JT has joined the Channel Islands’ response to the destruction caused by Hurricane Irma. Jt have waived all roaming charges for any JT customer caught up in the disaster until they can return.

The company, which is owned by the people of Jersey, is also working with Island authorities to identify other ways to help. This could include sending engineers and equipment to the region.

JT Chief Executive Officer Graeme Millar said: “Like most people, I have been following events in the Caribbean and Florida closely. I’ve been truly shocked and saddened by the scale of the devastation. Being a global business with worldwide roaming agreements, JT is in a position to be able to offer practical help. Especially to Channel Islanders caught up in the aftermath of this terrible natural disaster.

“We have heard stories of communities being cut off from the outside world. This is due to of a lack of communication. So, it’s comforting to know that we can offer some help to islanders and their families back home.

“Being a small island ourselves, I think we feel a natural empathy with the impacted Caribbean communities. Particularly, as we have strong business links with many of them. JT has used social media to ask affected customers to contact us. The engagement has been heartening, with hundreds of people expressing their solidarity and support. I would like to encourage as many people as possible to share our posts with their friends. We want to spread the message far and wide.”

One story from the Caribbean illustrates how JT’s global reach has already had a positive impact. Jersey couple Tim and Shona Ringsdore live in the British Virgin Islands. Consequently, their home was badly damaged when Hurricane Irma struck last Wednesday. All phone lines were down – except Mrs Ringsdore’s JT mobile. This has been the only way that the couple has been able to let friends and family know that they are safe.

Their London-based daughter, Katy, said: “That one phone has been an absolute live-saver. Only could mum and dad let me and my sister know that they’re safe using JT. Also the whole neighbourhood has been using it to speak to friends and family. I know that a couple of international businesses had lost contact with some of their BVI employees. However, through the JT phone, mum and dad were able to track them down. That one JT phone has made a massive contribution.”

JT customers in the region affected by Hurricane Irma should send a Direct Message to JT via the company’s Facebook page. Alternatively, Islanders who know of affected JT customers can contact the JT Contact Centre on 882882 to leave details.

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For further information or to set up interviews, please contact Julien at Direct Input. Telephone 01534 735253 or email julien@directinput.je

JT has seen a 100% increase in customers’ data usage while abroad since reducing roaming rates by 95% at the start of the summer.

JT was the first local telecommunications provider to introduce significant roaming reductions. This means that customers are enjoying savings of up to 85% when compared to other local providers. Plus with a roaming ‘bolt-on’ JT customers can now roam for as little as 10p per MB in the UK and France.

On average customers have already doubled their communications activity while roaming. They make 20 minutes of outbound calls, send 33 texts and are now using 145 MB of data. This is equivalent to streaming close to 5 hours of music on Spotify.

Now, also with the introduction of 4G roaming only from JT, JT is the first to offer the most flexible and cost effective all round roaming offer.  Plus, with super-fast connectivity. For customers travelling to the UK and Europe, downloading maps, accessing emails or sending large attachments and uploading holiday snaps, it is as quick and easy as it is at home.

Dominic Vye, JT’s Head of Commercial Development, said: “It is excellent to see islanders taking full advantage of reduced roaming rates while on holiday this summer. We specifically launched our reduced rates before the summer holidays started. This was so families, travellers and holidaymakers could take full advantage of the reduced charges this summer. We still encourage all our customers to roam responsibly while abroad. Please ask in store if you have any questions.”

As the Channel Islands are not part of Europe, local operators are still charged to connect their customers by the international telecoms companies.

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NOTES TO EDITORS

• JT introduced the option for customers to cap their data roaming so they can limit their usage to no more than £50 worth of data. JT also has other ways to control spending, including:
• JT’s FREE Apps, which let customers monitor their usage in near real time.
• Adding a Roaming bolt-on to their account for just £5 per month will further reduce data charges to as little as 10p per MB in the UK and France.
• Using Wi-Fi whenever possible is another way to control costs.
• Plus JT Fibre customers can access over 20 million FREE JT Fon Wi-Fi hotspots around the world.

Issued by Hannah Reed at Direct Input. Telephone 01534 735253 or email hannah@directinput.je for more information.

After cutting its roaming rates by up to 95%, JT has more good news to share. Its customers can now roam on 4G. This means super-fast internet access and download speeds when on the move.

JT has the Channel Islands fastest network and is the only provider to offer superfast 4G roaming. For customers travelling to the UK and Europe, downloading maps, accessing emails or sending large attachments will now be as quick and easy as it is at home.

This latest positive news for customers follows JT’s recent announcement that it is cutting its roaming rates across Europe by 95%.

Whilst enjoying the freedom, JT is reminding its customers to roam responsibly and is introducing the option for customers to cap their data roaming so they can limit their usage to no more than £50 worth of data. JT also has other ways to control spending, including:

– JT’s free Apps, which let customers monitor their usage in near real time.
– Adding a Roaming bolt-on to their account to further reduce data charges to as little as 10p per MB in the UK and France.
– Using Wi-Fi whenever possible, plus JT Fibre customers can access over 20 million free JT Fon Wi-Fi hotspots around the world.

Dominic Vye, JT’s Head of Commercial Development, said: “We have been delighted by the positive response to our new roaming rates, which match our local out of bundle rates and apply to all JT customers. Now superfast 4G roaming will allow people to download data at similar speeds to high-speed broadband whilst on the move. The new rates and 4G speeds are exciting developments but we still urge our customers to plan ahead before they roam and then roam responsibly.”

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NOTES TO EDITORS
Issued by Julien Morel at Direct Input. Telephone 01534 735253 or email julien@directinput.je for more information.

After negotiating with over 150 international partners, JT will cut the cost of roaming in EU countries. As of Thursday 15 June, mobile phone users in Europe will be free to use their regular call, text and internet allowances anywhere within the EU. This will be at no extra cost under new rules which abolish data roaming charges across the union.

The Channel Islands are not part of the EU. Hence, they do not benefit from the new rules. Since JT became aware of the EU mandate, it has been working hard to secure a pricing reduction. Across Europe, there is considerable disparity between operators about how they are servicing their customers in line with the new lower EU roaming rates. There has been confusion around compliance and the real benefits for the user. Customers needed clarity and the best deal possible. Because of this JT has reached out to their international partners to discuss an arrangement for its customers.

Talking to over 150 EU-based operators that provide JT customers with roaming across the EU, JT has successfully negotiated lower agreements with each operator. Consequently, JT will offer new rates for roaming in July. These rates will be substantially and dramatically lower. Lower than JT currently has to charge. Albeit they will not be able to match exactly the EU rates.

Dominic Vye, JT’s Head of Commercial Development, said: “For some years, we have been working closely with international providers. It is a testament to these strong relationships that our customers can now use their phones like they do at home. Without these relationships, it is unlikely that we could have negotiated such a fantastic deal for our JT customers.”

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NOTES TO EDITORS
Issued by Hannah Reed at Direct Input. Telephone 01534 735253 or email
hannah@directinput.je for more information.

JT Group today (6 June) publishes its Annual Review for 2016. This shows a 14% increase in operating profit on the previous year. Therefore, 2016 was a strong year with gross profit rising by 1% to £90.7m, mainly generated by JT’s highly successful international machine-to-machine1 business, enabling JT to deliver a healthy dividend back to its ultimate owners, the people of Jersey. The dividend paid to the States of Jersey increased from £4.1m to £5.5m.

In 2016, Jersey consolidated its position as one of the most connected places on earth. With 84% of broadband customers directly connected to fibre. Therefore, the Island is now in second place in the world, and in first place in Europe, in terms of the percentage of broadband homes directly connected to super-fast, fibre-optic services.

JT’s super-fast 4G mobile networks in Jersey and Guernsey also became, officially, the fastest in the Channel Islands, as verified by Speedtest by Ookla, the world’s most popular internet performance testing service.

Growth in International Business

The year saw considerable growth in JT’s international business, which now accounts for 65% of the company’s revenue. A particular focus is the Internet of Things (IoT), which is not only an exciting emerging global technology but also allows JT to utilise the 600+ roaming agreements it has with other operators around the world. JT SIM cards now connect more than one million devices worldwide. The division charged with developing the company’s international business – JT Wholesale – grew by 29% in 2016.

Closer to home, the IoT is enabling JT to offer new communications technologies to its customers in Jersey. In December, the company launched the Channel Islands’ first low-power radio network (‘LoRa’), which allows devices to share data securely.

1. Machine to Machine (or M2M): direct communication between devices via a mobile network.
2. Internet of Things: A system of interrelated devices that have the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction.
3. LoRa (LongRange): A wide area, low frequency radio network for wireless battery-operated devices that requires very little power to run. It is ideally suited for simple and regular data transfer, such as monitoring air pollution.

A Strong Set of Results

JT CEO, Graeme Millar, commented: “Against a background of intense competition and global uncertainty, this is a strong set of results. 2016 was a year of investment, diversification, relationship-building and growth in areas that we believe will offer substantial returns for many years to come.

“The most obvious is the continuing roll out of our Gigabit project in Jersey. With 84% of broadband customers now having fibre connected directly to their homes, we are extremely close to all broadband households having a superfast connection to the internet. The significance of this milestone should not be under-estimated and we expect to finish connecting practically all broadband households to fibre within the next 12 months.

“This set of results is also dependent on our customers and I thank them for their loyalty and engagement. Their willingness to work in partnership with us helps JT to provide the services they need to remain connected.

Always Improving

“Although last year’s performance across the Group was strong, we know we have much more to achieve, and have already been working hard in 2017 to make sure our service is always improving.”

JT Group Chairman, John Stares, added: “I would like to thank the team for their hard work in delivering this solid set of results for 2016, which means we have increased our value to our shareholder through a healthily increased dividend.

“JT’s international growth is impressive but it in no way means that the company is less committed to our Channel Islands’ home. On the contrary, growing revenues internationally not only means that we can invest more in our local network, it also means that our shareholder has extra funds to invest in essential infrastructure and services.”

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Issued by Julien Morel at Direct Input. Telephone 01534 735253 or email
julien@directinput.je for more information.

CEO Graeme Millar is available for interview from 1430 on Tuesday 6 June. Please contact Julien to arrange. To see a copy of JT’s 2016 Annual Review & Financial statements visit: www.jtglobal.com/annualreview

NOTES TO EDITORS
JT is a full-service Tier-1 global consumer and business enterprise provider based in the Channel Islands with over 120 years’ experience. JT offers a domestic and global customer base a range of world-class services including; voice and data; consultancy; co-location; leading-edge data hosting; internet; security; cloud back-up; fixed and mobile technologies; e-Gaming; M2M (see footnote); cloud services, fully managed IT services; and wholesale solutions. Hence, across 11 global locations, JT employs over 600 staff. These staff provide products and services to over one million global consumer subscribers. Also to 2,177 active business customers. JT has an international presence across Europe, Asia and the United States that has aided its evolution in becoming a leading supplier in roaming services.