Author Archives: Derek McManus

Driving innovation with the European Space Agency

by Derek McManus, Thursday 1 October 2020
By Derek McManus, COO at O2 Every day, the world of technology advances. It breaks down barriers. It discovers new limits. Today, we are taking it one step further with the launch of the Darwin SatCom Lab. Based at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire, the Darwin SatCom Lab will explore and trial … more »

Rebuilding a reimagined Connected Britain

by Derek McManus, Friday 25 September 2020
It feels fitting that I spoke on the opening panel at Connected Britain from my home office this week given the focus was on the benefits of connectivity. The event is one of my favourites on the circuit and gathers industry leaders from across Britain to reflect on the connectivity landscape we’re building. Joining colleagues … more »

Harnessing the power of 5G to drive business productivity

by Derek McManus, Friday 20 December 2019
Derek McManus, COO, O2 UK When we launched our 5G network in October, one of the areas I was most excited about was exploring what it could do for businesses. And this month marks another piece of that exploration with the start of 5G trials at Northumbrian Water. The trials are testing how the power … more »

The Shared Rural Network: Connecting rural communities in the UK

by Derek McManus, Thursday 24 October 2019
by Derek McManus, Chief Operating Officer, Telefonica UK In a year where events in Westminster have often been characterised by uncertainty, today’s announcement by the Government that it is willing to accept the Shared Rural Network (SRN) is a refreshing and welcome piece of news. Refreshing, because the SRN is based on collaboration and partnership; … more »

Internet access in the UK

by Derek McManus, Tuesday 13 August 2019
This week, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published the latest statistics around internet access in the UK. The report shows how many people in the UK have access to the internet, how they access it and what they use it for. According to the ONS, 87% of adults used the internet daily in … more »

Working with the regulator to build a stronger Mobile Britain

by Derek McManus, Friday 28 June 2019
Earlier this year, O2 and the other mobile operators wrote to Ofcom asking for a technical change to our spectrum licenses. This week Ofcom has said yes, and the result will be a huge connectivity boost for our country. Let me explain.   Ourselves, EE, Three and Vodafone all asked for changes to our 5G … more »
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O2's COO: Harnessing the transformative potential of 5G

by Derek McManus, Monday 17 June 2019
Last week, I spoke at the ‘5G and Extended Reality Showcase’ event as part of London Tech Week. Some of the conversation was about the consumer benefits of 5G, which we have already heard lots about. High definition video downloaded in seconds rather than minutes, online gaming benefiting from super-low latency and the opening up of … more »

UK Cities Face a Digital Divide: 5G is the Answer

by Derek McManus, Thursday 12 July 2018
As we reach the end of an eventful week of politics, you could be forgiven for thinking that nothing else matters in Government at the moment. While clearly there is a big job to be done at the top of Government to ensure Britain can prosper in the coming years, I want to look at … more »