A History of T-Mobile.
Mobile communications companies like T-Mobile, whether we acknowledge it or not, are responsible for some of the most important moments in our lives. The services they provide are invisible up until the point where they stop working, but they facilitate meaningful exchanges with friends, family, colleagues and everyone in between. The interactions that happen on our mobile phones have the power to change who we are, whether that’s on the phone, via text or through social media, and as such, it’s always worth paying just that little bit more attention to the companies which support them.
T-Mobile began life as Mercury One2One, a GSM mobile network operated by the long gone Mercury Communications. Later rebranded as One2One in a move which echoed the broader industry trend towards simpler names (evident in the O2 and Orange brands), One2One launched the world’s first GSM 1800 network, and showed the potential of what would later become a standard for a huge swathe of the world. That was in 1993, a time when mobile phones were still far from the everyday necessity we see them as today, and were instead an expensive luxury.
Growing in success, One2One was purchased by the German telecommunications giant Deutsche Telekom in 1999, and operated under the One2One brand for three years, before it was rebranded as the familiar T-Mobile in the summer of 2002. It was during this period that T-Mobile saw its strongest growth, growing to become one of the two biggest mobile networks in the UK, and taking on a huge number of new customers on the t-mobile telephone number.
It was also during this period that T-Mobile helped to launch the G1, an innocuous smartphone with a slide out keyboard, and manufactured by HTC. It was the first ever Android phone to see launch, and though it didn’t sell particularly well, Android has grown to become the biggest mobile operating system in the world, powering phones, tablets, laptops and now car entertainment systems too.
In late 2009 is was announced that Orange and T-Mobile would merge together, to form the UK’s largest network with 37% of the market and by 2012, almost all the T-Mobile/Orange branding has disappeared in favour of the new EE brand. Now, in 2015, there is no trace of T-Mobile left, and all T-Mobile contracts are managed through the EE brand. It’s just the next step in the incredible story of T-Mobile.
The History of Orange.
Orange were something of a sensation when they burst on to the market in 1994. The British public had never really seen a brand like them; bold, new and innovative, they looked to uproot a young market and remould it in their own image. Put simply, they were quite remarkable and though you can’t switch your phone on today and see their logo, the company is still around, living amongst us under a different name. Such a pioneering and important company deserve to have their story told, and so, let’s do just that.
Orange began life in 1990, right here in the UK. At this point, it was known as Microtel Communications Ltd, and was a consortium formed by the American owned Pactel Corporation, British Aerospace (who seem to have their fingers in every pie), Millicom and Mantra, who were French. This multinational and multilingual consortium didn’t last very long, however, as British Aerospace quickly bought out its partners shares and took total control of the young company, retaining the Microtel name. This was to be just the first in a string of sales for the company in its early years.
In July 1991 Hutchison Whampoa (who currently own Three, and are hoping to complete the purchase of O2 in early 2016) agreed a stock swap deal with BAe. As part of the deal, Whampoa would take a controlling stake of 65% in Microtel Communications. By this stage, the company had won a license to develop a ‘personal communications network’ in the UK, one of the earliest such licenses granted to a company.
It was at this time that the company began to work on their revolutionary branding. At the time of its launch, it was a complete revolution in the world of advertising and marketing. Not one mobile network would have dared to launch such a bold, ambiguous brand into a young marketplace. Yet today, we see countless such examples out in the market, seen in O2, EE, Three and many others. The new branding was created by an internal team within Microtel, headed by Marketing Director Chris Moss (who has gone on to work for B&Q) and supported by Martin Keogh, Rob Furness and Ian Pond. Wolff Olins were tasked with designing the brand values and logo, whilst WCRS worked on that most iconic of slogans – ‘The Future’s Bright, The Future’s Orange’.
On the 28th of April, 1994, Orange launched a 1800MHz GSM network in the UK alongside a huge advertising campaign which teased the brand, but didn’t give much away. By 1995, a holding company was established called Orange plc, thus removing all trace of the Microtel brand.
Growth, put simply, was explosive, and by April 1996 the company was to be launched on the London Stock Exchange. Following that float, the company was majority owned by Whampoa (48.22%), with a smaller amount owned by BAe (21.1%). Such was the valuation of the company that by July of 1996, Orange became the youngest company ever to enter the FTSE 100, valued at £2.4 billion.
October 1999 would see the company purchased by German conglomerate Mannesmann AG for $33 billion, shortly before Mannessman was bought by Vodafone for $183 billion in February 2000. Vodafone, however, could not hold two mobile licenses, so sold Orange to France Telecom for £37 billion, a transaction completed in 2000. At this stage, Orange's growth was incredible, and new customers choosing to contact Orange shot up.
The company remained in that state until the 1st of April, 2010, when a deal between Orange and T-Mobile was struck to bring the two companies together in the UK to become the largest network with 37% of the market. Now known as EE, Orange might not be on the high street anymore, but their influence can be felt everywhere.
Sky Cinema Gears up for Christmas
With Christmas creeping up on us all, it's a time for hurried gift giving, bank balance examination and mass food consumption. For TV companies like Sky, however, it's time to start promoting their festive offerings, and that means on Sky Cinema too.
On Saturday evening Sky launched their 2016 Christmas TV advertising campaign. It's sky Cinema's first Christmas campaign since it rebranded from Sky Movies. In it, Audiences are taken through a themed advent calendar, with doors which open to provide a glimpse of what amazing movies are coming to the service over the festive period.
You'll see the likes of the Jungle Book, The Revenant, Deadpool and Zootropolis. The ad opens on a snowy Christmas town, lit by a glowing night sky. It then proceeds to take the audience on a journey through an advent calendar; first to a scene from the Jungle Book starring Mowgli, Baloo and Bagheera, on to the cold depths of The Revenant forest, moving on to Deadpool fighting for his life and finally an advent door opens to Zootropolis characters - Lt Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde - making their escape.
Two further and shorter adverts welcome us to the world of Sky Cinema, where customers can watch a new premiere every day, along with over 1,000 movies on demand. Since the premiere, Sky have seen a huge and positive spike in the number of customers using their contact telephone numbers to get in touch and upgrade to Sky Cinema in time for the new season of great movies.
Ian Lewis, Director, Sky Cinema commented: “This year’s advert builds excitement for Sky Cinema over the festive period for the whole family. We wanted to provide a glimpse into the magic of the movies we have premiering every day during December, and throughout the year. Our aim is to remind viewers of the magic of movies at Christmas.”
Leon Jaume, Executive Creative Director at WCRS said: “How do you like your advent calendar? Chocolates in cardboard or a cinematic blockbuster bursting out of every door suspended in a dazzling night sky above a snow covered village. We incline towards the latter and thanks to Noah Harris and his Christmas elves working around the clock, that’s what we’ve got. Happy Christmas.”
Sky News Expands to Baby Shard
Sky News have, in recent years, come under a little fire for not keeping up with the latest trends. Whilst the BBC have moved to high-tech new studios in Manchester and Leeds, Sky have remained in London in the same old studios they've operated out of for more than a decade.
That's led to some declining numbers and angry customers on the Sky information page, but Sky News have a plan, and it involves moving to a new business studio in the News Building at London Bridge, formally known as the Baby Shard.
The new state of the art studio will occupy part of the 14th floor of the building and will be home to Sky News' flagship business show, Ian King Live, which airs Monday through Thursday at 18:30.
The studio features a stunning backdrop over the city and will serve as a hub for the Sky News business department and utilised by key members of the team including City Editor Mark Kleinman and Economics Editor Ed Conway.
John Ryley, Head of Sky News, commented: "As the challenges of Brexit and the changing economic story unfolds, our commitment to invest in a new studio dedicated to our business coverage will ensure our specialists and contributors are best placed to bring viewers all the latest news and analysis that matter to them."
Ian King, Sky News Presenter added: "Our new home in the Baby Shard places us in the heart of Europe’s biggest financial centre as the UK economy grapples with the opportunities and challenges created by Brexit, allowing us rapid access to all the important players that will be shaping the story. It’s going to be thrilling."
Sky Introduce New Binge Watching Features
If we're being honest with ourselves, there's nothing we like more than sitting down on a lazy day and powering our way through a brilliant TV series.
Streaming services like Netflix have introduced the concept of 'binge watching' to the world and now major TV providers are doing the same, with Sky launching new features which enable so-called binge watching on their Sky+ boxes.
The new features, dunned Auto Play and Catch Up Series Link, allow customers to binge watch that new addictively good box set or easily series link their favourite Catch Up TV series so it’s ready in their Planner.
It comes at a time when Sky are putting an ever greater focus serialised dramas, with brand new shows like The Night Of, which has already been downloaded and streamed more than 5 million ties across Sky's platforms.
The new features are the latest in a series of planned updates to Sky+ this year, including Download Next, which automatically downloads the next episode in the series a customer is currently watching. Other new features will be the introduction of a Continue Watching tab in the Planner and much more.
The introduction of the new features shows Sky's continued commitment to the Sky+ platform at a time when it has made Sky Q standard for all new customers. It's a bold move for the company and one which will reassure customers on the Sky telephone number that they're not being left behind for Sky Q customers.
Luke Bradley-Jones, Director of TV and content products, commented: “We know our customers love the freedom to easily watch episode after episode of their favourite TV shows, which is why we continue to invest in new features for Sky+. So whether it’s binge watching addictively good box sets like Billions and The Blacklist, or catching up on your favourite series, including Ray Donovan or A League Of Their Own, Auto Play and Catch Up Series Link give customers the flexibility to watch their favourite shows the way they want.”
The download is now available for all Sky+ customers and will be automatically downloaded during downtime.
