O2 (UK) telephone line and broadband business of Telefónica UK, trading under the O2 and Be brands. The company agreed to pay £180 million initially, followed by a further £20 million after all customers had been transferred to Sky's existing business. The sale was subject to regulatory approval in April 2013, and was subsequently approved by the Office of Fair Trading on 16 May 2013. O2 began trialling a Near Field Communication (NFC) payment system in 2007. In 2009, O2 was in discussions with large retailers, such as Tesco and W. H. Smith, for the deployment of the necessary electronic point of
Institute of Science and Technology, UK Institute of Science and Technology, UK The Institute of Science and Technology is a UK-based professional organization which is a member of the Science Council and thereby authorized to award the designation Registered Science Technician (RSciTech), Registered Scientist (RSci) and Chartered Scientist (CSci). It was formed in 1948 as the Science Technology Association, became the Institute of Science Technology (IST)in 1954 and took its present name in 2007. The IST was formed specifically for science laboratory technicians, and continues to provide specialist qualifications in this area, up to Higher Diploma but has expanded the membership in line with developments in