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Articles for Category Tag - Ofcom Regulation

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Shire Fibre Seek Code Powers to Support Shropshire UK Full Fibre Rollout

24th January, 2025 (3 Comments)

A new alternative broadband network provider and ISP called Shire Fibre has today surfaced with a tentative plan to build their new Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network across poorly served parts of Shropshire (England), starting with the small market town of Craven Arms (population of 2,300) and surrounding areas.

Ofcom Propose to Make More Wireless Devices Licence Exempt

17th January, 2025 (0 Comments)

Ofcom has today launched a new consultation that proposes to exempt lots of additional devices (equipment) from needing a wireless telegraphy licence, such as 5G handsets and dongles on an aircraft or ship and 5.8 GHz (5725-5850 MHz) Fixed Wireless Access kit – used by many wireless broadband ISPs to offer rural connectivity.

BT Confirms Revised Annual Mid-Contract Price Hikes Policy for 2025

16th January, 2025 (20 Comments)

Broadband, TV, phone and mobile provider BT (inc. EE) has today reiterated their policy on annual UK price increases, which readers may recall was first introduced last year (here and here). This is intended to align with Ofcom’s ban on mid-contract price hikes that are linked to confusing inflation and percentage-based changes (here).

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Ofcom Begin Process of Imposing Age Verification on UK Internet Sites

16th January, 2025 (52 Comments)

The UK telecoms and media regulator, Ofcom, has today moved forward with implementation of the government’s tedious new Online Safety Act (OSA) by publishing industry guidance on how websites and social media services should introduce “effective age checks“. The goal is to prevent children from encountering online porn and protect them from other harmful content.

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Ofcom Enforce BAN on Some Mid-Contract UK Broadband Price Hikes

16th January, 2025 (19 Comments)

Ofcom will tomorrow begin enforcing a new rule that bans UK phone, mobile, pay TV and broadband providers from doing mid-contract price hikes that are linked to inflation (CPI or RPI) and percentage-based changes. The change will make pricing clearer for new customers, but some consumers could still pay more than under the old model.

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Ofcom to Improve Handling of UK Broadband and Phone Complaints UPDATE

15th January, 2025 (5 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has today proposed to make it quicker for people to access Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) providers, which are third-party ombudsman schemes that help consumers to resolve complaints with their phone providers, broadband ISPs and mobile operators.

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Nexfibre Sets Out Demands for Ofcom’s UK Telecoms Access Review

14th January, 2025 (11 Comments)

Network operator nexfibre, which is working alongside UK ISP partner Virgin Media to deploy a new 10Gbps full fibre broadband (FTTP) network across over 5 million premises (2m have already been built), has today set out its list of recommendations for Ofcom to consider adopting as part of their forthcoming Telecoms Access Review 2026 (TAR).

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TOTSCo Updates on Development of UK Business Broadband ISP Switching

10th January, 2025 (1 Comment)

The One Touch Switching Company (TOTSCo), which is the industry-led company that is helping to implement Ofcom’s solution (One Touch Switching) for easier and quicker UK consumer switching between broadband and phone providers, has now started to consult on contract changes to enable business switching.

INCA CEO Talks Future of UK Broadband Altnets and Infrastructure Sharing

2nd January, 2025 (5 Comments)

The new CEO of the Independent Networks Co-operative Association (INCA), Paddy Paddison, which represents many of the UK’s alternative broadband operators, has today told ISPreview – as part of a new interview – that he’s optimistic about financial institutions supporting altnets again “over the next year” and wants to see more sharing (infrastructure, wholesale etc.) in the sector.

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2025 New Year Honours for Ofcom Director’s Services to Telecoms

31st December, 2024 (0 Comments)

The UK Government has published their annual New Year Honours List for 2025, which saw Ofcom’s Interim Group Director of Networks and Communications, David Peter Clarkson, being named a “Member of the Order of the British Empire” for his services to telecommunications.

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2025 Broadband Price Hikes and the Impact of Ofcom’s New UK Policy

28th December, 2024 (45 Comments)

On 17th January 2025 Ofcom will begin enforcing a ban on mid-contract price hikes that are linked to inflation and percentage changes (here), but this doesn’t extend to many existing broadband contracts. Consumers on bigger ISPs may thus find themselves being divided between two different pricing policies, and one is going to hurt your wallet more than the other.

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Court Dismisses Class Action Claim Over BT’s Alleged UK Landline Overcharging UPDATE

19th December, 2024 (6 Comments)

The Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) has today dismissed a £1.3bn class action claim by the Collective Action on Land Lines (CALL) campaign against national broadband ISP and phone provider BT, which alleged that the UK telecoms giant had overcharged 2.3 million of its landline-only phone customers between 2015 and 2018.

Ofcom UK Propose Tweak to 3.9GHz Band for Mobile and Wireless Broadband

17th December, 2024 (0 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator has proposed an additional tweak to its existing licence for the 3.9GHz (3925 – 4009MHz) radio spectrum band, which would change the authorised frequency from 3925-4009 MHz (3.9GHz) to 3800-3884 MHz (3.8GHz). This could potentially make it more efficient for fixed wireless and 5G based mobile broadband services, such as those from Three UK.

Ofcom UK Set Timetable for 5G Mobile Auction of 26GHz and 40GHz

16th December, 2024 (9 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator has today set out their expected timetable for the long-in-gestation plan to auction off a large chunk of millimetre wave (mmW) radio spectrum frequency in the 26GHz and 40GHz bands, which will be used by mobile operators to deliver faster 5G (mobile broadband) services. But you’ll have to wait until October 2025.

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Ofcom Publish New Online UK Internet Safety Codes of Practice

16th December, 2024 (20 Comments)

Ofcom has today published the “first edition” of its new online UK safety codes of practice for “tech firms” (e.g. social media) and smaller websites under the government’s Online Safety Act (OSA). Providers now have 3 months to ensure they’re able to tackle “illegal harms” (content), such as terror, hate, fraud, child sexual abuse and assisting or encouraging suicide.

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Ofcom UK Propose to Cut Mobile Licence Fees for 900MHz and 1800MHz by GBP40m

13th December, 2024 (7 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator has today proposed, following evidence submitted by BT (EE), to reduce the total amount paid by the mobile network operators to use the 900MHz, 1800MHz and 2100MHz radio spectrum bands – used to support 2G, 3G and 4G mobile (mobile broadband) services – by around £40m per year.

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Ofcom Report 506,000 UK Homes Now Take Social Broadband Tariffs

12th December, 2024 (0 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator has today published their annual 2024 Pricing Trends Report, which among other things confirms that the take-up of cheaper social broadband ISP and mobile tariffs for those on state benefits has jumped to 506,000 customers in June 2024 (up from 380,000 in Sept 2023). But that’s still just 9.6% of eligible households (e.g. those on Universal Credit).