leader category of the awards, which will be announced at a ceremony in Amsterdam on 21 November 2019.

Tamara led a campaign across all of JT’s offices to reshape the customer experience for JT customers and support that experience with pioneering digital technology like the exclusive JT App. This instigated a company-wide training initiative, based around JT’s own customer feedback and insight – so that every one of JT’s people understood the value of real customer loyalty and satisfaction and became ambassadors for a brand they believed in.

“Over the last few years, JT has been on a journey to transform itself from a local telecoms provider to a world class communications brand.  Our purpose is to connect our islands and our customers to their future, and it is crucial for us to bring our people and our customers with us.

On a personal level, I am honoured to have been named as a finalist however it’s the hard work and commitment of all our teams, across the company, that has got us here. We empowered our people to believe in themselves and show them the vital role each one plays in supporting our customers. Our goal was to shift our culture in every area of the business so that the first question on everyone’s mind, no matter what their job, was and remains, ‘how will our customers feel about this’. On a simple level my role is to represent the voice of our customers across everything we do; be it a new live chat app to make life easier for customers to get help, a new roaming service designed to give customers more freedom when travelling, or creation of our customer panel ‘JT Voice’ giving our own customers input to how we provide our services and products.”

Tamara was instrumental in the development and delivery to JT’s 600+ employees of the company’s first customer experience strategy. She built and inspired a dedicated, specially-trained Central Customer Experience team which understands both customer behaviour and the importance community engagement plays in JT’s culture. Customer experience training is now an essential part of every employee’s induction, probation and remuneration and is supported at all levels of the business.

Now in its second year, the International Customer Experience Awards recognise inspiring organisations which are delivering an outstanding customer experience across the world.

Autism Golf Day
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Golfers putt in the effort for Autism Jersey

Island golfers will be teeing off at La Moye Golf Club on Friday 23 August for this year’s Autism Jersey Annual Golf Day.

The JT-sponsored event is an increasingly popular fixture for enthusiastic Jersey golfers, and this year the event was booked out with 25 competing teams of 4 players, faster than any other year.

In 2018 the event raised a record-breaking £28,000 for Autism Jersey to be used for the building and running of a new residential, community-based Autism centre in the Island. The organisers are hoping that 2019 will be even more successful with competitors ending the day with a raffle and auction featuring many unique items donated by local businesses.

The funds raised at this year’s events will also go towards the purpose-built centre which will provide tailored assistance and improved services for people with autism and their families. JT’s on-going support of this annual event also means the new centre will have the latest technology, ensuring visitors can keep connected via state-of-the-art equipment, made possible by JT’s award winning full-fibre network.

Nick Winsor, Chairman of Autism Jersey, said: “The golf day has become the biggest annual event in our calendar and is our largest single fundraiser. The longstanding partnership with JT as corporate sponsor has played a big part in the continued success and growing popularity of the event. The funds raised by the competition and auction make a huge contribution to our work at Autism Jersey and raises awareness within local community and beyond.”

Daragh McDermott, Corporate Affairs Director at JT and a board member of Autism Jersey, said: “We are very proud of our partnership with Autism Jersey, supporting the fundraising efforts of this vital charity and being part of their efforts to raise awareness is very important to us. The charity provides invaluable support to many families in our community helping people with Autism live a full and inclusive life and promoting a greater understanding of the condition.”

Cobo Bay Gig 2019
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For Those About To Rock…

It’s hard to believe, but we are almost at the end of this year’s run of Cobo Bay Balcony Gigs – and what a fantastic season of music and memories it has been. The final JT-sponsored gig will be on Sunday 25 August, headlined by a tribute to legendary rockers AC/DC, who are guaranteed to get the party started and bring the family-friendly gigs to a close in style. They will be supported popular French band ‘Sons of the Desert’.

Over the course of summer, the popular free gigs have been attended by many hundreds of islanders and tourists alike who have been treated to both great weather and great acts, including tributes to Ed Sheeran and the ever-popular Fleetwood Mac. Many talented and popular Guernsey bands have also joined the line-up, impressing the balcony gig crowds since May.

The six gigs have, as in previous years, raised money for two very worthy causes the Guernsey Cheshire Homes and JT’s chosen charity for 2019, the GSPCA. All have been supported by the friendly JT team who have been on hand with plenty of smiles, exclusive offers, bio-degradable and re-useable freebies at every event.

Tamara O’Brien, JT’s Deputy Managing Director in Guernsey, said the feedback from the events had been excellent. “What a great summer it has been, this year’s line-up has been stronger than ever, and the great British weather didn’t let us down. This is the eighth year we have supported the Cobo Bay Summer Balcony gigs and it’s been a pleasure to help bring such a selection of quality live acts to Guernsey and showcase some of the best talent this Island has to offer. As always, given the beautiful location that these events take place in, we would ask islanders attending to collect and take home their rubbish and leave Cobo Bay litter free.”

“Our team will be on hand to help make sure this final gig really rocks and will be handing out exclusive news about our new ‘JT Rewards Guernsey’ which due to popular demand will launch in September, offering fantastic daily deals and savings for islanders with many local businesses from meals out, overnight stays, household equipment, leading brands and much, much more already signed up.

David Nussbaumer, organiser of the Cobo Bay Balcony Gigs said: “Once again it has been a successful summer of music at Cobo Bay thanks to the ongoing partnership and support of JT which has helped us secure quality acts for these really popular events. We look forward to seeing as many people as possible at the last gig of the summer as we say goodbye to the 2019 Balcony Gig series.”

To sign up for JT Rewards visit https://www.jtrewards.com/guernsey/ and find more information on our JT Rewards Facebook page.

About JT
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5G – Jersey and Guernsey test sites

The following statement has been released on behalf of JT:

“JT announced today that it has launched a 5G test site in Jersey and a 5G test site in Guernsey, following receipt of a licence to do so from CICRA in March 2019 and in line with a commitment announced in November 2018. The test will provide important technical and planning information to support JT’s forthcoming applications for a licence to extend its leading 2G/3G/4G networks towards 5G, once the process for doing so is announced by CICRA.”

More information about the 5G network for JT customers >

JT Pool Party AUG19
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Loading on the summer fun at the Lido!

There’s no better way to spend a summer afternoon than with a free pool party and no better location than the iconic Lido at Havre des Pas for a fantastic fun-filled family day out.

JT is helping islanders making the most of the sunshine this August and will host a family pool party, stacked with music, ice cream and – what every pool party needs – giant inflatables on Saturday 10 August between 11am and 3pm.

No party would be complete without music and local DJ Stefan Rousseau will get everyone in the mood with a mix of soul, funk and everyone’s favourite summer throwbacks, making sure the party is one of this year’s biggest summer memories.

“I am really looking forward to playing a tropical and summery soundtrack while everyone has fun in this amazing location,” says DJ Stefunk.

The venue holds 300 people who will also have exclusive access to the balcony at Havre de Pas, giving the whole event a VIP vibe.

The JT team will be there with the ever-popular JT Tiki Hut throughout the afternoon giving away plenty of bio-degradable and reusable freebies for party-goers, including sunglasses, buckets, spades and beach balls and welcoming the first 150 partygoers with a free ice cream.

Just to add to the feel-good factor, the event will support the JSPCA, JT’s chosen charity for 2019 and we will also be running an Instagram competition on the day to win the latest beach tech.  To enter, partygoers need to upload their pool party pictures using the hashtag #JTPoolParty and the best photos will be selected to win a Boompod waterproof speaker.

Tamara O’Brien, JT ‘s Head of Customer Experience, said: “As pool party venues go, it doesn’t get better than the iconic Lido at Havre des Pas. There’s room to chill out, play and party and make the most of Jersey beach life in a safe environment. A community summer party is a great opportunity to bring people together for a bit of fun and sunshine and we look forward to welcoming 300 people to join us, so come down early to find your picnic spot and grab an ice cream!”

JT Pool Party AUG19
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Party time at the pools!

There’s no better way to enjoy summer than a free pool party stacked with music, ice cream and – what every pool party needs – giant inflatables.

JT are making the most of the sunshine this August and will host a day of family fun with a party vibe at La Valette Bathing Pools on Sunday 11 August between 11am and 3pm.

The JT team will be manning the ever-popular JT Tiki Hut throughout the day giving away plenty of bio-degradable and reusable freebies for everyone who comes down, including sunglasses, buckets, spades and beach balls. They’ll even be keeping party-goers cool with a free ice cream.

No party would be complete without music, local DJ Nick Beddow will get the party into full swing with a mix of today’s popular hits and everyone’s favourite summer throwbacks making sure the party is one of this year’s biggest summer memories.

Tamara O Brien, JT’s Deputy Director in Guernsey said: “Summer staycations in Guernsey are all about getting down to the beach and our pool party is a great chance to get together with family, friends and neighbours to enjoy the weather in a fantastic and much-loved location. We are really lucky to be able to use the iconic La Valette Bathing Pools, a safe environment to swim and play under the watchful eye of the venue’s lifeguard team and a lovely place for a relaxing picnic. The bathing pools have capacity for 70 people, so please join us early to make the most of a great day out – and before the ice creams melt!”