October 14, 2013 - Telco giant EE is setting its sights on the City of London with the UK's first network-integrated mobile voice recording service for firms that need to comply with FCA mobile trading rules.
In a bid to tackle market abuse, in 2011 the FCA's predecessor brought in regulation requiring all mobile phone communications relating to transactions in the equities, bond, derivatives and financial commodity markets to be recorded.
EE has now teamed up with voice and e-trading specialist Etrali Trading Solutions on a recording service which, unlike app-based offerings, works with any handset. Because it is embedded within the EE network, it also automatically records all calls without the user having to open apps or remember to dial prefix numbers.
The service - available on a per-user license basis - stores all voice and data communications for six months. Data can be either stored on Etrali's cloud infrastructure, which is accessed through a secure online portal, or streamed directly to an organisation's own storage system.
Rik Turner, senior analyst, financial services technology, Ovum, says: "The evolution of mobile recording has already seen the SIM-based approach prevail over software clients and now MNOs are gradually moving in to compete against MVNOs. It is Ovum's opinion they will win and call recording will become a tick-box option in enterprises' contracts with their mobile provider."
EE's bid to attract bank business also includes a tool which gives firms granular control over Blackberry device features such as the in-built camera, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity from a Web-based management console, alongside options to deploy and manage work applications and restrict unapproved apps.
In addition, the firm is embarking on a marketing camping to pitch its double speed 4G service in the City, claiming speeds of up to 60Mbps, with an average of 24-30Mpbs.
Gerry McQuade, chief marketing officer for business, EE, says: "With our 'In The City' strategy, we've put together a complete package for financial services organisations that makes it easier for them to securely manage their mobile device fleets and comply with regulations governing mobile trading."
