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Three caught up in another embarassing data breach
A technical issue has given some Three customers access to another person's account information, including their name, address, phone number and call history. The scale of the problem isn't clear, but it's likely to be small. Three says it's received "less than 20" reports so far from customers, and is now investigating the matter. As the Guardian reports, the mistake has allowed a number of Three customers to view other people's personal information after logging in to their account online.
Three finds more customers affected by 2016 data breach
Three has revealed that a customer data breach it caught wind of last November was more extensive than first thought. Using stolen employee logins, ne'er-do-wells gained access to a database used to manage handset upgrades, comprising customer details such as names, addresses, dates of birth, mobile numbers and information about mobile contracts (but no financial data). Initially, just over 130,000 subscribers were said to be affected, but upon further investigation, another 76,373 accounts have now been added to that total. No fraudulent activity has been spotted, but all newly identified customers have been contacted, Three says.
Three prepares for spectrum race with UK Broadband purchase
Three announced today that it has agreed to buy UK Broadband Limited for £250 million, making Ofcom's impending spectrum auction altogether more interesting -- as interesting as spectrum auctions can be, anyway. UK Broadband isn't a household name, given it primarily builds bespoke 4G networks for the private and public sectors. The company does run the consumer-facing brand Relish, though, which offers flexible home broadband services using 4G-fed WiFi routers. While Relish seems like a good fit for millennial-chaser Three, and creates an immediate path for the company to get into home broadband, make no mistake: Three isn't after UK Broadband's 15,000 customers, but its spectrum licence.
Three finally rolls out app-free Wi-Fi calling in the UK
For years, Three has offered WiFi-enabled calls through an app called inTouch. While serviceable, the experience pales in comparison to the app-free versions offered by Vodafone and EE. After all, who wants an extra icon taking up your home screen or app drawer? Thankfully, Three now has a competitive service. If you're using a compatible device (LG G5, Samsung S6 and S6 edge, iPhone 5c, 5s, 6, 6s, SE and 7), you no longer need the app to call someone over the internet. That means you can talk when you're trapped in a pesky "notspot," or even on the London Underground. Three says more devices will be added over time -- Samsung's (soon to be replaced) S7 and S7 edge will be compatible next month, for instance.
Three UK breach puts millions of customers at risk
If you thought the last 12 months was pretty bad for data breaches, Three UK has some more concerning news. The company has confirmed that attackers successfully managed to access a database of 9 million customers using a stolen employee login, according to The Telegraph. The National Crime Agency says three men have been arrested but investigators are still piecing together who has been affected.
Honor's latest dual-camera smartphone comes to Europe
After Asia, Europe is typically the next destination for new devices from Huawei's Honor brand. Though the new Honor 8 was recently announced for the US market (read our full hands-on here), the smartphone is actually launching first in Europe, where it's available today for €399, or £370 if you hail from the UK. The handset may look significantly different to Huawei's flagship P9, but there are more than a few similarities on the spec sheet. A 5.2-inch, 1080p display, for example, as well as a dual 12-megapixel camera arrangement (one RGB sensor, one monochrome) and 8MP front-facer.
Three's Feel at Home roaming will soon cover most of Europe
Three's Feel at Home perk lets subscribers use their regular minute, text and data allowances abroad at no extra cost. The inclusive roaming feature even covers several far-flung destinations including the USA, Australia and Hong Kong, but after adding Spain and New Zealand to the roster early last year, the list of 18 regions hasn't grown any longer. From this September, however, Three is expanding Feel at Home to an additional 24 countries across Europe (for a new total of 42).
Three's Essential plans scrap the perks to cut the cost
All the major UK carriers offer customer perks designed to tempt you onto their networks, such as EE's brand new bonus of free BT Sport access for six months, or Vodafone including European roaming as part of your contract. Three plays this game too, but in a new shake-up to its pay-monthly plans, it's begun offering an entirely new perk: No perks at all, in exchange for a lower-cost tariff.
Android will now automatically send your location to 999 operators
When you call 999, operators need to know exactly where an emergency is before they can dispatch the required service. That information can be difficult to share if you're in unfamiliar surroundings but a new update coming to Android will take all of the guesswork out of locating where you are. It's called the Emergency Location Service and it uses available WiFi connections, GPS and mobile masts to pinpoint your location and share it with an operator while you're speaking with them.
Three's mobile ad-blocking trial starts today
Three is trialling network-level ad-blocking in the UK today. The experiment, which is sure to put advertisers and publishers on edge, will affect a small number of Three customers that were approached beforehand. It's been described as a "technology test" for Shine, an ad-blocking specialist that Three has recruited to explore the idea.
Three asks Ofcom to limit BT in next spectrum auction
Ofcom is expected to auction off fresh slices of mobile spectrum later this year, which carriers will use to improve speeds on their networks amid our ever-increasing demand for data. It'll be a significant event in the mobile world, with the spectrum on offer being the equivalent of roughly 75 percent of the capacity released in 2013 to pave the way for the launch of the UK's first 4G services. Ofcom hasn't set a formal date yet, but already Three's CEO David Dyson is calling on the regulator to protect his network's interests so it can remain competitive with its larger rivals.
Three to trial mobile ad blocking next month
Three will soon trial network-level ad blocking in the UK. Such a move was telegraphed back in February, when the carrier inked a deal with Shine, a company that specialises in the practice. The trial will take place on the week starting June 13th, for 24 hours. Three will contact customers beforehand and they'll be able to sign up through the carrier's website. The extent of the ad-blocking isn't clear, but Shine says it can handle "all of the mobile web," including display ads and display ads within apps.
European regulators block Three and O2 merger
We suspected it was coming, but the European Commission has finally come out and said it: Three UK owner Hutchison Whampoa cannot buy UK carrier O2. In a statement, the Commission said that a potential merger between Three and O2 would have "reduced competition" and "resulted in higher prices," which may have negatively impacted the quality of service for UK consumers.
EE disputes Three's 'undisputed' reliability claim, wins
The UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned a billboard advert for Three's mobile network, after a six-month complaint from rival carrier EE was finally upheld. The ad, which features a purple Muppet-like character called Jackson being held aloft in a Rocky-style pose, featured the tagline: "The undisputed. UK's most reliable network. Again." EE claimed Three couldn't state it was the "undisputed" market leader without saying it was based on YouGov sample data and the ASA agreed.
Will.i.am's next wearable is available to pre-order
Rapper, singer and entrepreneur William Adams, best known as Will.i.am, is ready to unleash his next smartwatch on the world. It's called the Dial and is available to pre-order from Three in the UK, starting at £22 per month with a £49 upfront fee, or £25 per month with a one-off, £19 payment. That's right, you'll need to take out a new, separate contract to use this wraparound wearable. Unlike most smartwatches, however, it doesn't require a tethered phone. That's because it comes with a Three SIM card inside, allowing you to call, text and access the internet with nothing but what's on your wrist.
UK competition watchdog slams Three and O2 merger
The UK's competition watchdog has called on the European Commission to block a proposed acquisition of Telefonica UK, which runs O2, by Hutchison Whampoa, the company behind Three UK, unless both companies agree to a series of strong concessions. In a letter, Alex Chisholm, CEO for the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), says he will only approve if Hutchison Whampoa agrees to sell Three or O2 after the acquisition. Such a move is the only way, he argues, to retain adequate competition in the UK mobile industry. If this isn't possible, Chisholm suggests breaking off one of the networks and facilitating smaller sell-offs. "Absent such structural remedies, the only option available to the Commission is prohibition."
Will.i.am is back with another smartwatch
The charismatic musician William Adams, more commonly known as Will.i.am, is trying the whole smartwatch thing again. The Black Eyed Peas rapper-turned-solo artist has been working in the technology space for some time, launching a series of iPhone cases and a wrist-worn wearable called the Puls. Neither took off, but that hasn't stopped him from developing a new timepiece called the Dial. It's a self-contained device that takes a SIM card and will be available exclusively on Three in the UK.
UK carrier Three to block ads at the network level
In a landmark move for the UK's wireless industry, Three has inked a deal with Shine that will enable ad-blocking across its network. The decision will, according to Three, give customers "control, choice and greater transparency" over the ads that appear on their devices. It won't, however, eliminate advertising entirely -- just the worst offenders, the pair claim. The controversial technology will be used initially on Three's UK and Italian networks, before a "rapid roll-out" in other markets. The necessary changes have been implemented, however the scheme isn't live just yet -- Three says it'll explain the specifics "over the coming months."
Three's new pay-as-you-go SIM offers 200MB free data each month
This week, Three added a new pay-as-you-go SIM tariff to its existing contract-free options, and it comes with a rather alluring perk. The Data Reward SIM costs £10 and includes 1GB of data to make use of during your first month, but that's not the interesting part. Provided you register the SIM at three.co.uk/freedata, you'll receive 200MB of data every month for absolutely nothing, and better yet, you don't even need to top it up to keep claiming that free allowance.
Three vows to fix prices to ensure O2 merger is approved
The proposed merger of UK carriers Three and O2 is far from a done deal. The European Commission, which is conducting the official review, telecoms regulator Ofcom and the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) have all voiced similar concerns: the union will have a significant and likely negative impact on competition in the mobile space. With the merger under threat, Chairman of Three UK Canning Fok has now made a number of promises to grease the wheels, including a five-year freeze on the price of minutes, texts and megabytes across both networks if the deal is approved.
