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The Dowler Family is the behind Milly's Fund - the O2 UK charity of choice
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| Here are some of the questions we are frequently asked. |
Q: Mobile phones and transmission masts are dangerous, aren't they?
A: The current scientific consensus is that mobile phones and masts are not hazardous to health. But it is widely recognised that more research needs to be done. We are supporting, and in some cases funding, research which can be shown to be rigorous and independent. All of our systems operate well within international safety guidelines.
See: Health, O2 Airwave
Q: What are you doing to make sure young people use their phones safely?
A: We were among the first to open the debate about the need to teach young people, their parents and carers about the safe use of mobile phones. We have published a series of leaflets covering issues such as bullying, theft, adult content, nuisance calls and the safe use of chatrooms. We are also playing a major role in creating industry codes about these issues.
See: Child protection, Chairman's statement, Marketplace, Community, O2 UK
Q: There's so much talk about corporate responsibility. Is it just window dressing or does everyone at O2 take it seriously?
A: We recognise that one of the most important tasks we have to do is make corporate responsibility part of our everyday business culture. We've taken some important steps on this in recent months.
See: Chief Executive's statement, Our approach to corporate responsibility, Business Principles, Our strategy, Workplace, Community
Q: O2 Airwave seems to be building masts everywhere – why?
A: The O2 Airwave service will, for the first time, provide unbroken radio coverage for all the police forces of England, Scotland and Wales. To make sure officers can always stay in touch we need to build a network that will deliver seamless coverage even in remote places or locations where other systems do not function. Although we are building over 3,300 masts, we are taking just as much care in consulting with communities on the roll out of the network.
See: Airwave, Health, Environment
Q: Do you apply the same standards in consulting communities on your masts in all the places you operate?
A: In the UK we follow the industry's Ten Commitments on responsible mast siting. In Germany and Ireland we follow a similar code drawn up by the GSM Europe industry group.
See: Mast siting, Environment, O2 Germany, O2 Ireland, O2 UK
Q: You've admitted in the past that not enough women are making it to senior management positions. Are things improving?
A: We've got more to do to make sure women are properly represented in senior management. Although we are pleased with our progress in Ireland, we still need to improve in the UK and Ireland. We are stepping up our work on diversity as part of a broad effort to make sure we offer genuine equality of opportunity.
See: Employees, Workplace, O2 Ireland
Q: Using a mobile phone is getting more expensive with all the new services like pictures and music. Aren't people – especially young people – going to end up spending too much?
A: We offer pre-payment services in all our markets and try to offer a range of clearly priced services that allow people to manage their spending on mobile phone services. We have joined the Starmap Alliance of European operators, which is offering common roaming charges across Europe.
See: Marketplace, O2 Germany
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| Are we doing enough to make sure our suppliers behave ethically? |
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