Home » UK ISP News Archive » Article Tag: Ofcom Regulation (1463 Posts)

Articles for Category Tag - Ofcom Regulation

Ofcom Will Stop Requiring UK Phone Providers to Offer Local Dialling

23rd April, 2021 (29 Comments)

Ofcom has today launched a second consultation on the future use of UK telephone numbers, which among other things proposes to remove the obligation on phone operators to provide a “local dialling” facility (this requirement is less relevant on modern internet based networks) and to prohibit “cash for calls” schemes.

fibre optic red and blue broadband cables 2018

Three Alternative Broadband ISPs Prep New UK FTTP Builds

22nd April, 2021 (16 Comments)

Three alternative network (altnet) providers – Briant Broadband, Spring Fibre and Stix Internet – have today revealed their intention to deploy gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) networks to homes and or businesses across different parts of the United Kingdom.

New Government Changes to Boost 5G Mobile Cover in England

20th April, 2021 (20 Comments)

The Government has today begun a consultation on their proposed changes to Permitted Development (PD) rights for mobile infrastructure, which seeks to extend 5G and 4G (mobile broadband) coverage in rural areas of England via key changes (e.g. allowing taller masts of up to 30 metres and softening planning permission).

new build house fttp openreach engineer photo

Openreach Adopt 1 Month Terms for UK FTTP Broadband Lines

16th April, 2021 (15 Comments)

Openreach (BT) has confirmed a small but important change to their wholesale Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband product, which reduces the product’s minimum contract term from 12 months to just 1. But whether or not UK ISPs choose to pass this on to consumers is another matter entirely.

New ISP GigaAir Surfaces with FTTP Broadband Plan for Scotland

9th April, 2021 (4 Comments)

At present Scotland doesn’t have too many alternative full fibre networks to call their own, but a relatively new ISP called GigaAir has a plan to change all that by deploying their own gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network to homes and businesses north of the border.

virgin media fibre trench and cable duct

Hints of Virgin Media UK Wholesale in Liberty Property Request

9th April, 2021 (13 Comments)

A new request to Ofcom for Code Powers from Liberty Property Co II Limited, which is a subsidiary of Liberty Global, has indicated that it intends to “utilise Virgin Media’s wholesale products” in order to facilitate the “construction and operation of a broadband network” across the UK.

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Ofcom Raises Automatic Compensation Payments from UK ISPs

7th April, 2021 (17 Comments)

Ofcom has confirmed that their automatic compensation system, which requires some UK ISPs to compensate consumers (cash or bill credits) for various broadband connectivity mishaps and service delivery delays, is to increase its payment amounts each year in line with inflation (even if the provider’s own prices have reduced).

Openreach Restart Big UK ISP Talks for Cheaper FTTP Broadband

6th April, 2021 (17 Comments)

Openreach (BT) has reportedly restarted talks with a number of big UK broadband ISPs (e.g. TalkTalk, Vodafone) over the development of discounted long-term wholesale agreements for their gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) service, which were paused last year after rivals like Virgin Media raised competition concerns.

Ofcom UK Makes Changes to Rules for Landline and Mobile Calls

30th March, 2021 (8 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has today published a final statement on their latest Wholesale Voice Markets Review 2021–26 (WVMR), which among other things has set some new caps on call termination charges and deregulated other areas.

Ofcom Probes UK ISP Colt Over Statutory Information Request

29th March, 2021 (4 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has opened an investigation into business broadband ISP Colt Technology Services over a possible failure to comply with its duty to provide information, which was first requested last year as part of the recent Wholesale Fixed Telecoms Market Review 2021 (WFTMR).

Ofcom Accepts BT Proposal to Continue UK Landline Only Discount

25th March, 2021 (15 Comments)

As expected, Ofcom has today accepted last year’s proposal from BT, which saw the UK ISP voluntarily offer to continue the existing discount that they apply to consumers who take a landline-only phone service (i.e. cutting the monthly rental from £18.99 to £11.99 for lines without broadband attached).

ICO and Ofcom See Recent UK Surge in Nuisance and Scam Calls

23rd March, 2021 (22 Comments)

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and Ofcom have today published an update to their joint plan for tackling nuisance and scam calls, which comes after they both reported a surge in complaints from September/October to December 2020 compared to the same period in 2019.

hand with fiber network cables connected to servers in a datacenter

Ofcom Side with Openreach Over Extra Charge for FTTP AltNets

23rd March, 2021 (25 Comments)

Last year we reported that smaller full fibre building alternative UK broadband network providers (AltNets) were furious after Openreach imposed a “punitive” new fee on those using Ethernet (e.g. EAD) products to feed their FTTP service to end-users (here). You had to do some digging to find it, but Ofcom has chosen to uphold this.

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Ofcom Unveils 2021 Changes to Boost UK Full Fibre Broadband UPDATE

18th March, 2021 (55 Comments)

Ofcom has today published the outcome of their Wholesale Fixed Telecoms Market Review 2021-26 (FTMR), which sets out how various changes (Dark Fibre Access, copper retirement, regulation that varies by geographic area etc.) will be used to boost UK investment in “full fibre” broadband and high capacity Ethernet services.

Preliminary Winners of Ofcom’s UK 5G Mobile Auction Revealed

17th March, 2021 (42 Comments)

Ofcom has today revealed the winners from the “principal stage” of their latest 5G focused mobile (mobile broadband) spectrum auction for the 700MHz and 3.6-3.8GHz bands, which saw operators spend a total of £1.356 billion across the various bands and EE (BT) appears to have gobbled up the most (£452m).

The New UK Telecoms Security Bill is Starting to Look a Bit Ugly

16th March, 2021 (10 Comments)

At present most of the mentions you’ll see around the UK Government’s new Telecoms Security Bill (TSB) tend to involve Huawei’s ban (here) and its impact upon FTTP broadband or 5G mobile networks, but as time goes on it’s becoming increasingly clear that the bill hides a number of other nasty surprises.

Ofcom to Review UK Net Neutrality Rules Following ISP BT Moan

14th March, 2021 (22 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has confirmed that, over the course of the next year, it will begin a review of the existing Net Neutrality rules (i.e. these ensure no serious blocking or slowing of access to legal websites or internet services by broadband ISPs and mobile operators). The move follows a call by BT for greater flexibility.