Ofcom UK Confirm Small Bundles Tweak to Broadband Speed Code

Ofcom has confirmed that they will update their 2019 voluntary Code of Practice for Broadband ISP Speeds, which among other things will extend the current “Right to Exit” (i.e. when an ISP fails to correct a speed problem) so that it applies to more aspects of a service bundle. The changes will go live on 21st December 2022.

The existing code is supported by BT, EE, Plusnet, TalkTalk, Utility Warehouse, Virgin Media and Zen Internet (Sky Broadband are due to “re-join … later this year“) and essentially requires those ISPs to provide reliable estimates of connection performance (as measured at peak times) to customers during the order process, and to also help resolve problems when they arise.

Under the code, consumers gain the right to exit their broadband ISP contract, without penalty, if speeds drop below the minimum guaranteed level (MGAL) for their line and this isn’t fixed by the ISP within 30 days – see Ofcom’s Codes of Practice page for more details.

The existing code defines a residential “bundle” as consisting of “broadband and voice services over the same line (and any other services which rely on the broadband connection in question for their delivery). Pay-TV, purchased or renewed at the same time as the contract for a broadband service.” However, Ofcom will now revise this definition, which could include a wider list of services than is currently captured, such as mobile services and terminal equipment.

The new definition thus defines a bundle as: “Broadband services and any closely related or linked contract(s) for public electronic communications services, information society services, content services and/or terminal equipment. We consider technical, contractual and financial dependencies to be examples of the most common types of links between services and / or terminal equipment.”

What Ofcom has decided

Updating the Residential Code definition of a bundle.
We have decided to amend the definition of a bundle in the Residential Broadband Speeds Code of Practice (the Residential Code), so the customer’s right to exit will apply to their broadband and bundled services in the same way as their right to exit will apply to their contract and bundled services as set out in the revised GCs.

Updating the Business Code definition of a bundle for small businesses.
For small businesses (those with ten or fewer employees), similar to the Residential Code, we have decided to amend the definition of a bundle in the Business Broadband Speeds Code of Practice (the Business Code). This will mean that for small businesses, their right to exit will apply to their broadband and bundled services in the same way as their right to exit will apply to their contract and bundled services as set out in the revised GCs.

Retaining, within the Business Code, the existing definition of a bundle for larger businesses.
For larger businesses, we have decided to retain the existing Business Code’s definition of a bundle to ensure the existing protections continue.

Timescales for implementing these decisions.
We have decided that any necessary changes to comply with the amendments to the Codes should be implemented by existing signatories within three months of the date of this statement i.e. by 21 December 2022.

Ofcom states that services or equipment will not automatically be captured by the definition of a bundle, as it depends on the nature of any links between them. The regulator said they “are of the view that there is unlikely to be a large increase in products captured within the revised” definition.

In short, this is more about making the rules around bundles “easier for customers to follow and more straightforward for broadband providers to implement“, although the revised definition isn’t exactly the easiest piece of text for a regular person to understand (e.g. most people will need to Google in order to figure out what “information society services” actually are). The old definition was at least easier to read and understand at a glance.

The regulator does not expect ISPs to “incur significant implementation costs” from this change. Providers now have 3-months to implement it.