Boxx Communications Ltd

Simplifying telecommunications for businesses large and small!

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How to keep your children safe on the web

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How to keep your children safe on the webThe official Safer Internet Day may have passed again for this year, but it’s such an important topic in today’s digitally-advanced world that we should be having these conversations all the time.

Digital technology has many positive uses for all of the population, with the internet a wonderful resource for learning and discovering, as well as staying connected with far-flung family and friends.

Unfortunately there is a dark side too – and children, more naive and trusting than their elders need the most protection from that as well as the according help to navigate this vast online world.

Add to this the fact that going online has become the most popular media activity for children of all ages, surpassing television, making time for conversations about the importance of staying safe online is clear to see.

One excellent resource we have found is this worksheet, produced by Ofcom to assist parents and teachers with conversations concerning this area, which focuses on the types of images most often seen online – going over what we can expect to see online, and what we should do if we come across anything unpleasant or disturbing.

It follows Ofcom research showing that children are becoming more trusting of what they see online, but sometimes lack the experience to decide whether it is true or impartial.

The research also reveals that children aged 8-15 are spending more than twice as much time online as they did a decade ago, reaching over 15 hours each week in 2015.

Even so-called digital natives, who have grown up with the internet, need educating in its quirks, with the same research finding that one in five online 12-15s (19%) believe information returned by a search engine such as Google or Bing must be true, despite only 31% of them being able to identify paid-for adverts in these results.

We must never lose sight of the fact that the internet has brought huge benefits to our lives, but teaching our children to traverse it with care, and question everything they see, brings a sensible balance to all our lives.

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Digital detoxing revolution births the dumb phone

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Digital detoxing revolution births the dumb phoneHas technology got so smart and all-consuming that the only natural step is to ditch it and revert back to simpler, less-connected times?

Digital detoxes and tech free time are becoming increasingly popular as more people awake to the fact that always being online and constantly connected is more of a stress than a boon.

It’s a subject that is back under the microscope following news that the hottest new gadget on the block this summer won’t be the latest smartphone, but it’s older, dumber cousin – the Nokia 3310.

A relic from the days when mobiles were all about texting and long battery life, the 3310 has no WiFi, GPS connectivity (gasp!) or ability to add apps – yet it’s still one of the most anticipated releases this year.

The digital detox trend is one that handset manufacturers have started to pick up on, with an increasing number of phones on the market that make a virtue of how few features they have. These ‘dumb’ phones are often targeting the older generations, but are finding new fans among the young, too, as they cotton on to the fact that always being available online makes it hard to truly relax.

The 3310 and other, similar, handsets offer a return to a less complex time – when anyone with your contact details could get hold of you, but you didn’t feel compelled to answer even if it was an email from your boss at the weekend as there was no expectation that you’d have seen it.

The pressure of posting, commenting or liking posts on social media is eradicated through the absence of WiFi and GPS connectivity, leaving more time to live in the moment and enjoy the company of those around you instead of being glued to a screen. The new 3310, unlike the original, does feature a camera so you won’t have to worry about missing out on memorable snaps which can be uploaded at a more convenient time.

Being ‘offline’ for hours at a time will certainly be very stressful for some, maybe even unbearable, so while full-on digital detoxing is not for everyone, there are some steps that we can all take to minimise technologies impact on our overall health and well-being.

-If detoxing isn’t for you, perhaps consider moderating your use, especially before bedtime, to give your brain a chance to recharge like your phone but in a separate room to minimise the temptation to surf the web into the small hours.

-Having a gadget free day when work permits can also be very freeing – even just reducing the number of push notifications so you don’t feel compelled to answer everything the second it comes in makes a big difference too.

-Many platforms now come with do not disturb hours as well – so even if you can’t give up on tech completely, you can make sure that you’re the one in control.

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Broadband down? Here are the first four things you should check

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Broadband down? Here are the first four things you should checkWe’ve all heard the joke about ‘turn it off and on again’ to try and fix devices or services that aren’t working as they should, but do you know what steps you should actually take if you seem to have a broadband outage?

There are several things that can cause issues with your broadband, so run through the checklist below to see if any of these are at the root of the problem before getting in touch with your provider:

1 – Check out your router, specifically the lights and what colour they are. The key ones to check are the DSL/broadband light and the one corresponding to the Internet – if these are red or off, your connection is down. If they are green, you have a good connection to the Internet.

It’s normal for the Internet light to flash, but the DSL/broadband light should be solid. Even if this is all in order, don’t rule out an issue with the connection to your devices.

2 – Ensure all wires are inserted correctly into the telephone socket, microfilter and router and that as well as being plugged in, everything is turned on.

3 – Turn off the router, and leave it for at least 20 minutes before rebooting to give it a chance to reset.

4 – Try the connection through the test socket to see if that is working. This can be done by unscrewing the two screws on the faceplate, revealing a direct connection to the line coming into your house.

This will help you rule out whether the problem is inside or outside of your home or business network.

And finally – If you have completed all of these steps and your connection is still down, please get in touch as our tech team will be happy to assist further.

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Celebrating 50 years of Milton Keynes

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Celebrating 50 years of Milton KeynesThis year our hometown, Milton Keynes, is celebrating it’s 50th year with numerous events taking place throughout 2017 to mark the occasion.

Milton Keynes is home to over 10,000 businesses and we are proud to have been ‘born & bred’ here in MK, which has been named one of Britain’s fastest growing cities.

Our directors James Green & Dean Burgin were keen to get in on the anniversary celebrations and the whole team were excited to be involved in one particular project…..

You may think that Milton Keynes is most famous for the American-style grid system of roads, interlocked with 124 roundabouts but it’s also rather well known for the beloved ‘concrete’ cows, which have become symbolic for the city and have attracted many visitors over the years.

To commemorate the 50-year birthday, not-for-profit Herd About MK wanted to bring the cows back, with an anniversary project to be remembered.

50 life-size fibreglass cows (in a nod to their concrete ancestors) make up the #MK50 herd which aims to bring together the businesses, schools, community groups and people of Milton Keynes, whilst raising funds for 3 amazing MK-based charities – Willen Hospice, MK Dons Set & MK Community Foundation.

Each of the 50 cows were available for sponsorship and we were thrilled to join the herd with our very own Boxx cow.

After weeks of brainstorming and working with creative agency, Cygnus, we came up with a binary code inspired design for our cow, affectionately named ‘Moopheus’ which Matrix fans will appreciate.

Format Graphics did an amazing job creating ‘Moopheus’ a bespoke skin and were even happy for us to add a few last minute touches whilst on-site at their MK1 based unit.

Wanting to go a step further and give our cow a purpose, we decided to install Moopheus with the power of the internet allowing her to provide the whole herd with FREE wi-fi, which of course demonstrated just one of the services we offer.

The ‘Herd About MK’ launch event took place in Middleton Hall, The Centre MK on Thursday 30th March and the herd continued to parade there until Sunday 2nd April.

We took some of the team along to the grand unveiling, introduced by local MP Mark Lancaster.

It was a fantastic event, which really did bring together not only businesses but also the people of Milton Keynes. And our wi-fi ‘hoofspot’ went down pretty well too!

We’re already looking forward to the next parade event, scheduled for later this year. It’ll be another chance to see some of our favourite cows – after Moopheus that is!

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Why small can be perfect in business

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Why small can be perfect in businessHere at Boxx, we don’t subscribe to the idea that big is beautiful and our relatively small size is something we’re actively proud of…..

We’re not a large company, certainly compared to industry leaders like BT, Talk Talk and Vodafone, but we think that actually brings a lot of advantages to our clients.

Advantage 1

Dealing with a smaller supplier means that an actual person answers the phone. Yes, there might be a short IVR to direct your call but there’s only one layer and then you’re in. No massively complex multiple menus that take an age to navigate!

Advantage 2

Also, you can call again and speak to the same person. Whether you have a customer service question, a billing question for accounts, or both, chances are the same person can help you.

And if not, they’ll be transferring you to someone in the same office that they know can assist, not another branch somewhere else in the country or even world, where you’ll have to start from scratch again explaining what you need.

Advantage 3

Another plus point for doing business with small companies – our employees care more…..
Not just about our clients, because they are heavily invested in them, but in each other.

When companies have hundreds or thousands of employees, chances are the people at the top have no idea who’s working at ground level. But our staff all know each other and the directors too, so therefore have better relationships. This also makes for a more loyal workforce, which ultimately has more benefits for customers.

We love our relatively small team and are a shining example of wanting our staff to share in the responsibility of serving our customers as well as sharing in our success.

They say good things come in small packages, and here at Boxx we couldn’t agree more!

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Celebrating Apprenticeship Week

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Celebrating Apprenticeship WeekThis week sees the UK’s 10th National Apprenticeship Week – Bringing together employers and apprentices to celebrate the success of apprenticeships up and down the country.

Over the last decade even more people chose apprenticeships as a fast-track to a great career and this is set to continue.

Since our ealy days, we’ve used apprenticeship schemes to recruit valuable employees. But there’s no making tea for the apprentices here….. We like our apprentices to get stuck straight in and from day one!

Customer service was our first department to welcome young people into the world of work – including Leah who is now a customer advisor. But as we’ve grown it’s our technical support team that has reaped the most rewards in terms of talented young employees joining as apprentices.

Jamie joined Boxx in Sep 2014 after finishing his A-Levels and being recruited by 3aaa – Our local apprenticeship provider. Jamie immediately showed promise and impressed us as his new employers, but also his course assessors, who we regularly welcome into the office to meet with their students.

We’ve built up a great relationship with 3aaa – Whilst we write the initial job descriptions ourselves, 3aaa vet the applicants which is a great time saver for us. 3aaa have learnt exactly what we are looking for which makes the whole process really simple.

3aaa are complimentary about our relationship too, which began in 2014. Rebecca Brooks – Recruitment Executive at 3aaa said….

Boxx Communications understand the importance and benefits of apprenticeships and offers young people the best possible start in their career.  They support, teach and nurture apprentices through the ranks and offer long-term career prospects to the right candidates.  This is exactly what apprenticeships are about and we look forward to continuing to work together in the future.

As apprentices near the end of their 12-month scheme, our company directors James Green & Dean Burgin sit down with them to talk about their future and are happy to support them whatever path this takes.

Dean quoted…..

We’ve found young people are great to work with, even if they have very little work experience. Raw talent is what we are looking for and we can teach them the rest!

Both Jamie and Chirag – another tech team employee who successfully progressed through the apprenticeship scheme – were pleased to accept permanent roles when their apprenticeship came to an end. Fast forward another 12 months and Jamie has been rewarded for his hard work with a promotion to a supervisory role. He’s now responsible for 2 employees and is continuing to impress – He’s regularly nominated for ‘employee of the month’ and James & Dean are really proud of him.

Not wanting to stop studying, we offered both Jamie & Chirag the opportunity to study towards industry recognised CCNA qualifications, funded by us.

And the future continues to look bright for Boxx’s apprentices – Akeem is the latest apprentice to the tech support team – He only started in December, but he’s already doing really well. And we’ve just recruited newbie James as a digital marketing apprentice too, to support our growing marketing needs!

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