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
Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts Public Service department, staffed by officials who were responsible to the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts. Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts The Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts was an Australian government department that existed between October 1998 and December 2007. The Department was closed on December 3, 2007, and its authority was transferred to the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy. While operational, information about the department's functions and government funding allocation originally could be found in the Administrative Arrangements Orders, the annual Portfolio Budget Statements and in the