With the ongoing outbreak of COVID-19, times have become hard for all, but especially key industry workers. Most notably the entire NHS workforce is being highly praised for their efforts to minimise the number of deaths from the pandemic.

The 14 Companies are as follows (Assuming BT and EE are providing different packages):

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• BT (inc. EE & Openreach)
• Sky
• TalkTalk
• Virgin Media
• O2
• Three
• Vodafone
• Cityfibre
• Gigaclear
• Tesco Mobile
• Giffgaff
• Hyperoptic
• KCOM

It is hoped that the changes will ease the stress on NHS care staff who would otherwise need to use their mobile phones regularly while working remotely.

Those who are most vulnerable, and without fixed broadband service, are also eligible to receive more allowance on their mobile data plans - To aid their time while under the lockdown measures (Especially those who are elderly and have been advised to stay at home for 12 weeks by the UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson.

These measures will vastly promote the use of mobile phones for work use without the need to worry about data limits for NHS frontline staff. NHS workers will be able to carry out consultations and save/move important files from home.

Telecommunications and Broadband providers are considered essential businesses by the government, even while lockdowns are in place. EE are considering providing NHS with 6 months worth of free data, until the 9th October 2020. Such action comes in place as up to a third of NHS workers have tested positive for coronavirus.

For those people looking to use NHS apps on their phones, the major data providers are reassuring users that these will not eat up your data like previously. The telecoms industry is being strongly advised to implement inclusive access to NHS apps for those who need it, to avoid seeing customer overrun their mobile data plans should they be out and about and need to access essential health advice.