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Articles for Category Tag - Ofcom Regulation

Ofcom Deregulate More UK Broadband and Tighten Rules for KCOM

21st June, 2018 (11 Comments)

After a bit of a delay Ofcom has today published the draft outcome of their latest Wholesale Broadband Access (WBA) market review, which among other things imposes some new rules upon KCOM in Hull (East Yorkshire) and relaxes regulation across more of the UK due to rising competition between ISPs.

Margot James MP Hints ISPs Should Pass FTTC Price Cut on to Homes

20th June, 2018 (2 Comments)

The UK Minister of State for Digital, Margot James MP, yesterday reaffirmed the government’s commitment to a Gigabit “full fibre” (FTTP) future and also called on ISPs to “pass on [the] benefit” from Ofcom’s recent wholesale market reviews in order to improve the take-up of “superfast broadband.”

Ofcom CEO – The £6bn Cost of Truly Universal UK Mobile Coverage

20th June, 2018 (11 Comments)

The CEO of Ofcom, Sharon White, yesterday told the Connected Britain event in London that to provide good mobile network (4G etc.) coverage across virtually all of the UK landmass would cost up to around £6 billion and is likely to require some form of cross subsidy.

Ofcom Invites UK ISPs to Supply the New 10Mbps Broadband USO

19th June, 2018 (32 Comments)

Ofcom has today formally invited UK ISPs to express their interest in becoming suppliers for the new Universal Service Obligation (USO), which from 2020 will make it possible for anybody in a slow speed area to request a minimum broadband download speed of 10Mbps+ (1Mbps upload).

Wireless ISPs Call on Ofcom to Fix Broken UK Spectrum Auctions UPDATE

17th June, 2018 (1 Comment)

The UK Wireless Internet Service Providers Association (UKWISPA), which is the official trade body for Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) broadband providers, has called on Ofcom to “modernise the way it allocates spectrum resources” because they claim that the current approach of national auctions is “no longer fit for purpose“.

Ofcom Find BT Make Reasonable Progress on Legal Openreach Split

14th June, 2018 (2 Comments)

Openreach has today been deemed by the national UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, to be making “satisfactory” progress in most but not all areas with their on-going efforts to become a distinct company away from BT, which follows last year’s agreement to legally separate the operator’s network access division.

Ofcom Set Ambition for 5G Spectrum and Possibly 6GHz Wi-Fi

7th June, 2018 (10 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator has today published a new consultation document on their proposals for the crucial World Radiocommunication Conference 2019 (WRC-19), which amongst other things highlights the bands they’d like to see used for 5G and the possibility of adopting 6GHz for use in future WiFi networks.

House of Lords Trash Government’s 10Mbps UK Broadband USO Again

6th June, 2018 (75 Comments)

The House of Lords was yesterday given the opportunity to debate the Government’s new 10Mbps Universal Service Obligation (USO) for fixed line broadband (implemented from 2020). Perhaps unsurprisingly they trashed it, while also calling for a “more ambitious” minimum speed of 30Mbps.

BBC One Rip Off Britain TV Show to Tackle KCOM Woes in Hull UK

1st June, 2018 (12 Comments)

The BBC One consumer rights TV show, Rip Off Britain, looks set to take KCOM’s broadband and phone network in Hull (East Yorkshire) to task when it returns for a new series from 11th June 2018. The telecoms provider could face criticism of its prices, customer service and monopoly position in the local market.

Protecting Access to Emergency Services in a Broadband VoIP World

24th May, 2018 (31 Comments)

Operators like KCOM and BT are preparing to move away from traditional analogue telephone networks (PSTN) and replace them with broadband based all IP solutions. As part of that Ofcom are consulting on maintaining access to UK emergency services (police etc.), which could be more exposed to power cuts etc.

Ofcom UK Finds Fault with Virgin Media Contract Termination Charges

22nd May, 2018 (28 Comments)

An investigation conducted by market regulator Ofcom claims to have found “reasonable grounds for believing” that cable broadband ISP and TV operator Virgin Media may have broken its consumer protection rules by failing to play fair with their Early Termination Charges (ETC).

Ofcom Study Confirms Loyal Broadband and Mobile Users Pay More

17th May, 2018 (16 Comments)

A new report from Ofcom on annual pricing trends has found that 80% of UK households purchased bundled services in 2018 (broadband, tv, phone and / or mobile), which is down from 81% last year. But those who remain loyal to their broadband ISP (i.e. staying after the contract is up) will end up paying more.

Over 50 Cross Party UK MPs Call for Better Rural 4G Mobile Coverage

13th May, 2018 (13 Comments)

More than 50 MPs have signed a letter by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Rural Services that calls on the government’s digital secretary, Matt Hancock, to ensure that 95% of the UK’s landmass can access a mobile service from all operators (Three UK, Vodafone, EE and O2) by the end of 2022.

ISP B4B Networks Plan FTTP Broadband Rollout in N.Ireland UPDATE

11th May, 2018 (6 Comments)

Belfast-based ISP B4B Networks, which until now has largely focused upon serving business premises in Northern Ireland, has hinted that they could soon build their own “full fibre” FTTP/H style “ultrafast” broadband network to homes and businesses in certain parts of the UK.

Ofcom Study Tests O2, Three UK, Vodafone and EE Mobile Performance

9th May, 2018 (3 Comments)

The latest 2018 Consumer Mobile Experience report from Ofcom has used crowdsourced data to reveal some interesting details about the performance of 3G and 4G mobile networks in the United Kingdom, which among other things finds that 86% of urban vs only 73% of rural users are satisfied with their service.

Ofcom 2018 Study – Average Home Broadband Speeds Hit 46.2Mbps

9th May, 2018 (7 Comments)

Ofcom has published their annual study of fixed line home broadband ISP speeds across the United Kingdom, which reveals that the average download rate has risen from 36.2Mbps last year to 46.2Mbps now, while uploads hit 6.2Mbps (up from 4.3Mbps). Sadly the gap between urban and rural areas persists.

ISP Plusnet Expand UK Low Cost Areas to More Broadband Users

5th May, 2018 (16 Comments)

A sizeable portion of Plusnet’s broadband ISP subscriber base has recently been informed that they will benefit from a good reduction in the price of their service. The move comes after the provider decided to implement a wider definition for ‘Low Cost Areas‘ on their network.