Telecoms operators have found a renewed sense of social purpose, spurred by their crucial role in delivering high-speed, reliable broadband connectivity during the pandemic. But how far will purpose take them? To what extent is it up to them to help reduce inequality by providing affordable connectivity?

Should their purpose extend to protecting the environment by reducing their own carbon footprint and providing new services and capabilities, for example in IoT, for better environmental monitoring and management? How much responsibility do they have for ensuring the digital services that we use are safe and secure?

Join this Hard Talk series to explore how telecoms operators can meet the expectations of their stakeholders, shareholders and of society more broadly. We ask operators, their partners, influencers, and academics to discuss their very different perspectives on how business, economic and societal contexts will interplay to shape communication service providers’ strategies.

Register for Hard Talk

• Net Zero, sustainability and the impact of cloud | 11 January, 2 pm GMT
• IoT: A force for environmental good? | 8 February, 2 pm GMT
• Should we trust telcos with our data? | 15 March, 2 pm GMT
• Are we building an insecure connected future? | 12 April, 2 pm BST
• Connectivity for a fairer society | 10 May, 2 pm BST

Can’t make this time? Register and we’ll send you the recording.