Category: Media Centre > News (Global)

Digital excellence, innovation and inclusivity will be at the heart of the fifth National Coding Week, sponsored by JT.

This year’s National Coding Week (NCW) takes place 17 – 23 September and will offer a full programme of events in both Jersey and Guernsey to encourage interest in learning digital skills and provide hubs of activity that highlight inclusivity, social contribution and innovation.

Jersey-based NCW Head of Strategy Jonathan Channing said that the 2018 programme of events demonstrates the relevance of digital knowledge in all sectors of our community.

The week kicks off with a JT hosted launch event at the Digital Hub on 17 September which will look at the opportunities presented by new technologies and will also help people understand how to protect themselves from online threats. At the event, the NCW team will also demonstrate an augmented reality T-shirt and app, which uses computer-generated content to show the inside of the human body.

“The events we have lined up this year are a genuinely exciting mix and really do show the scope of digital innovation and the ways in which it is now embedded in so many areas of our lives. There are a range of events in both Jersey and Guernsey that will showcase the extent of digital innovation within our communities and there will also be many opportunities to join digital networking and leadership events in both islands,” said Mr Channing.

Mr Channing said that he was delighted that NCW’s work had recently been endorsed by the National Cyber Security Centre, which provides advice for the public and private sector in how to avoid computer security threats, for helping to make people aware of the need to be secure online and looking for ways to balance this with accessibility.

Dr Ian Levy, Technical Director for the National Cyber Security Centre, a part of GCHQ, said: “National Coding Week is a great reason to try your hand at coding but take the time to learn about writing secure code as well – it’s even more fun! This week, whether you’re a beginner or pro, I challenge you to learn one new technique to make your code safer. Safer code means a safer UK.”

Jersey Library and Digital Jersey will be the centres of activity in Jersey with Digital Greenhouse playing host to a variety of events in Guernsey throughout the week.

Tamara O’Brien, JT’s Head of Customer Experience, said: “It’s inspiring to see how National Coding Week has continued to grow which is down to the passion and energy of the organisers and their commitment to promoting digital learning and skills for people of all ages and abilities. We have been involved for 5 years providing sponsorship and one of the reasons that we’re very happy to support NCW is that it is centred around the concept of accessible technology and helping people in our communities to adapt to new changes in the digital world. Their events are inclusive and open to all provided in a relaxed environment which I’ve seen first-hand the benefits of, in helping people of all ages grow in confidence and adapt to the opportunities of the digital world.”

NCW was the brainchild of Islanders Richard Rolfe and Jordan Love and over the past five years, it has spread globally with events now being held as far away as the US and Australia.

Guides which explain how to get involved in NCW, case studies and the full programme of events are available on the NCW website https://codingweek.org 

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Jersey’s ground-breaking fibre-optic network, which means that Islanders now enjoy some of the fastest internet speeds in the world, has been shortlisted in two categories at the global telecoms awards.

The World Communications Awards, which will be held in London at the end of October recognise innovation and excellence in global telecoms. The Island is shortlisted in two categories – Best Network Transformation Initiative and Broadband Pioneer Award. Both submissions focus on the recently completed ‘Gigabit Jersey’ project, which has seen every broadband customer in the Island connected to a full-fibre network, meaning Jersey has now become the first jurisdiction in the world to have every building with a broadband connection linked to this hyperfast and resilient network.

The completion of the project has already put Jersey on the telecommunications world map. Earlier this year, JT won the Fibre Connectivity Award at the prestigious Connected Britain Awards and the project will also be featured in the Technology Review paper within this year’s Parliamentary Review, an annual publication produced by the Houses of Parliament.

Graeme Millar, JT’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “To be shortlisted at our industry’s ‘Oscars’ is, in itself, a great honour and achievement and helps further raise our Island’s reputation globally. What we have achieved is down to the support of everyone on Jersey, the States of Jersey and the incredible work of the JT team and I would like to thank everyone for their support, energy, and commitment. To have companies and jurisdictions much larger than JT and bigger than Jersey now look to us to know how to achieve such an ambitious project is something we can all take great pride in

Iain Laird, Field Engineer Manager at JT said: “This shortlisting means so much to me and my colleagues.  Having been in our customers’ homes throughout this process, talking to them and connecting them, we see every day what a difference technology makes to people’s lives and how fibre really is enabling people to connect in whatever way they want, now and in the future.”

You can also find the shortlist on the WCA website, here: http://bit.ly/2PYFUW2

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Autism Jersey’s annual Golf Day, sponsored by JT, raised a record-breaking £28,000 for the charity, which will help it build the Island’s first purpose-built centre for people and families living with autism.

The Charity is currently holding a public consultation about plans for a new £1m facility that it hopes to build by 2020. As well as becoming the new home for the charity, it will offer a range of services to the 1,000 Islanders estimated to be on the autistic spectrum and their families. This will include permanent and respite accommodation.

The Golf Day – the most important event on Autism Jersey’s fundraising calendar – was held at La Moye on Friday 10 August, with an impressive 23 local teams taking part, with the overall winning team being Continuum, led by Captain Dan Hare.

Nick Winsor, the Chairman of Autism Jersey, said: “Once again, the Autism Jersey Golf Day was a great community event which raised a record-breaking £28,000 pounds. This will help us achieve our long-term goal of providing a permanent home for Autism Jersey and a hub from which to provide community-based services. I would like to make a special mention of the sponsor for the day, JT, whose continuous contribution is having a positive impact on the lives of autistic Islanders.”

Daragh McDermott, Director for Corporate Affairs at JT, said: “I’ve been involved with Autism Jersey for many years now and I’ve seen first hand the fantastic support the charity provides to many individuals and families. JT is delighted to play whatever part we can to help raise awareness and fund the great work they do, it’s something we are very proud of. The Golf Day itself was, as always, filled with a combination of friendly rivalry and some great golf, I’d like to thank everyone who helped to make the day happen in particular all those that participated and congratulations to Continuum for their very well-deserved victory.”

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JT has reached the final round in two categories of the 2018 European Contact Centre and Customer Service Awards (ECCCSA), a major endorsement of its longstanding service to Channel Islanders. This comes shortly after the team was also shortlisted in the UK Customer Experience Awards 2018 for Customer Service Team of the Year, winners of which will be announced at Wembley Stadium in the autumn.

The only locally owned telecoms operator in the islands, is among a select group of international companies in the running for the Best Customer Service Team and Best Contact Centre of the Year (Small) categories.

The JT Customer Contact Centre services over 50,000 residential and business customers across the Channel Islands, as well as managed services for JT’s international customers. This relatively small, dedicated team can receive on average 13,000 calls, 5,300 emails and 1,500 social interactions and live chats each month. They also respond to 999 emergency calls and provide a 24/7 service to 500 people who carry emergency call system alarms, so it is exciting to see this busy team recognised for their hard work and extremely high standards.

Overall, JT’s strategy and focus are to deliver a consistent and high-quality customer experience and response across every ‘touch point’, however, customers choose to interact with the company: be it in person, over the phone, through social media or via Livechat using their app or website. Since putting in place a dedicated Customer Experience Team a few years ago, all of JT‘s people who interact with customers; from engineers to sales teams, have received special training to ensure that the company provides the best possible service across the organisation.

Tamara O’Brien, JT’s Group Head of Customer Experience, said: “Everyone at JT understands the part they play within the wider organisation in serving our customers to the highest possible standards. None more so than our Customer Experience Team because we recognise that, in our small island communities, our contact centre is not only a source of information but can also be a lifeline. Of course, this is literally the case with 999 calls, but it is also critical that every customer feels as though he or she is being looked after and problems will be fixed quickly and efficiently.

“I’m proud to say that customer experience is at the heart of what we do, and we’re delighted that our ongoing efforts and focus on continuous improvement, have been recognised by being shortlisted at these Europe-wide awards.”

Hosted by BBC presenter Fiona Bruce, the European Contact Centre and Customer Service Awards will take place in Battersea Park, London, on 27 November. Last year, more than 1,100 people attended.

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JT has been named ‘Best Communication Solutions Company in the Channel Islands’ at the 2018 UK Enterprise Awards, which focuses on the ‘SME’ sector.

Small to medium-sized enterprises constitute the vast majority of local businesses and are the engine of the Channel Island economy. JT’s Business Sales team supports this crucial sector and is a trusted partner for thousands of businesses across the islands.

The UK Enterprise Awards are organised by SME News Magazine, which is the UK’s biggest selling publication in the SME sector. JT has been recognised for the breadth of its offering, the positive impact it has in the Jersey and Guernsey communities and its recently completed ground-breaking full-fibre network.

JT was selected by a combination of votes gathered from a network of respected industry partners, peers and SME News’ own rigorous in-house research. JT’s performance over the past 12 months, its innovation and way of working, and its position in the market were all assessed.

Katie Corbett, JT’s Enterprise and Business Services Director, said: “This welcome recognition is down to the great work of everyone at JT, but particularly our pan-island SME team and I’d like to thank them for their efforts. We like to consider ourselves to be trusted partners of our clients, working with them to find the best solutions, with a focus on strategy and best working practices as well as technology. Being the only locally owned telecoms company in the Channel Islands, JT has a genuine desire to play a part in the success of local SMEs.

“We’re proud to give them the tools to grow and develop their business. This year, for instance, JT has connected the last broadband customer to our full-fibre network in Jersey. This means that locally SMEs can benefit from world-leading download and upload speeds, allowing them to take full advantage of the internet, creating more efficient and cost effective ways of working. The technology we provide is changing the way we all do business and it is fantastic for JT and our SME team to have this international recognition.”

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Autism Jersey’s annual Golf Day, sponsored by JT, tees off on Friday 10 August with organisers promising this year will be the biggest and best yet.

The money raised at this year’s Golf Day – the most important event on Autism Jersey’s fundraising calendar – will go towards funding the building and running of a residential and community-based Autism centre in the Island.

The annual event has 22 local teams taking part, and will be the first large event hosted at La Moye Golf Club’s new clubhouse, which has just undergone a £3.5m refurbishment. The day of competition will end with a raffle and auction, including donations by former world number one Ernie Els. Last year over £20,000 was raised for the charity from this one-day event.

Mr Els and his wife Liezl have a son with autism and founded The Els for Autism Foundation in 2009 to support people on the autism spectrum fulfil their potential to lead positive, productive and rewarding lives. The foundation has worked on a number of events and programmes in partnership with Autism Jersey.

Nick Winsor, Chairman of Autism Jersey, said: “This is our biggest fundraiser so we’re grateful to everyone taking part and to our sponsor JT. To have a corporate sponsor of the calibre of JT is essential to the event’s success and their professionalism, focus on the Jersey community, and on-going support guarantees a popular sell-out event year-on-year that makes a huge contribution to the Charities work.”

Daragh McDermott, Corporate Affairs Director at JT, said: “As a board member of Autism Jersey, I know only too well what a fantastic charity it is: offering invaluable support to many families and the wider community. JT is delighted to support Autism Jersey in their fundraising efforts by sponsoring, participating in and providing the prizes for this phenomenally popular annual golf day at La Moye Golf Club. We’re proud to be a locally-owned business and support our Island communities whenever and wherever we can.”

JT is a finalist in two categories of this year’s UK Customer Experience Awards, the biggest ‘CX’ event of its kind in the world. Now in its ninth year, the UK Customer Experience Awards recognise those inspiring organisations who are delivering an outstanding customer experience. JT has been shortlisted in the ‘Best International Business’ and ‘CX Team of the Year’ categories.

JT’s submissions focus on how it introduced new, far-reaching and innovative Customer Experience standards and training to focus on ‘delighting’ customers. JT began a journey in 2015 to improve customers experience as part of a strategy to transform the business from an on-island telecoms provider to a world-class communications brand, pioneering digital technology supported by first-class customer experience. This was implemented throughout the organisation by a specially trained, committed and focused team and led to a positive increase in levels of customer, client and employee satisfaction and engagement.

Tamara O’Brien, JT’s Head of Customer Experience, said: “JT has invested a lot of time and energy into improving our customer experience, and hearing the news we are finalist in two major categories at Britain’s top CX awards against some global operators and brands is testament to the hard work of a very dedicated CX team who represent first and foremost the Voice of our Customers. The most important validation, however, is from our customers themselves, who consistently tell us that JT staff are polite, knowledgeable and helpful.  Customer experience is a journey not a destination, while we are pleased with the progress we are making, keep our customers’ needs right at the heart of our business and ensuring we as a team represent their voice, is central to our strategy of continuous improvement.”

The other shortlisted organisations in the Best International Business Category are: Medallia in partnership with Generali, Barclays, CPM International (New Tech Division), Airbnb and Thomson Reuters.  In the CX Team of the Year category, JT is alongside: Cross Country, Lowell, O2 Telefonica and BT Corporate.

The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on 11 October at Wembley Stadium.

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JT has given its backing to a group of young technology pioneers who have formed the first professional organisation with players competing in global Virtual Reality eSports competitions. JT has become the global sponsor of “Team Gravity”, founded by Jersey resident Tim McGuinness. The team competes in the game Echo Arena, which is a three-versus-three-person game of virtual ‘Ultimate Frisbee’ – however, it plans to compete in more eSports and has recently recruited its fourth member.

The team competes on a weekly basis but also attends major eSports events, such as ESL One in Hamburg and IEM Katowice in Poland, the biggest gaming event in the world, attracting 173,000 people and an online audience of 46 million. Team Gravity recently finished first in the European Stage Finals of Echo Arena and is looking to qualify for the World Finals in September.

Mr McGuinness said: “eGaming and eSports have been around for some time, but the addition of Virtual Reality takes it to a new level and is a growing global phenomenon. With VR, it is much more akin to playing a sport than a game; you need to train and you need to have the right mentality as you can play for up to three hours non-stop – it is a full body workout requiring great fitness, dexterity and skill.

“JT’s sponsorship will be crucial for us as Team Gravity grows in this brand-new industry, which has huge prospects as technology develops even further. As a player, I also have a lot to thank JT for; in the virtual space, I will be playing against people around the world, even my own teammates are based in Sweden and Germany. We rely on having a super-fast internet connection, and with JT’s full-fibre network in Jersey, I know I have the ultimate bandwidth to compete at the highest level.”

Tamara O Brien, Head of Customer Experience at JT said: “JT has been at the forefront of communications technology for more than 120 years so supporting VR eSports – which is fast becoming a global movement – is a great fit, especially as Team Gravity also has a strong local connection through Tim. We’re proud to support Tim and his teammates with both funding and technology, to help them grow and develop and we wish them every success in the forthcoming World Qualifiers. We’re also looking at further local opportunities to work together in the near future to help show young islanders the possibilities this exciting growing sport has to offer, so watch this space.”

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JT has become a partner and supporter of Jersey Together, a colourful new three-day summer festival that will celebrate the Island’s many communities through, culture, music and food.

The event will be held at the People’s Park from 6-8 July and is being spearheaded by the Polish United group, which supports Jersey’s Polish community. The festival will have free entry and aims to be a fun family day out, with a range of traditional food and music on offer from Jersey’s multi-cultural society,  including the African, French, Italian, Polish, Portuguese and Romanian communities. With the World Cup in full swing, matches on Friday and Saturday will also be shown on large outdoor screens.

Tamara O’Brien Head of Customer Experience at JT said: “JT has supported the coming together of communities through festivals and music events in the Channel Islands for many years, so partnering with Jersey Together was an easy decision to make. As the only locally owned telecoms operator, we’re proud of our role in joining people together so we’re delighted that this festival will celebrate Jersey as a modern multi-cultural Island that everyone can enjoy living in, whatever their nationality. The JT team will be at the festival giving away summer freebies and joining in the fun.”

Festival co-organiser Andrzej Kopacz said: “The Island has a rich history of cultural diversity and Jersey Together will celebrate that, as well as the many values and experiences that we have in common. JT’s support will be invaluable in making the first Jersey Together a success and I would like to thank them for their fantastic support.”

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JT is now ranked among the global leaders for managing text messages on behalf of business customers having processed a record-breaking four billion mobile transactions in 2017.

The Channel Islands’ only locally owned telecoms company has built long-term partnerships with many international mobile network operators and has signed more than 750 roaming agreements to allow its customers to connect wherever they are in the world. Building on those networks, JT has developed products to help other operators monetise their own services. One of these is messaging for texts (SMS) and ‘Home Location Registers’ (HLR), which allows carriers to determine the home country and network of a mobile subscriber. JT provides portability information for routing of messages purposes to make sure that carriers send messages in the most efficient and cost-effective way.

Tom Noel, Managing Director of JT International, the division responsible for growing the group’s global business, said: “JT has been in the business of messaging since its conception and has been one of the industry’s leading pioneers. Reaching four billion transactions is a significant milestone for us and moves us closer to our goal of becoming the Operator of Operators for Messaging.

“Despite the growth of services such as WhatsApp and Snapchat, messaging remains preferred method to reach a customer and big players like Google, Facebook and Apple all use it, for example, for two-factor authentication. Chatbots are also becoming popular, especially in call-centre environments. Although some people have predicted the end of messaging, it is very much alive and well, and our growth confirms this.”

As well as messaging, JT International has also developed niche products in the areas of global roaming, fraud protection and the Internet of Things (IoT).

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