Vodafone UK has begun trialling 4G drone flights that can deliver crucial medical equipment for the NHS Scotland.

The trial went live today (February 23) and will last three months.

It comes as part of a collaboration between Vodafone, Skyports, Deloitte and NHS Scotland.

It is expected to improve healthcare services for people living on the west coast of Scotland and significantly improve the speed of transport, cut costs and reduce delivery times.

Vodafone says that the service will increase the frequency of pick-ups and reduce delivery times in some areas of the Argyll and Bute region to 15 minutes, when this would take up to 36 hours previously.

The operator’s 4G network will be used to identify and locate the drone in real time at Skyports operations centre.

Vodafone’s network will work alongside existing GPS location systems, to ensure connectivity coverage is provided at all times.

Breakthrough

This trial is being remotely piloted from the Skyports operations centre in Argyll and Bute automatically using predefined routes.

Using a web customer interface developed by Deloitte, NHS staff are able to make on-demand and scheduled requests to use the drones.

Vodafone UK business director Anne Sheehan has called the trial a “big breakthrough”.

“This is an amazing use of technology to overcome geographical boundaries. The trial is a big breakthrough, and we hope that we will see drone flights make a real difference for the NHS and for patients in the most remote parts of the UK.”

The consortium unveiled its first accelerator in Birmingham today, with additional locations to arrive in Wolverhampton and Coventry later this year.

The accelerators will consist of office and demonstration spaces featuring 5G technology in indoor and outdoor spaces. They will have private networks for businesses to trial 5G features that are not yet commercially available.

West Midlands 5G estimates that at least 2,000 private sector businesses and public sector organisations in the region will be able to benefit from the accelerators over the next five years.

It added that it was reviewing remote access options for businesses in light of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Other member’s of O2’s consortium include Deloitte, Wayra and Digital Catapult.

O2 COO Derek McManus said: “O2 has championed 5G business innovation for a while now and we are incredibly pleased to have been awarded this contract. Being able to help businesses in the West Midlands realise the potential of 5G is a fantastic opportunity and something we are excited to bring our expertise to. Our own consortium – alongside our collaborators, Deloitte, Wayra and Digital Catapult – worked very hard to win this contract and we look forward to bringing this to life.”

West Midlands 5G managing director Robert Franks added: “The West Midlands has a
proud heritage leading the previous industrial revolution. Through the 5G
accelerators that we’re launching in partnership with O2 and its consortium, our
region is in prime position to lead the next industrial revolution.”

Seventeen million people in the UK believe they use their smartphones too much, according to new research from research company Deloitte.

The company asked 4,150 UK smartphone owners and found 39 per cent thought they used their phone too much with 83 per cent of those willing to do something about it, equal to 14 million people in the UK.

Parents are also worried about their children with 56 per cent saying their child is on its phone too much, and 43 per cent of people think their partner is on their phone too much.

Overall, over half of smartphone users (55 per cent) use their devices for personal reasons while at work with 23 per cent adding that they are “often” distracted at work as a result of their mobile.

Deloitte head of research for technology, media and telecoms Paul Lee said: “The smartphone has been altering our lives, mostly for the better, for 11 years.  It is now an integral digital tool for work and play but users, particularly younger consumers, are becoming increasingly wary of overindulgence.

“Over the next 12 months the latest mobile operating software upgrades will enable tens of millions of smartphone users in the UK to start measuring their usage levels.

“While this will be a significant step forward in the maturing relationship between people and their favourite device, smartphone usage is likely to remain key part of the national conversation for years to come.”

In this weeks show we discussed biometric facial recognition software with GFK Director of Technology Imran Choudhary and Deloitte head of Technology, Media & Telecommunications research Paul Lee.

We also spoke with New Way International Managing Director Nigel Prince about his involvement in the upcoming Mobile News awards this March and of course we had a word with features editor Manny Pham about the new Mobile News magazine issue out this week.

British smartphone users collectively check their devices 1.1 billion times a day – the equivalent of 400 billion times a year.

This is according to the fifth annual Mobile Consumer Report from business advisory firm Deloitte, which analyses the mobile usage habits of over 4,000 UK consumers as part of a global survey of 49,000 people across 30 countries and six continents.

As of May-June 2015, three quarters (76 per cent) of UK adults owned a smartphone, up six per cent from the previous year to May 2014 and 14 per cent from 2013.

It revealed more than a third (36 per cent) look at their smartphone more than 25 times a day, while 16 per cent admitted to looking at it more than 50 times a day.

Twelve per cent reach for their smartphone as soon as they wake up. More than half (55 per cent) do so within 15 minutes of waking up, with more than a quarter checking their phones within five minutes of going to sleep every night.

The research also found that two thirds use their devices while on public transport; 65 per cent while at work; and almost a third use them while eating at a restaurant.

Deloitte head of technology, media and telecommunications Paul Lee said: “The modern, touchscreen-based smartphone is less than a decade old, but it is more intertwined with our lives than ever. Constant technological improvements are allowing us to delegate more and more tasks to our phones, from ordering taxis to browsing catalogues and paying for a meal.

“The frequency of consumers glancing at their smartphones arguably makes it one of the best value devices available. For the sixth of smartphone owners who look at their devices 50 times or more a day, the cost per glance is less than two pence a day for a £700 handset kept for two years. And that’s before allowing for trade-in value.”

Elsewhere, 30 per cent of smartphone users now use 4G, up from eight per cent a year ago, while the number of UK adults making mobile payments has risen from three to 13 per cent.

The research found that barriers still exist here for the majority of owners. Security was cited by 42 per cent as the primary reason for not using their phone to make a payment, followed by “I don’t see the benefits of using this” (35 per cent) and users lacking the necessary feature or app on their phone (22 per cent).

Lee added: As technology companies continue to launch and market their mobile-payment systems, smartphone users will increasingly accept it as a method of payment. Within the next year, we would expect around 10% of smartphone owners to regularly make mobile payments. Early adopters may choose to leave home without the need to carry a wallet or purse.

“However, for the mainstream consumer, it will be many years before credit cards are dispensed of entirely; cash’s anonymity may well mean it remains in circulation for generations.”