O2 (UK) sale units, and with handset manufacturers, such as Apple and Samsung, to enable NFC technology on all future devices. On 23 February 2011, O2 announced it would launch a "second phase" for O2 Money, by discontinuing its branded cash cards in favour of a "mobile wallet" application for Android and iOS devices. The application would use NFC technology embedded in a phone to access money. It was announced on 9 January 2014 that the O2 wallet service would close on 31 March 2014. The BT Cellnet consumer brand was renamed O – the chemical symbol for an oxygen molecule –
Hughes Communications Hughes Communications Hughes Communications is a wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar, headquartered in Germantown, Maryland. It provides satellite-based internet and television services under the HughesNet brand through satellites and satellite dishes it designs and manufactures. Hughes Communications was founded in 1971 in a garage in Rockville, Maryland. The company was sold to Microwave Associates in 1977, forming a combined entity called Macom Technology Solutions (MA/COM). MA/COM was then sold to Hughes Aircraft Company, which spun MA/COM off as a public company called Hughes Communications in 2007. EchoStar acquired Hughes Communications in 2011 for about $2 billion. Hughes Communications was founded