How you helped make a difference in December

We’re working to help people in need stay connected to our digital world – and you can still get involved.

Christmas was a time when you made a big difference. Just by being an O2 customer, you’ve already helped us offer a lifeline to people living in data poverty with over 91,000GB of free O2 data provided to those in need in December. So, thank you.

Read on to see what we achieved together and how you’re helping us tackle data poverty and digital exclusion around the UK. We think it’s important for big organisations to do their bit. So, our work in this area will continue beyond the festive season – and you may be able to get even more involved.

91,000GB of free O2 data provided to people in need

Over the festive period, together with your help, we donated 3,666 O2 SIM cards. That means over 91,000GB of free O2 data was provided to people in need over Christmas. Added to this, 47 brand new Databanks were opened in December, with a further 170 applications received for new Databanks wanting to open to help get data into the hands of those that need it. Thanks to everyone who applied to become a Databank in 2023, with organisations like food banks, community centres and libraries joining the fight to end data poverty – and as of the end of January, 241 O2 stores will also be Databanks.

Elderly man and younger woman sitting together

How we’re working with the National Databank and Good Things Foundation

In 2021, we joined forces with the UK’s leading digital inclusion charity Good Things Foundation to launch the National Databank, which provides free mobile data, texts and calls to people who need it. We have already committed more than 60 million GB of data to the Databank by the end of 2025 – that’s £60m worth of connectivity, enough to connect 500,000 people living in data poverty nationwide. We have also handed out more than 105,000 free O2 SIM cards, each providing free calls, texts and 15GB of data each month, for up to 12 months – and we’ve now increased that to 25GB a month.

Black women wearing headscarves sitting at tables on laptops

How UK workplaces can become Digital Inclusion Hubs and Databanks

We all want to help connect the unconnected. That’s why thousands of local community organisations and businesses across the UK have already become Digital Inclusion Hubs and Databanks by joining the National Digital Inclusion Network. Any organisation that delivers or wants to deliver digital inclusion support to people in their community can apply to become a National Digital Inclusion Databank for free. Schools, community centres, housing associations, charities, financial services and social enterprises – these are just some of the kinds of organisations that have already signed up to become Databanks.

How you can get involved

Could your workplace serve as a welcoming space for people in your community to learn digital skills and access data? You can register your place of work as a potential Digital Inclusion Hub today. If it meets the right criteria, it could become somewhere that really helps people in need stay connected in our digital world. Find out more about how your workplace could become a Digital Inclusion Hub and Databank.

Learn more about National Databanks below.

Published: 26 Jan 2024