This means that car insurance companies can get a better idea of what a driver is like, and charge a more representative annual fee. Telematics also encourages safer driving, by sending automated accident reports to emergency services and notifying drivers of breakdowns ahead of them.

The results of our UK-wide You Gov survey found widespread mistrust and confusion around current car insurance premiums. 42% of respondents answered that their car insurance didn’t offer value for money; and 59% said they didn’t fully understand how their premiums were calculated.

56% of respondents viewed insurers as being the same, only differentiated by price, implying low levels of customer loyalty in the industry and consequently lower margins expensive acquisition costs. 60% said they’d be more loyal to their provider if driving habits and usage were included in pricing. This shows the opportunity Telematics could present in creating stronger and more meaningful relationships between the insurance provider and their customers.

We’re taking a lead in Telematics innovation and in customer experience. Our parent company Telefónica was the first to pilot a pay-as-you-drive car insurance policy in Spain this February and we’re rolling out a similar model in Germany right now.

Telematics is a priority for our future. We want to become the partner of choice for insurance providers in the UK. This is part of a broader strategy to use our experience of providing best in class mobile communications to expand into complete and trusted, premium digital services.

For more information on Telematics click here!

Speaking of new phones…if you’ve had your eye on an iPhone 5 but not taken the plunge yet, good news: we’ve got a special offer that makes it cheaper than ever to get your hands on Apple’s latest technology. Sign up to O2 Refresh before 29 May and you can get an iPhone 5 64GB on our £37 a month tariff for just £99.99 – that’s £170 off!

The offer’s available in all O2 stores or, if you’re an existing O2 customer, over the phone. Whichever way you sign up do it quickly – the offer won’t be around for long…

O2 Refresh offer: iPhone 5 64GB Was £269.99 up front, now £99.99. Available in store only. Includes 24 month Airtime Plan on our Pay Monthly Mobile Agreement and Phone Plan on a consumer credit agreement. Subject to status, credit check, and payment by Direct Debit. Applicants 18+. Subject to availability. Airtime Plan prices may go up. Credit provided by Telefónica UK Limited trading as ‘O2’, 260 Bath Road, Slough, Berks SL1 4DX. Telefónica UK Limited is regulated by the OFT, consumer credit licence number 0518589. Terms and fair use policy apply, visit o2.co.uk

Representative example for iPhone 5 64GB: Duration of agreement 24 months. Phone cash price is £769.99. Upfront cost is £99.99. Credit amount is £480. Interest rate is 0% fixed. Representative APR is 0%. Monthly phone payment is £20. Total amount payable for phone is £579.99. The monthly airtime payment is £17.

We’re really pleased that Telefónica has been ranked so highly at a global level!

Sam Gill, CEO of the EIO said: “I am delighted to be able to present the 2013 ET Carbon Ranking Leader Award for EU 300 and Global 800 to Telefónica on behalf of the Environmental Investment Organisation. Whilst effective greenhouse gas emissions reporting is certainly not an easy task for any company it is excellent to see certain companies demonstrating that it can be done and to an ever increasingly higher standard.”

At a UK level, we’ve been making great progress too. All our hard work towards our Think Big Blueprint for Sustainability is clearly paying off. We have been focusing on improving our network’s energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions performance year on year. We were the first in our industry to adopt the independently assessed Carbon Footprint label and have retained the Carbon Trust standard since 2009. We also participate in the EU Code of Conduct for Datacentres.

We’re committed to being a sustainability pioneer in our industry and also across business in the UK and Europe. In addition to the tough standards that we have set ourselves in the UK, we have also created the opportunity for customers to participate towards reducing their impact – like Charger Out of The Box, which aims to ensure that we don’t add to the 100 million unused chargers that already exist in the UK and O2 Recycle, our UK-based handset recycling operation, which sends all profits to Think Big opportunity initiatives for school children.

For an overview of our Think Big Sustainability initiative click here!

The theme of the panel was ‘How companies will build trust in 2020’ – something which I feel is essential for the growth, and survival, of any company in today’s climate.  The corporate world has faced challenging times recently with established professions such as banking and print journalism coming under unprecedented scrutiny.  And I believe there is definitely a ripple effect – those not currently in the spotlight should avoid complacency at all costs.

At O2, trust is built into our DNA – in fact it’s one of our four brand values.  So the summit was a great opportunity to share and discuss my views and experiences.

One of the key issues I touched on during the panel discussion is the lack of confidence around digital technology and how this could impact businesses such as ours.  This has the potential to erode trust in the very services that will help to propel digital Britain forward.

Confidence and trust really matter in a digital society.  They will accelerate our progress and create an environment where technology is available to all and everyone is empowered to innovate.  If we as a nation are lacking in confidence and trust, it will constrain our growth.

So what do we need to do to make sure we can seize the opportunity that digital Britain will bring to individuals, businesses and the economy?  In my view, we need to be confident in three key areas that all underpin a digital society:

• Digital capability
• Digital literacy
• Digital transparency

Confidence in all three areas can be achieved by embracing a new digital behaviour.  The 4G opportunity should be the catalyst for a significant behavioural shift that will improve national wellbeing and our economic output.  If we get these three things right, Britain will be confident in its digital abilities and prosper more quickly from the opportunities the digital revolution brings.  We recognise the biggest contribution we can make is to become the trusted provider of digital services.

So how can you build trust?

Trust is about the things you do, and the things you start doing and stop doing.  It’s built on millions of acts and deeds that you do every day, and that starts with the way you do business.

Insight tells us that customers first need to like you, they then need to appreciate what you are doing and what you stand for.  Only then will they begin to trust you.

At O2 we work hard to provide our customers with services and experiences that they value and love.  Building loyalty through the big things and the little things – they all add up.

And we’re transparent.  Openness is the key to building and sustaining trust – being honest about what we know, and what we don’t.  And about the mutual benefits – what’s in it for customers, and what’s in it for the business.

We’ve learnt that how you respond in a crisis can really test the trust you’ve built.  It’s essential to deliver on values at every touch point.  And everyone at O2 has a role to play.

Bringing colleagues on board is essential – they live, breathe and communicate the culture of the organisation.  Reflecting the brand and engaging with customers.  They help us build trust.

We can do all this because trust is part of our DNA.  It is embedded into our brand – so is reflected in our people, our services, our innovations and our customers.

This was Dave Black’s take on the role of mobile technologies and social media in retail customer engagement.

Dave, Business Development Manager for interactive experience specialists Blippar, spoke to us on our Talking Point at the Mobile Retail Summit in London. We were there to get the latest views from our fellow retailers on the role of technology in keeping customers engaged.

“It’s a human thing – we’ve been telling each other stories for years and years,” he said. “It goes back to the cavemen round the fire.”

And the technological campfire – whose branches include Facebook, YouTube and Twitter – has plenty of room for brands to join in with the conversations their customers are having. Or even start them.

But, as Dave told us, blaring out brand messages indiscriminately is not the way to approach the gathering. Retailers should meet people on their own territory, participating in the conversations, and spinning yarns that draw in their customers. And that territory is mobile.

“People do most of their browsing for shopping on mobile devices,” he said. “They won’t necessarily buy, but that’s where the engagement is.”

It’s a paradox: we’ve used space-age technology to build the world’s biggest ever campfire, but still all we want to do is spin yarns to each other.

You can see it happening. The boom in digital marketing has led to the rise of so-called ‘content marketing’. Content is really just another term for the stories Dave Black is talking about.

So although we have lots of new ways to connect with customers, the basics of effective marketing still apply when it comes to persuading them to engage and buy.

We’ve always needed to tell great stories, from the classic Renault ‘Nicole? Papa?’ TV advertisements, to the John Lewis ‘Snowman’ spots that entertained us this Christmas. We just have to make sure they’re still relevant and engaging in the digital world.

We’ll be publishing more of our findings from the Mobile Retail Summit soon. And if you’d like to join in the conversation, just enter a comment below, or visit www.o2.co.uk/retail  

We’ve got two VIP tickets to give away for the entire weekend of semi finals and finals at the Euroleague basketball at The O2. As well as seeing all four games you’ll get access to the Euroleague VIP hospitality space where you’ll get to hang out with the team execs, non-playing squad members and even some legends of basketball.

To be in with a chance of winning, find us on Twitter at @O2sports and send us a tweet telling us who the 2012 Euroleague champions were. Make sure you include #BballatTheO2 in your tweet for it to count. We’ll pick the winners at 7pm on Thursday 9 May, our usual terms apply.

Semi final day for the Euroleague basketball at The O2 will tip off on Friday 10 May at 5pm. Finals day will start at 5pm on Sunday 12 May. Event details are here.

9 and 9.5 out of 10

O2 Refresh has been on sale since mid-April in all O2 Retail stores and the great news is that nine out of ten customers who could buy O2 Refresh have been doing! That doesn’t include people choosing phones not yet on O2 Refresh, although with our O2 Refresh range constantly growing (see it on our site) you’ve got a great choice of smartphones to pick from. Although choosing your favourite may not be easy…

iPhone friendly

The great news doesn’t stop there though with 95% of all iPhone customers buying their new phone on O2 Refresh too. That means not only do you get the latest and greatest Apple tech now, but thanks to O2 Refresh making it easy to get a new phone whenever you like without paying extra fees, getting the next big thing just got a bit easier. And you could even trade in your old iPhone with O2 Recycle if you like – it’s yours, so you can do whatever you like with it!

Here comes the science

If you’ve never heard of O2 Refresh before, don’t worry – it’s really simple to use. Plus it’ll save you money whether you want to buy a new phone regularly or even if you want to keep your current phone for longer than you normally would. Take a look at our comparison between O2 Refresh and a standard contract at our O2 Refresh ‘How’s it different’ page.

More to come

We’re not just resting on our laurels though. We launched O2 Refresh in our retail stores and over the phone for existing customers in mid-April but are now working on bringing it to new customers over the phone and o2.co.uk as soon as possible. In the meantime, you can find your nearest O2 store and check out O2 Refresh in person at http://www.o2.co.uk/storelocator.

Have you already taken out an O2 Refresh contract? Let us know how you’re finding it in the comments below!

251 thousand customers chose an O2 mobile phone contract between 1st January and 31st March. That’s nine percent more than the same period last year and the highest number of contract customers to have joined O2 in the first quarter period for 4 years.

Our financial results issued today by our parent company Telefónica show that we continue to grow strongly in the UK and retain more customers than our rivals despite an extremely competitive market.

The results also show that 93% of those contract customers who joined us in the first quarter chose a smartphone reflecting the huge appetite for the latest handsets and the features and capabilities they provide to help people manage their lives.

Our recent launch of O2 Refresh recognises this Smartphone enthusiasm by giving customers the opportunity to get a new phone when they want, without having to pay out their airtime contract. Launched in April, O2 Refresh is proving extremely popular with nine out of ten new customers choosing it in O2 retail stores instead of other pay monthly deals.

O2 Refresh has been designed for customers to get a new phone at any time, without having to pay out their airtime contract. Instead, customers simply pay the remaining balance for their phone and then start afresh.

With 4G coming to O2 this summer, we want to make it easier for our customers to benefit from the latest technology. For the first time in the UK, O2 Refresh makes it possible to get a new phone part way through a pay monthly contract, at any time – quickly, easily and cost-effectively.

Both brands have released concept videos featuring their user experience and product design engineers who explain what their focus was in creating the handsets.

HTC’s focus was to continue to push the boundaries of material design innovation and new manufacturing techniques. The result – a HTC one which offers an holistic 360° experience and a simple, beautiful user experience. Samsung’s team recognised that their devices have become a central part of our customers’ daily lives, encapsulated in the design concept – “A life companion for a richer, simpler and fuller life.”

Both are available on O2 – for more info click here.

Check out the videos:

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

What’s your favourite design? Tell us why in the comment box below…

Here are two of our favourites: Samsung Galaxy Note and Samsung Galaxy Tab 2. They both have high resolution 10.1” screens, front and rear cameras, and run Android OS, one of the most popular mobile operating systems.

Choosing an Android tablet means you’ll have access to the huge range of apps available through the Google Play store, truly innovative hardware and software like the built-in functionality of AllShare Play enabling you to share content between a wide range of compatible devices including phones, computers, laptops and TVs.

The Samsung Galaxy Note stands out from other tablets with an innovative S-Pen, which feels like a pen on paper. Whether you use it to write, draw or design, you can be as precise as you like. It’s perfect for creatives. And technical roles. For example, field-based staff can take photos of problems and further annotate to remove all elements of ambiguity before sending them directly to other remote engineers or directly back to head office.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 doesn’t have a pencil or drawing interface like the Note, but it’s still slim and lightweight and perfect for working on the go. It has a powerful processor and plenty of storage space, with 16GB of memory. It’s ideal for meetings, presentations and sales pitches. Polaris Office comes preinstalled, which allows you to view and amend Microsoft documents and manage you busy business life from anywhere you need to make your office.

If you’re a small business, there’s never been a better time to invest in tablets.

We’re currently offering savings on the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (10.1) and Samsung Galaxy Note. Find out more here: http://business-o2.co.uk/documents/O2-SMB_SamsungTablet-Offer.pdf