KIDZONET and Ocean-Tel partner to embed child online protection directly into UK connectivity

Simultaneously, the government’s landmark national consultation, Growing Up in the Online World, which has sought public and industry views on further child safety measures including minimum social media ages and stronger age assurance, closes today². With the government having committed to acting swiftly on its findings, the question of how protection should be built and by whom has never been more urgent.

The KIDZONET and Ocean-Tel solution answers that question at the network level. When a parent or guardian activates an Ocean-Tel eSIM, KIDZONET protection is enabled in a single step during onboarding, shielding every device on that connection from harmful online content from the moment it goes live. Because the filtering happens within Ocean-Tel’s infrastructure rather than on the device itself, protection remains active regardless of the app being used or the browser being opened. There are no apps to install, no settings to manage, and no configurations to maintain.

Nidal Taha, CEO of KIDZONET, said:  “The UK is one of the most important digital safety markets in the world, and this partnership is a significant milestone in our mission to make child online protection simple, scalable, and universal. Regulators and governments are asking the right questions. The technology to act on those answers has always existed, the missing piece was seamlessly embedding it into connectivity. Ocean-Tel shares that conviction, and together we are setting a new standard for what responsible connectivity looks like.”

The partnership has been designed from the outset to align with UK regulatory expectations, including compliance with Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) standards — the UK’s independent body working to eliminate child sexual abuse imagery online — and the child protection principles championed by the NSPCC³. The solution will be available to consumers as a premium Safe Connectivity bundle across Ocean-Tel’s UK portfolio, designed for parents, educational institutions, and SMEs seeking a safe mobile environment for younger users.

For Ocean-Tel, this partnership reflects a deliberate choice to lead on trust at a moment when the UK’s digital safety conversation is intensifying. The multi-layered protection model is designed to block harmful content without monitoring private communications — a balance the company regards as fundamental to building lasting confidence with the families it serves.

Ziya Zaga, CEO of Ocean-Tel, said:  “We built Ocean-Tel on the belief that connectivity is a responsibility, not a commodity. Today, from the UK, we have done it — delivering the first eSIM-native child online protection of its kind in the UK and Europe, embedded into the network itself, where it cannot be switched off, worked around, or left behind. This is British innovation leading the way, and it is why Ocean-Tel stands as the number one name in safe connectivity in the UK — proven here, and ready for the world.”

Eddie Strain, COO of Ocean-Tel, said:  “Connectivity is only as good as the trust it carries. Parents should not have to become technologists to keep their children safe online, and children should not be one uninstalled app away from unrestricted access to the open internet. This partnership with KIDZONET puts protection where it belongs, inside the network, and delivers something the UK market has needed for a long time: safety that simply works.”

The service is currently in the final stages of UK beta testing with a select group of parenting influencers and technology reviewers. Early feedback has highlighted the one-click eSIM activation as a meaningful advance on existing solutions, with participants citing the absence of device-side installation as a key differentiator.

The partnership marks KIDZONET’s first deployment in the UK market and adds to a growing international portfolio through which the company is advancing its mission to make child online protection the default for connectivity providers worldwide. As regulators and governments across the UK and beyond move from consultation to legislation, the Ocean-Tel model offers a direct, infrastructure-level answer — one that does not rely on platforms, does not depend on parents configuring the right settings, and cannot be undone by a child who knows where to look.

About KIDZONET

KIDZONET is a global child online protection company dedicated to making digital safety simple, scalable, and accessible. By partnering with telecom operators, ISPs, and schools worldwide, KIDZONET embeds protection directly into connectivity, ensuring families everywhere benefit from safer, smarter internet experiences. KIDZONET is a proud member of the WeProtect Global Alliance, a global coalition of over 300 stakeholders from governments, civil society, and the technology industry dedicated to ending online child exploitation and abuse. To learn more, visit www.kidzonet.com.

About Ocean-Tel

Ocean Telecom is a global telecommunications provider specialising in voice, messaging, and connectivity solutions for carriers, enterprises, and government organisations. Founded in 2016, the company expanded into a multinational group with operations across the UK, UAE, and Turkey delivering reliable, innovative, and customer-focused services to clients worldwide. Ocean Telecom is committed to technical excellence, operational integrity, and exceptional customer satisfaction through a combination of industry expertise, robust infrastructure, and a customer-first approach.