Vodafone pledges 24 million GB of data to the National Databank to connect 200,000 people across the UK

Vodafone UK has pledged 24 million GB of data to the Good Things Foundation’s National Databank which is planned to connect 200,000 people for six months. The company plans to connect one million people living in digital poverty by the end of 2022. Within the recent donation, community groups will be able to apply for the free data through the Good Things Foundation website to receive SIM cards, each loaded with 20GB of data and free calls and texts every month. The fund supports data poverty which, according to Good Things Foundation, is the inability to afford a sufficient, private, and secure internet connection to meet essential needs, such as applying for jobs, online banking, access essential services such as health and benefits, or doing schoolwork online. ‘The pandemic has exposed and exacerbated the digital divide, highlighting a huge pressing social issue, and leaving people with multiple social challenges left behind. It is not OK to leave millions of people locked out of the digital world. We’re excited to see the National Databank grow in scale in 2022, increasing from 34 participating centres to hundreds, possibly thousands, more,’ noted Good Things Foundation Group Chief Executive Helen Milner.