Community Calling was established in 2020 in response to the pandemic to provide smartphones to help people who couldn’t afford devices or connectivity to get online.

The initiative has now donated 20,000 devices to those who need them across the country, including victims of domestic abuse, refugees, and disadvantaged communities.

Partners include Women’s Aid, Crisis, Migrant Help, and Supporting Children with Diabetes.

The devices are connected to free O2 mobile data plans from the National Databank, which was set up by Virgin Media O2 and the charity Good Things Foundation. Unwanted working smartphones can be sent to Community Calling for free, where accredited tech partner Genuine Solutions will data wipe the devices before passing them on to someone who needs them.

The charity is part of Virgin Media O2’s sustainability strategy, the Better Connections Plan, to encourage consumers to help tackle electronic waste.

A Virgin Media O2 survey found that 70 percent of people feel guilty for not doing enough to support charities or those in need. Nearly half of those surveyed said they would pass on an item to a good cause if they knew it would have a positive impact on someone’s life.

Dana Haidan, Chief Sustainability Officer at Virgin Media O2, said “People want to do more to help communities in need. Wwith millions of unused phones stashed in drawers and garages, they’ve got the power to change lives by donating their devices to Virgin Media O2 and Hubbub’s Community Calling scheme.

Alex Robinson, CEO of Hubbub, said “We’ve made it straightforward, to encourage even more businesses and individuals to pass on their old devices to support those facing digital exclusion.”

]]> https://mobilenewscwp.co.uk/news/article/virgin-media-o2-pushes-get-donated-devices-people-need/feed/ 0 https://mobilenewscwp.co.uk/news/article/genuine-solutions-completes-mbo-appoints-crossman-ceo/ https://mobilenewscwp.co.uk/news/article/genuine-solutions-completes-mbo-appoints-crossman-ceo/#respond Mon, 01 Aug 2022 14:13:49 +0000 https://mncwp.tailrd.cloud/genuine-solutions-completes-mbo-appoints-crossman-ceo/ The company has seen recent growth with the acquisition of Relove Technology, and another part of this growth is that the new management team will take majority ownership of the business

Genuine Solutions has announced the acquisition of Relove Technology, where the brand will remain but be completely owned by Genuine Solutions.

Relove Technology will be able to benefit from the existing infrastructure and connections within the telecoms industry as it continues to scale its business and brand. 

Through the acquisition, the technology recovery experts and certified B Corp Genuine Solutions will be able to grow and expand to other segments by offering refurbished technology directly to consumers and SME’s.

Genuine Solutions founder and CEO Christian McBride said: “The capabilities and experience that the Relove Technology acquisition brings to Genuine Solutions is a very exciting dimension and will be key to power our continued growth aspirations across Europe.”

Relove Technology founder Paul Crossman added: “I am really excited for Relove Technology to be joining Genuine Solutions at this important time where the circular economy is rapidly gaining recognition, especially with the demand for trusted pre owned products.

“Relove will benefit from Genuine’s heritage, its infrastructure and the experienced team to help us establish ourselves as the trusted partner for preowned technology amongst consumers, SME’s and Industry who care about their social and environmental impact.”

Three has developed its Reconnected programme with new partnerships to support Ukrainian refugees displaced due to war, unemployment and social mobility.

Reconnected will allow customers to donate their old phones which Three, in partnership with Genuine Solutions, repackages with unlimited data, texts and calls for six months.

These devices will go to Ukrainians seeking refuge in the UK, and those seeking employment, disadvantaged students and other vulnerable groups facing digital exclusion can also benefit for this scheme.

The programme focuses on three parents who can help tackle key issues of society today: Good Things Foundation, Business in the Community, and LetsLocalise.

Three chief commercial officer Elaine Carey said: “So many of us take our phones and our connectivity for granted. We must remember that there are more than a million households in the UK that do not have this luxury. 

“Our Reconnected programme is all about ensuring disadvantaged people can get connected quickly and easily.” 

Genuine Solutions director Gurjit Dhillon added: “We’re encouraging people not only to donate their old ones when they upgrade, but to dig out smartphones hidden away in drawers and ensure they are either donated to one of our key charities – or refurbished or recycled. 

“This way we can ensure your phone either goes to someone in critical need of it, can be given a new lease of life, or be sustainably recycled.” 

The Mobile Phone Museum which showcases the history of mobile phones has gone live today as part of its five-year sponsorship deal with Vodafone.

This museum, which is free for people to view (link) documents the history of the very first mobile phones from 1984 to the present day.

It will feature over 2,100 unique handsets from over 200 vendors after CCS Insight chief analyst and CMO Ben Wood joined forces with industry veteran Matt Chatterley to showcase the phones.

The official launch event kicks off tonight (November 23) with a one-night only exhibition in Soho, London.

Commenting on the launch, Wood said: “This all started as a passion project over 25 years ago, so it’s immensely exciting to work with Vodafone to launch the museum and to see so many industry veterans and other friendly faces at the exhibition.

“None of this would have been possible without the extraordinary generosity and effort of a handful of eager volunteers, donors and sponsors, so I want to thank them sincerely for their contributions.”

He added: “It’s a privilege to be able to recognise and celebrate the devices and people who have made such a significant contribution to the world, as we preserve that history and make it available to all by launching the Mobile Phone Museum today.”

CCS Insight, where Wood works at chief analyst and CMO, plus recovery and distribution firm Genuine Solutions have also supported the project.

Genuine Solutions has undergone a restructure, with all three companies merging to become one.

Live from today (October 29), Genuine Solutions Group, GSUK and GSL have merged to become Genuine Solutions.

The restructure and rebrand was due to take place last year to commemorate the 15^th anniversary, but was put on hold due to the pandemic, says Genuine Solutions CEO Christian McBride.

Genuine Solutions specialises in the recovery and redistribution of stock.

McBride told Mobile News that the company is keen to put the environment at the forefront of its strategy.

“To reflect this shifting world and to continue our success over the next 15 years, we’ve built on our ambition to create a strategy for the future, with one that embraces the circular economy to eliminate waste.

“We will transition this planet first approach throughout everything we do into one brand, growing our reputation as sustainable stockists and distributors.”

To date, Genuine Solutions has recovered and redistributed over 90 million products, with the firm targeting the 100 million milestone.

Earlier this year the company was awarded silver at the Global Good Awards – an event that focus on the environment – for its circular economy model.

Genuine Solutions Group has set out to become Net Zero by 2030, with the firm confirming its status as a carbon neutral company.

It comes as the Surbiton-based accessories distributor undertook its first annual carbon footprint of the year during the 2019 to 2020 financial year.

Genuine Solutions Group have so far diverted 9,000 tonnes of WEEE (waste from electrical and electronic equipment) from landfills as part of its initial sustainability efforts.

The company plans to improve its carbon footprint rating year on year, measuring all emissions.

Genuine Solutions Group will work with sustainability experts and form strategic partnerships as part of its plans to reach Net Zero status by the end of the decade, according to the company in a statement.

To help achieve the target, Genuine Solutions Group has engaged with independent environmental consultancy firm Resource Futures.

Crystalusion co-founder Sanjay Daswani is targeting one million shipments by the end of the year after striking a distribution deal with Genuine Solutions to expand its international reach. Speaking to Mobile News, Daswani revealed the ambitious target after reporting 750,000 shipments in 2017, up from 250,000.

The co-founder said the plan is to be ranged in bricks-and-mortar retailers to achieve the stated target, aided by its extended reach.

Products supplied by the Surbiton based distributor include the Crystalusion Liquid Glass Protection, Liquid Glass Protection Twin Pack and Crystalusion PLUS.

Genuine Solutions becomes the third distribution partner to be signed up by Crystalusion in the UK, joining Gusto Telecom and Elite Mobile.

Genuine Solutions serves more than 1,300 customers worldwide across 45 countries. It houses products from more than 20 brands, including Alcatel, BlackBerry, HTC, Huawei, LG, Microsoft, Samsung and Sony.

Crystalusion products are sold in 24 countries, including the UK, France, Spain, Germany and Australia. Three new countries – Austria, Russia, and and one from South America – were added over last year.

Work is underway to start operations in Mauritius. Crystalusion and Genuine Solutions were Mobile News Awards winners, bagging the ‘innovative product’ and ‘accessories distributor’ (under 100 employees) awards respectively, last year.

Daswani told Mobile News: “We have some ambitious numbers, we want to get to the point where we can sell millions of units per year.

“We want to get to the end of this year achieving a million units. Over the last few years we have managed to either double or triple our numbers on a year-on-year basis.

Genuine Solutions is not only selling in the UK, it has an international reach and we want to tap into that. For us its about broadening that reach.

“Brick and mortar retailers are key to growth – but it’s only key for us if we strike the right partners with the right education.

“We had opportunities before to become another SKU in the portfolio but the partnership needs to be right.”

Wearables 

Daswani revealed a new product will be launched aiming at the wearable and power segment of mobile, with a release intended around Q4.

He added: “Devices are getting bigger and hungrier for data and battery. That’s the area where we’re heading.

“We want to bring a solution that in a certain way is contradictory to where the market is going; what we’re looking for is practicality; we’re looking at wearables and power next.”

Crytsalusion has a signed a UK distribution agreement with Genuine Solutions which will see it offer a range of device protection solutions to channel partners and customers.

Products being supplied by the Surbiton-based distributor include the Crystalusion Liquid Glass Protection, Liquid Glass Protection Twin Pack and Crystalusion PLUS.

Crystalusion and Genuine Solutions are Mobile News Awards winners, bagging the ‘innovative product’ and ‘accessories distributor’ (under 100 employees) awards respectively, last year.

Genuine Solutions director of purchasing Bav Majithia (pictured) said: “It’s been a very productive start to 2017 for us with adding new partners into the portfolio.

“We’re responding to our customers’ requests and providing more new partners focusing on the specialist niche brands or best in class innovation capabilities. We’re delighted to welcome Crystalusion and look forward to launching lots more innovation together.”

For more on the story read issue 660 out on March 26.