'How a SIM card changed my life'

Josh Ogunyemi used to walk more than half an hour just to use the internet. If the 60-year-old jobseeker from Blackley wanted to reply to emails or stay in touch with family and friends on social media, he had to go to his local library.

Unemployed since 2017, Josh does not want to sign a mobile phone contract for a long period. And because he is on a low income, he cannot afford to be online at home – especially with the cost of other household bills increasing.

But last year, his life changed all thanks to a SIM card. The free mobile phone chip which allows him to use 20GB of data every month means he no longer needs to worry about browsing the web from the comfort of his own home.

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Like thousands of people in Greater Manchester who have limited access to the internet, he got the free SIM card from a local databank. Part of a national initiative, the databanks are described as 'food banks for connectivity data'.

Josh, who lives alone, can now look for jobs online without the long journey to the library. And after completing a digital skills course linked to the scheme last year, he can also keep track of his finances at home by banking online.

"I had a phone, but there wasn't much data," he explained. "When I had limited data, I used to have to monitor what I could use. But this gives me more time."

Since launching last June, Greater Manchester's Databank has helped 20,000 people like Josh who cannot afford mobile data packages. The SIMs provided through the scheme, which is part of the Good Things Foundation and Virgin Media O2’s National Databank, give people mobile data, talk minutes and texts.

It comes as an estimated 700,000 people in Greater