Three has started work on the first joint site in the UK’s Shared Rural Network (SRN) which aims to transform connectivity for residents and businesses on the Isle of Mull.

The joint site is one of 66 sites across Argyll and Bute that will provide 4G connectivity through the SRN programme- which aims to grow geographic coverage from 56 per cent of Scotland’s landmass to at least 72pc by 2024. 

The new site is expected to go live in early 2023 and will deliver connectivity to Vodafone and O2 customers due to an agreement that will see each mobile network operator (MNO) build 74 shared sites.

Two further sites in Argyll and Bute and Aberdeenshire will start to be built by Three before Christmas as it makes improvements to the programme in Scotland. 

Iain Milligan, CNO of Three UK, said: “Mobile connectivity is absolutely critical for communities in every part of the UK, helping to support the local economy and keeping people connected with their friends and family.

“I am proud that Three is leading the way by delivering the first of these shared sites in the Scottish Isles where I believe it will have a transformative effect on coverage.”

New research from Three UK shows that 49 per cent of young people do not have access to adequate technology at home.

The survey of 700 11-17 year olds found the digital divide is leaving millions of young people behind, with 33pc not having access to a laptop or computer.

Those surveyed were worried about how having no access to basic tech could impact their future. Of those without a laptop or computer, 71pc find it difficult to apply to jobs or complete schoolwork, while 50pc were worried about the effect on future employment.

Research revealed that 27pc of young people want to access the latest technology outside of school and college, so Three UK has launched a pilot campaign to supercharge three youth clubs.

Located in Leeds and Birmingham, Three will provide high speed Wi-Fi and Lenovo tablets to The Hamara Centre,  Hall Green Youth, and the Shard End Youth Centre.

Access to tech has been identified as a key benefit to youth clubs, with 75pc of those attending youth clubs hope their club can provide access to technology. 

Elaine Carey, Chief Commercial Officer said: “Access to technology and connectivity has never been more important for young people across the UK. It has become an integral part of their day-to-day life, from aiding them in their studies, to providing them with a creative outlet or simply in communicating with their friends out of school.

“However, the digital divide very much remains. That’s why we wanted to look at how we could support young people who might not have access to the tech they need at home. We’re really excited about partnering with the Hamara Centre, Hall Green and Shard End on this initiative; both in providing them with connectivity and technology and in supporting the incredible work that they are already doing for the local community.”

Three Business research has revealed that more British office workers are planning to work from the high street to save on commuting and energy bills. 

Of the 2,000 surveyed, 70 per cent are concerned about how working from home is impacting their energy bills and 66pc are worried about commuting costs. 

Three Business is working with three independent cafes in Birmingham to provide a package to turn them into flexible working hubs.

A connectivity grant is also being given to the cafes, equipping them with two years of free 5G business broadband- alongside a hot drink tab for local office workers.

The campaign arrives as 66pc of office workers say they want to give more support to local businesses during the cost of living crisis.

Flexible work

Nearly half of office workers said they would work from an independent cafe if given the choice, and 71pc said they would work from their local cafe if it would help them during economic instability.

However, 49pc are worried about poor or unreliable internet connection in their local cafe, but 74pc said they would try it if the WiFi could be trusted.

Snehal Bhudia, Director, Three Business said: “Everyone is concerned about the current inflationary pressures, whether that’s local businesses being worried about demand for their services and costs of running their business, or workers who face higher home energy bills and more expensive commutes. 

“Working from the high street is a win-win for everyone – bringing much-needed footfall to local businesses while giving workers a little respite. We’re doing our bit to support by raising awareness and providing strong connectivity to make it happen.”

Three UK has announced new Black Friday deals on handsets and audio accessories for the first time. 

Black Friday offers from Three include:

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4– customers can save £360 when they buy this device, and they can claim a Samsung S6 Lite tablet worth £299, at no extra cost.  Available from £45 per month (plus a one-off upfront cost of £50) on Three’s unlimited data 24-month plan. 

Unlimited data on a SIM only deal– for £10 per month for the first six months, (£20 per month after) on a 24-month SIM only plan. 

Samsung Galaxy S22 5G– customers can save over £500 and it comes with unlimited data for just £30 per month over 24 months and an upfront cost of £30.

iPhone 13– save over £300 on this device and receive unlimited data for £43 per month on a 24-month contract and pay £30 upfront.

Google Pixel 6– save over £300 and pay £30 per month on a 24-month contract to get unlimited data, plus pay an upfront fee of £20

Half price audio accessories

For the first time, Three is launching a Black Friday deal for its extensive range of audio accessories. With up to 50% off headphones, including:

• JBuds Air True Wireless Earbuds – now £35 (was £50)
• JBL Tune 510BT headphones – now £20 (was £40)
• JBL Wave 100 true wireless headphones – now £19.50 (was £39)

Three UK has released its Q3 2022 financial results which shows a total revenue growth of seven per cent to reach £656 million- up from £614 million in Q3 2021.

This was driven by its active customer base, which saw an increase of almost 700,000 or seven per cent to 10.3m compared to 9.6m year-on-year.

Contract customers also grew by five per cent to 8.3 million mainly driven by its B2B and SMARTY services.

Its Capex increased by 28pc YoY from £191m to £244 in this quarter due to the phasing of programmes as 5G rollout and enhancement of 4G networks continued.

Robert Finnegan, Chief Executive of Three UK, said: “Momentum across Three UK has continued in Q3, demonstrated by the strong performance that we have achieved across our financial metrics. It is clear our strategy to improve our network is delivering, as more individuals and businesses are choosing Three UK as their preferred network.

“However, our returns are below our cost of capital and EBITDA remains below capex. Therefore, for Three to continue investing in the UK’s digital infrastructure, structural change is needed to the industry.”

Three Business has joined forces with mental health charity Samaritans to offer small and medium sized enterprise (SME) owners the chance to take the charity’s Building Resilience and Wellbeing digital course.

The course will supply small business owners and their employees with practical strategies to help strengthen their resilience and improve their wellbeing for their role and working environment.

Three will also host a webinar with Samaritans where business owners will hear a story from a SME business owner about mental health and the support available.

Mental health research

The partnership follows a survey commissioned by Three Business to find out how the cost of living crisis is impacting the mental health of business owners. 

Of the 1,003 surveyed, 39 per cent said financial pressures are contributing to poor mental health, with 22pc saying mental exhaustion may be their biggest challenge this year.

Meanwhile, 59pc say that the cost of living crisis may be their biggest challenge this year and 68pc say the pandemic has ‘intensified’ the pressures of running a small business. 

The research also revealed that 45pc acknowledge that mental health support is as important as financial and technological aid in a business, with 43pc saying more support is needed for their business to run better.

Jason Jaspal, Samaritan’s assistant director of business development said: “It’s vital that small business owners have access to the tools that support wellbeing. Delivered by experienced Samaritans trainers, our Building Resilience and Wellbeing courses aim to equip more people and teams with the skills and confidence to look after themselves as well as those around them.

 “We are delighted that Three Business is funding free spaces for Three Business small business owners and their employees, on our Building Resilience and Wellbeing courses, which is part of a range of courses that we offer to support organisations with mental health, wellbeing and suicide prevention training.”

Snehal Bhudia, director of business propositions and Go-To-Market for Three UK added: “From speaking to small businesses every day, we know the huge pressures they are facing not only financially but on their mental health and wellbeing too.

“That’s why we wanted to build on Three’s existing partnership with Samaritans, and extend it to all small businesses in the UK. We hope that many small business owners take advantage of this free support and guidance during a pretty difficult period for everyone.”

Three UK has launched its new ‘Refer a Business’ scheme which makes it easy for businesses to earn cash rewards after referring another business to Three’s eligible phone plans.

A Pay Monthly handset sale could reward both parties with up to £40 each per device connected, meanwhile, a SIM-only plan would be £10 per line connected and shared between both businesses involved.

To participate, customers would have to sign up for a referral account, share a link with another business, follow the link to get a reward code, cite the reward code to Three in-store or via phone, then when it’s approved, both businesses share a cash reward.

Three UK director of trading Tristan Runswick said: “So many of our customers recommend us to other businesses they know, and we think it’s only fair to offer even better value in return. 

“We hope more people can take advantage of this offer and reap the mutual financial rewards as a result. With 99% UK coverage and the fastest 5G, it’s another reason to join Three Business.”

Three has announced that Iain Milligan has taken on the role of chief network officer (CNO).

Milligan has been with Three since 2005, and his new role will see him be responsible for the performance of Three’s network and the rollout of 5G to ensure it continues to be the UK’s fastest 5G network.

As CNO, he will also continue Three’s £2 billion+ investment in its network including upgrades to the 4G network, and he will oversee the 3G switch off by the end of 2024.

Milligan will replace Carlo Melis who will return to Italy to become chief technology officer at Three’s sister company, Wind Tre.

Three UK and Ireland CTO David Hennessy said: “With seventeen years of experience at Three, Iain’s understanding of the company and its operations will drive the next stage of our network development as we continue the rollout of the UK’s fastest 5G network1 and build an even better 4G network.

“I want to thank Carlo for his work in developing Three’s network and I wish him the best of luck in his new role with our sister company, Wind Tre.”

Three UK’s customer base has increased six per cent year-on-year to 8.2m contract subscribers and allegedly outperforming the rest of the market in the half-year results.

The B2B customer base increased by 134 pc year-on-year, which Three say reflects its ongoing investment into the customer proposition.

Three UK’s CFO Darren Purkis said: “B2B has been a big focus for us as two years ago we didn’t have a B2B team.

“We built a small base very quickly and last year we doubled that, and we’re trying to double it this year which we are on track to do.”

Wholesale margin grew 25 pc year-on-year, but revenue was flat and remained at £1.18bn compared to the half year 2021.

The provider was voted as the UK’s fastest 5G network by Ookla for the third consecutive year, and Three have reported that its 5G home broadband customer base has more than tripled since H1 2021 and 5G went live on its SMARTY network.

Purkis added: “We knew we had an opportunity with 5G and we’re starting to see the benefits of rolling that out fast and will continue this as we have market leading 5G spectrum.”

“Our propositions are strong, we’ve got good price points, we’re offering a good amount of data, we’ve got certainty in our contracts and I think we are competitive pricing wise.

“We want to improve on everything as we always want to be better, so if we can continue to improve the network and customer experience, everything will grow from that.”

Overall perfomance 

Speaking about the half year results, Three UK CEO Robert Finnegan said: “Our performance in the first half of 2022 is clear evidence of how our strategy to invest in our network and technology is delivering meaningful growth across our business divisions. 

“We now cover 56% of the population with the UK’s Fastest 5G Network offering our customers a fantastic experience.

“As a result, we added almost half a million contract customers year-on-year, adding almost as many contract customers as our competitors combined in H1. 

“Beyond network investment, we have also made significant progress in the development of our customer propositions and continued to evolve our B2B offering – with this customer base increasing over 130% in the period – and we believe there is a lot more to come from Three Business.” 

Three UK has switched on its 5G network in 86 new UK locations including tourist hotspots and rural and coastal areas. 

Three has doubled the number of 5G sites in the last year to 3,200 and hotspots such as North Devon, Torbay and Great Yarmouth are some areas that have benefited from tourists using their devices to enjoy holidays.

Its recent report ‘Appy Holidays’ reveals that 58 per cent of Brits who go on holiday would be less likely to choose accommodation with poor mobile phone network coverage and 42 pc would decide not to visit a place for the same reason.

Of the 2000 surveyed, 68 per cent of Brits said mobile connectivity is important when thinking about booking a trip, with 24 pc unlikely to visit a holiday destination if reviews said the area had poor coverage.

Three UK chief commercial officer Elaine Carey said: “Whether it’s a coastal trip to the seaside, a quiet cottage getaway, or a city break, there is an expectation from holidaymakers that they will be able to stay in touch with friends and family, make use of online review and booking platforms, and post about their trip on social media.”

Good connectivity contributes to £3.4 billion per year in new revenue for British tourist businesses and Three’s ongoing network investment will help support the staycation industry. 

Carey added: “We are committed to playing our part to ensure we continue to provide excellent coverage for all.

“That’s why we’re investing £2m every day in the network to rollout the UK’s fastest 5G network which now covers more than 56 pc of the UK’s population.”