At Quids in! we’re always talking about the benefits of being online – from getting the best prices and deals to keeping in touch with our family, friends and even our GP.

Some people simply don’t have enough data though. If that’s us, we’re far from the only ones. It’s thought a whopping two million households in the UK struggle to afford their internet bills.

The UK National Databank is designed to help us out. It offers free sims and mobile data (plus talk minutes and texts) to those of us who can’t afford to pay for them.

Foodbank for data

It’s like a foodbank for data, and to get our hands on it we need to be involved with one of Good Things Foundation’s partner Online Centres.

The scheme is making huge positive changes to people’s lives, and the good news is that it’s being extended to reach even more of us in 2022.

The data is donated by Virgin Media O2 and Good Things Foundation has appealed to other mobile networks to join in too. After all, more data means more of us can get online.

Help is out there

Of course, having the data isn’t much good if we don’t know what to do with it. That’s why the campaign (just like Quids in!) also focuses on helping people get internet skills.

Online Centres can help us if we need to skill up and overcome our fears. And Good Things Foundation has loads of free lessons if we’re already online but just want to get a bit more confident.

Quids in! teamed up with Good Things Foundation last year for our Nobody In The Dark campaign. The campaign helps people who are unsure about the internet boost their incomes. 

It includes the Future-Proof Finance Quiz – a safe and easy quiz that anyone can do. It could leave us hundreds of pounds better off so it’s worth having a look.

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