Vodafone announced that it has partnered with the Foreign Office to put a free SMS service through the paces that will deliver text messages to the customers of Vodafone when out of their home country of potential dangers.

This way Vodafone customers stand to receive information cum warnings when they travel to foreign countries, and they encounter a major crisis in the form of a natural disaster or civil conflict, and about potential trouble.

According to Vodafone UK’s head of central government Jayne Rees, they are pleased to be the first mobile network operator to partner with the Foreign Office to deliver this trial. They also know how essential mobile phones are for keeping in touch with friends, family and colleagues, as well as being one of the things people won’t leave home without – whether they’re at home or abroad.

In addition, this new service is touted to be an innovative way to exploit the ubiquity of mobile phones and use existing mobile technology to support UK Nationals abroad and provide them with information when they need it the most.

While the Foreign Office minister Jeremy Browne stated that the pilot is part of the Foreign Office’s commitment to improve consular services. They will soon have the ability to send text messages to all affected British Nationals registered on their crisis database. In addition to this, they’re also exploring delivering important information through a range of mobile and online tools, including smartphone apps, a travel advice site for mobile phones and making effective use of social media and digital tools.

Whilst, the Foreign Office also said that it will not be replacing any existing services and information provided on its website, Facebook and Twitter channel.

The Foreign Office plans to pilot the crisis text service for a 12 month period.

QiComm is a telecommunications operator and systems integrator which ZTE has chosen as its preferred service integration partner in the UK.

Systems integration expertise, in addition to local knowledge, project management, logistics and ancillaries will be provided by QiComm as part of its operations as internal services team for ZTE.  Providing fixed line and wireless operators with access, transmission and switching solutions will constitute the deliverables as part of the partnership between ZTE and QiComm.

The Tutis Point data centre, recently set up by QiComm in London’s Docklands, and equipped with ZTE’s switching systems besides being interconnected with major operators and the three main Telehouses, will also be put to use by ZTE as part of the agreement.

According to ZTE UK MD Jim Jing Hui, QiComm is the ideal systems integration partner for ZTE in the UK. In addition, the company has been providing systems integration expertise in the UK market and has established relationships with the major operators since 1990.

Olaf Swantee, the incoming CEO of Everything Everywhere has stated that he is all for retaining the Orange and T-Mobile, the company’s subsidiary brands operating in the UK, in addition to stamping his support for the company’s long-winded brand name.

It is understood that the higher spending customers are being targeted by Orange while the younger and prepay segments are being targeted by T-Mobile.

According to sources, Swantee said that the company believes in the current model of retaining two brands while he wholly supports its distribution strategy, Everything Everywhere.

The company is in the process of launching Everything Everywhere branded retail stores across the UK that will retail branded services from both T-Mobile and Orange.

The CEO expects rolling out more than 55 stores at the earliest, as part of the initial phase of implementation.

As per sources, Swantee’s immediate plans entail rolling out n excess of 100 Everything Everywhere-branded stores; double the initial plan, with some existing stores adopting the EE branding.