IT’S Monday 21 January, I am at home wondering what might happen this week.
I doubt very much that our politicians will be able to agree anything to do with Europe. The weather is chilly but at least the sun is shining and Franklins Solicitors £50 challenge starts this week.
The object is to raise as much cash as possible, using the £50 from Franklins, plus your own time and effort for one of the best local charities around. I write, of course, about Northampton’s very own hospice, Cynthia Spencer.
We at dbfb are heavily involved in this effort and would like to invite our customers and readers of Business Times to make a donation, however large or small by going to www.justgiving.com/fundraising/dbfbfranklins50. Many thanks in advance!
Now, why would you want to go North? Well according to a study carried out by Global Wireless Solutions in 2018, businesses in the north of the UK are more likely to have a reliable mobile connection than those in the south. The study found that the North East ranked first for mobile connectivity for businesses, with London the worst of the 12 regions. Other northern regions, including the North West and Scotland, were the next-best regions. Meanwhile, 76 per cent of UK companies surveyed in the poll reported that their business ‘suffers’ when the signal is anything less than ‘excellent’. The three worst regions were all located in the south, in Greater London, the South East and South West.
To conduct the survey, 200 IT decision makers from UK businesses were contacted online between January and February 2018. Businesses have different needs from consumers who tend to have a higher requirement for services such as video. For businesses, the ability to send emails, make phone calls and text is most important. Voice calls for businesses are crucial, so having a reliable network is essential. The fact that the UK’s biggest working population, in London, comes last should alert networks to the challenges ahead.
The survey also found that 4G coverage has improved significantly during tests last year compared to some in 2017. Good news as we head into 5G and see autonomous and connected cars on the roads.
Thanks for reading my article this month and I do hope you can make a contribution to Northampton’s own Cynthia Spencer at the address above.