A new mobile operator has launched promising to donate a quarter of its profits to charity.
'The People's Operator' (TPO) will donate 25% of its profits to "great causes", as well as 10% of every customers text and data spend.
Launched on Monday, the new operator is billed as the first socially responsible utility. It will work with European virtual network aggregator Transatel to provide its service via EE's network.
Charities backing the service include the NSPCC and Childline.
Initially offering with Pay As You Go deals, the service claims it is cheaper than many other comparable operators. Pay monthly deals will be "coming soon", it said.
TPO is pitching itself to customers as well as businesses, arguing that by switching to its service companies can take "a unique opportunity to fulfil their CSR commitments".
The charity money collected by TPO will be distributed by its own foundation:
The three founding trustees are:
- Chair Sir Christopher Kelly who is currently the Chair of the Committee on Standards in Public Life and Chair of the King's Fund
- Kevin Curley CBE the former Chief Executive of NAVCA (National Association for Voluntary and Community Action), trustee of CFG (Charity Finance Group) and a member of the advisory council of the NCVO (National Council for Voluntary Organisations)
- Andrew Rosenfeld former Chair of the NSPCC FULL STOP Campaign.
Andrew Rosenfeld, Chair and Co-founder of TPO said in a statement:
"The People's Operator represents a fundamental shift in the way commercial utilities support communities and causes. The more profit that is generated, the more we can pass on to deserving parts of society."
CEO Alex Franks said:
"Eight months ago two friends approached me with an idea they had been working on. It was a simple idea; they wanted to make people's lives a little bit better by setting up a business that worked in a different way.
They wanted to take something that people use every day and make it matter so much more. The idea was The People's Operator - Mobile that matters."