Virgin Media O2 is boosting its initiative to get more people connected to the web with all of its UK stores now part of the National Digital Inclusion Network. This vital service aims to offer those in need the chance to get a free O2 SIM for their phones which includes a generous 25GB of data per month for 12 months.
So far, O2 says it has handed out free SIMs to more than 200,000 people nationwide and it’s hoped this boost will help get even more people online.
The update comes as new research suggest that around a quarter (26 percent) of Brits on low incomes (those with a household income of less than £15,000) are struggling to afford their mobile phone bill.
Half of those also say they’d feel lonely if they couldn’t access the internet or mobile data at home.
Speaking about the update, Nicola Green from Virgin Media O2 said: “We know that people experiencing poverty are having to make difficult choices around how they spend their money – but affording mobile data shouldn’t be one of them.
“That’s why Virgin Media O2 has rolled out the National Databank to all its O2 stores nationwide, offering free O2 mobile data to connect people in need, so they can get online and stay in touch with their loved ones this Christmas and beyond.”
HOW TO GET THE FREE DATA
To be eligible for free data from the National Databank, a recipient must:
Age: Must be 18 years or older.
Income: Must belong to a low-income household.
Internet Access:
And/or have no access or insufficient access to the internet at home,
And/or no or insufficient access to the internet when away from home,
And/or being unable to afford their existing monthly contract or top-up.
If you are struggling to get online and match the criteria above, here are all the stores where you’ll find the National Databank.
Antrim – The Junction.
Armagh – Mall Shopping Centre
Barnstaple
Belfast – Kennedy Centre
Bexleyheath
Birmingham – The Fort Shopping Centre
Bishop Auckland
Bishop’s Stortford
Burnley – The Mall
Chester – Broughton Shopping Park
Christchurch
Cirencester
Cookstown
Coventry – Arena Shopping Park
Didcot – The Orchard Centre
Doncaster – Frenchgate Centre
Downpatrick
Edgware
Edinburgh – Cameron Toll Shopping Centre
Ellesmere Port – Coliseum Shopping Park
Enniskillen – Erneside Shopping Centre
Havant – Meridian Centre
Hempstead Valley – Hempstead Valley Shopping Centre
Hounslow
Ilford – The Exchange Centre
Keighley
Leicester – Beaumont Shopping Centre
Leigh – Spinning Gate Shopping Centre
Lichfield
Limavady
Liverpool – Liverpool Shopping Park
London – Brixton
London – Colliers Wood, Tandem Centre
London – Eltham
London – Lewisham, Lewisham Shopping Centre
London – Stratford Centre
London – Stratford Westfield
London – Tottenham Court Road
London – Walthamstow, &17Central
London – Wandsworth, Southside Centre
London – Wood Green
London – Woolwich
Londonderry – Foyleside Shopping Centre
Loughborough
Magherafelt – Meadowlane Centre
Market Harborough
Newmarket – The Guineas
Newtownabbey – Abbey Centre
Ormskirk
Penrith – New Squares
Penzance
Rochdale – Rochdale Exchange Shopping Centre
Rugby – Junction One Retail Park
Skegness – Hildreds Shopping Centre
Stamford
Strabane
Trowbridge – The Shires Shopping Centre
Truro – Lemon Quay Retail Park
Welwyn Garden City – Howard Centre
West Bromwich – New Square
Worksop – Bridge Place
Bolton – Middlebrook Retail Park
Bridlington – The Promenade
Middleton – Middleton Shopping Centre
Preston – Deepdale Shopping Park
Sheffield – Crystal Peaks Shopping Centre
Skipton
Thornton Cleveleys
Washington – The Galleries
Shrewsbury
