Digital Inclusion is essential to bridging the gap for millions struggling to stay connected in our increasingly digital world. Currently, 1.9 million households face challenges affording their mobile service, while 6% of fixed broadband users found it difficult to pay for their service in the previous month. In July 2024 alone, 6.8 million households struggled to afford communications services, with 3.7 million households with children failing to meet the Minimum Digital Living Standard.

Alarmingly, 29% of people know someone disconnected from the internet, and 16% of individuals face economic abuse, which can include restricted access to devices. As part of the PACT’s civic duty, we must support digital inclusion by providing clear signposting, sharing accessible resources, and ensuring those facing complex barriers can find the help they need to stay connected and thrive.

• The National Databank provides free mobile data to those struggling with connectivity costs.

• The National Device Bank refurbishes donated tech from private and public sector organizations, ensuring devices reach those who cannot access their own.

• The National Digital Inclusion Network comprises thousands of community-based hubs, offering people access to digital inclusion services and support.

• Access the link to find a community-based hubs near you: Find Local Digital Inclusion Support | Good Things Foundation

1. O2 Shop Birmingham - New Street
2. O2 Shop Birmingham - The Fort
3. O2 Shop Solihull - 35 Mill Lane Arcade Touchwood, Solihull B91 3GS

Together, these initiatives play a vital role in reducing digital exclusion and offers a more connected and equitable society.

Information for those using an O2 sim with the National Databank

Your SIM will last for up to 12 months. Once you activate your SIM, you’ll get monthly top up texts on the same date. Each text will contain a new, unique 16-digit voucher code which you will need to use to top-up your SIM each month.

How to top-up your SIM using your voucher code:

1. Dial 4444
2. Select option 1
3. Select option 2 and wait for the message to finish
4. Enter the 16-digit voucher code from the text you received
5. You’ll get a text to let you know your top-up was successful

If you need help, please visit your local National Databank Hub. If you need further support, please call O2 customer service on 03448090222 or 4445 from your o2 phone and quote ‘National Databank’ to the customer service team.

If you would like to keep your original number, please find guidance on how to do this here.

Support for parent’s and carer’s: 

It's not easy for parents to continuously monitor the activity of children on personal devices, so it's important that they are aware as to how to set up correctly to limit exposure to online safety risks. Good parental controls at device level can limit screen time, disable location sharing, restrict app purchasing and limit access to inappropriate content. 

Parental control guides for a variety of devices can be found on the page linked below:
https://www.internetmatters.org/parental-controls/smartphones-and-other-devices/

It's also important to be aware of online platform parental restrictions you can apply for things like YouTube, Netflix etc. 

Access the link for more details: https://www.internetmatters.org/advice/6-10/

Internet Matters also provide a tool parents can use to get personalised online safety advice for their family by answering some questions surrounding concerns they have. See link below:
https://www.internetmatters.org/digital-family-toolkit/