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Articles for Category Tag - Ofcom Regulation

Ofcom UK Tweaks 3.4-3.6GHz Licenses to Help 5G Mobile Services

18th April, 2019 (11 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator has provisionally proposed to accept a request by Three UK, EE, O2 and Vodafone to vary a number of spectrum access licenses for the 3.4GHz, 3.5GHz and 3.6GHz bands in order to facilitate new Active Antenna Systems (AAS), which could help the future roll-out of ultrafast 5G mobile broadband networks.

Wireless ISP Lothian Broadband Networks Plan Full Fibre Rollout

12th April, 2019 (1 Comment)

Fixed wireless ISP Lothian Broadband Networks, which serves remote rural parts of East Lothian and Mid Lothian in Scotland with speeds of 35Mbps for homes, has hinted at tentative plans that could see them both expanding their wireless service and also building a new “ultrafast” Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network.

Ofcom Consults on the Future of UK Phone Numbers and Porting UPDATE

11th April, 2019 (19 Comments)

The UK communications regulator, Ofcom, has launched a shotgun blast of three new consultations today that cover how the fixed line broadband ISP and phone market will need to change as consumers are migrated from old analogue telephone services (PSTN) to new digital Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) platforms.

Big UK Broadband ISPs Have Big Concerns About DNS over HTTPS

11th April, 2019 (22 Comments)

A significant change is on the way that could improve the security of the internet’s Domain Name System (DNS) by adopting DNS over HTTPS (DoH), although this could also create lots of new problems for broadband ISPs and mobile operators (e.g. disrupting UK Government required censorship systems) that may be hard to overcome.

Ofcom Probe BT’s Conduct During Tender for N.Ireland PSN Contract

4th April, 2019 (3 Comments)

The UK communications regulator, Ofcom, has today opened a new investigation that will examine BT’s conduct during the tender for the recent £50m Northern Ireland Public Sector Shared Network contract, which will consider whether or not the operator kept within the Significant Market Power (SMP) rules.

Mast Sharing or Rural Roaming – Solving UK Rural 4G Mobile Coverage

1st April, 2019 (16 Comments)

The Country Land and Business Association, which represents 30,000+ landowners (farmers and businesses) across England and Wales, has said that “forcing mobile operators to adopt rural roaming” may be the only way to deliver significantly better 4G coverage in rural areas. But operators now favour a barter system of mast sharing.

New Cost Cap on UK Calls to 118 Directory Enquiries Goes Live

1st April, 2019 (7 Comments)

Surprisingly around a million people in the UK still use premium 118 Directory Enquiries numbers (e.g. elderly users). Last year Ofcom took action to stamp out excessive charges for such numbers, which had seen some operators charging £20 for a 90 second call. But from today such costs will be capped.

Automatic Compensation Goes Live for UK Broadband ISP Customers

31st March, 2019 (10 Comments)

Ofcom’s new system of automatic compensation will tomorrow be introduced, which requires major UK ISPs to compensate consumers (cash or bill credits) for a total loss of broadband connectivity (i.e. if the outage lasts longer than 2 working days), missed appointments or delayed installs.

Ofcom Updates on Plan to Boost UK Full Fibre Broadband Investment UPDATE

29th March, 2019 (10 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator has today set out more detail on how they intend to change market regulation in order to promote competition and investment in the roll-out of Gigabit capable “full fibre” (FTTP) broadband ISP networks, which will support the Government’s ambition for “nationwide” FTTP coverage by 2033.

Fears of 5G Auction Delay as Vodafone UK Ponders Legal Challenge

26th March, 2019 (16 Comments)

Mobile operator Vodafone has warned that it would consider a legal challenge against Ofcom’s forthcoming auction of the 5G friendly radio spectrum bands at 700MHz and 3.6GHz – 3.8GH, unless the regulator changes their proposed strategy of auctioning these as part of a bundled package.

Final Ofcom Plan for 2019-20 Confirms Mobile and Broadband Changes

25th March, 2019 (7 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has today published their final annual plan for 2019/20, which summarises all of the major work they intend to do this year (e.g. boosting mobile coverage, new consumer protections, implementing the 10Mbps USO for broadband and promoting investment in “fibre” networks etc.).

City Leaders Warn UK Full Fibre Rollout is Uncoordinated and Inefficient

25th March, 2019 (20 Comments)

Political leaders from 20 cities and towns across the North of England have written an Open Letter to Ofcom that calls for a more coordinated way of deploying new Gigabit capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) based broadband ISP networks, which could speed-up the effort by avoiding the need to dig up streets several times over.

Ofcom Fines O2 UK £75K Over Response to Traffic Management Probe

22nd March, 2019 (3 Comments)

Mobile operator O2 (Telefonica UK) has been fined £75,000 by Ofcom for “failing to provide accurate and complete answers” to the regulator, which occured as part of last year’s investigation into the operator’s Traffic Management practices on their 3G and 4G network.

BT Shun Rural Mobile Roaming Plan from Three UK, O2 and Vodafone

18th March, 2019 (32 Comments)

Telecoms giant BT (EE) has rejected an industry proposal from rival operators Three UK, Vodafone and O2 that would have aimed to improve national 4G network coverage via “rural roaming,” where signals in remote areas could roam onto whatever alternative network was available (like EU roaming).

Ofcom UK Probes Post Office Over Charges for Text Relay Calls UPDATE

18th March, 2019 (0 Comments)

Ofcom has opened a new probe today to investigate whether or not the Post Office, which among other things also offers broadband ISP and phone services to UK consumers, charged customers the correct amount for telephone calls using relay services (e.g. text relay calls).

40 MPs Call for Ofcom to Monitor UK 4G Mobile Coverage Obligations

11th March, 2019 (17 Comments)

More than 40 MPs from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Rural Business (APPGRB) have today called on Ofcom to introduce better “annual monitoring” in order to ensure that Mobile operators like Vodafone, Three UK, O2 and EE keep to their future 4G and 5G (mobile broadband) coverage obligations.

Challenges Remain as Openreach Improve UK Cable Duct and Pole Access UPDATE

11th March, 2019 (16 Comments)

Last week saw Openreach (BT) publish a Final Reference Offer for their revised Physical Infrastructure Access (PIA) product, which is intended to make it cheaper and easier for UK ISPs to deploy their own “full fibre” broadband networks via existing cable ducts and poles. But some challenges remain.