Home » UK ISP News Archive » Article Tag: Ofcom Regulation (1765 Posts)

Articles for Category Tag - Ofcom Regulation

Ofcom to Release More Shared Spectrum in 3.8-4.2GHz for UK 5G

23rd November, 2023 (0 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has begun to consult on an update to their spectrum sharing framework, which among other things proposes a more flexible management approach to improve local spectrum availability for 5G (mobile / wireless broadband) and the related release of more shared frequency in the busiest 3.8 – 4.2 GHz bands.

Ofcom UK Take on Regulation of Premium Rate Phone Services

21st November, 2023 (0 Comments)

The UK telecoms, internet and media regulator, Ofcom, has today launched a new consultation on a proposed rule change that would see responsibility for day-to-day regulation of Premium Rate Services (PRS) being effectively transferred from the Phone-Paid Services Authority (PSA) to Ofcom.

Ofcom UK Fines Shell Energy £1.4m for Broadband Contract Failings

21st November, 2023 (7 Comments)

Broadband ISP, phone and energy provider Shell Energy, which is in the process of being sold to the Octopus Energy Group (here), has today been fined £1.4m by Ofcom for “not properly prompting more than 70,000 phone and broadband customers” to review their contract or informing them of the best deals.

AI Generated image of an incorrect netflix bill by ISPreview (poe.com)

Virgin Media’s UK Customers Plagued by Phantom Netflix Bills

17th November, 2023 (27 Comments)

Some existing and former customers of TV, phone and broadband provider Virgin Media (VMO2) are complaining that the ISP is continuing to hit them with wrongful Netflix subscription charges, which is despite those impacted having either never taken the service or cancelling it months ago. The problem has gone unresolved for months.

Survey Suspects UK Broadband ISPs Profit from Confusing Jargon

9th November, 2023 (18 Comments)

Do you know your FTTPs from your Gigabits, FTTC and ADSL? A new survey of 2,008 UK broadband customers, which was conducted between 18th to 20th October 2023 by Broadband Genie, has found that 63% feel internet providers use “confusing language” and 54% believe they “hide behind baffling jargon to squeeze more money out of customers“.

Ofcom UK Detail 5G Mobile Auction Plan for 26GHz and 40GHz

8th November, 2023 (9 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has today set out the design of their planned auction for a large chunk of millimetre wave (mmW) radio spectrum frequency across the 26GHz and 40GHz bands, which is to be used by mobile network operators to deliver even faster 5G (mobile broadband) services – mostly across urban areas.

85 Percent of UK Says Mid-Contract Telecoms Price Hikes are Unfair

2nd November, 2023 (35 Comments)

A new Opinium survey of 2,000 UK adults, which was commissioned by Uswitch, has today claimed that 85% of broadband ISP and mobile customers view annual price rises as “unfair” and 87% think they should be allowed to leave their provider penalty free if they raise prices mid-contract.

October 2023 BT Progress Update on 10Mbps UK Broadband USO

1st November, 2023 (11 Comments)

UK ISP BT has published their latest biannual (October 2023) update on the progress they’ve made in delivering Ofcom’s flaky 10Mbps Universal Service Obligation (USO) for broadband. The operator has so far built a USO connection to over 7,681 premises (up from 7,000 in Apr 2023), with 185 further builds in progress (down from 800).

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Ofcom Rejects Openreach Request to Tweak UK QoS Targets UPDATE

30th October, 2023 (0 Comments)

Ofcom has today decided NOT to change how it calculates one of Openreach’s regulated Quality of Service (QoS) standards for Ethernet and Dark Fibre repairs, which would have replaced the current “on-time repair” (OTR) target with a “mean time to repair” (MTTR) alternative.

A Sobering Reminder that Ofcom’s Auto Compensation System has Limits UPDATE2

30th October, 2023 (13 Comments)

The case of a pregnant UK mother who, while living in a house with no mobile signal and a 3-week-long outage of Openreach’s broadband and phone services, ended up giving birth on the kitchen floor due to an inability to call 999 – is today also highlighting a key caveat in Ofcom’s system of Automatic Compensation.

Ofcom Finalises Softer UK Rules to Protect the Open Internet UPDATE

26th October, 2023 (19 Comments)

Ofcom has finalised their move to soften the Net Neutrality rules, which were originally established to prevent unfair blocking or slowing of access to legal websites and internet services by broadband ISPs and mobile operators. Providers will now gain more flexibility to create “premium” packages (e.g. better latency) and “specialised services“.

Ofcom UK Opens Review of Fixed Wireless Network Links

25th October, 2023 (6 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has today begun a review of the use and demand for fixed wireless links and related spectrum implications. Such links can be used for all sorts of things, such as delivering broadband to homes, feeding backhaul data capacity for mobile networks in remote areas and TV broadcasts etc.

Vodafone Testing Upper 6GHz Band for 5G mobile

Vodafone Push 5G Broadband Speeds to 5Gbps via Upper 6GHz Band

25th October, 2023 (13 Comments)

The tedious debate around whether EU and UK regulators should release the upper 6GHz radio spectrum band for use by WiFi or Mobile networks (or share it between both) has taken another twist after Vodafone conducted a new test, which used the band to achieve 5G mobile broadband downloads of “up to” 5Gbps (Gigabits per second).

Ofcom's mobile_signal_repeater_diagram_uk

Ofcom UK to Soften Mobile Signal Booster Requirements

24th October, 2023 (1 Comment)

The UK telecoms regulator has proposed to soften their requirements for licence exempt indoor “mobile phone repeaters” in order to reflect both the introduction of in-vehicle 5G and the withdrawal of older 2G and 3G networks. Most operators (except O2) expect to close 3G by the end of 2024, while both 2G and 3G must be switched-off by 2033 (here).

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Top 10 UK Fastest and Slowest Streets for Broadband in 2023

23rd October, 2023 (17 Comments)

A new study from Broadband Genie (BG) has analysed 265,000 consumer speed tests and found the top slowest and fastest ten streets for broadband in the UK. For example, Morriston Close in Watford (London) comes out as the slowest street, with an average download speed of 0.6Mbps, but this is only half of the story.

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Ofcom Shames Vodafone in Q2 2023 Broadband Complaints Table

19th October, 2023 (11 Comments)

Ofcom has published their latest quarterly (Q2 2023) study of UK consumer complaints, which shames Vodafone as attracting the most gripes about broadband ISPs, while TalkTalk, Shell Energy and Virgin Media tied the lowest ranking for landline phone, BT did the same for Mobile services, and Virgin Media and BT came bottom for TV.

Ofcom May Change How Spectrum is Allocated for UK Wireless Broadband Networks

18th October, 2023 (0 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has today begun a discussion that could result in a change to how radio spectrum for the next generation of wireless broadband networks is allocated, which in the future may place greater emphasis on spectrum sharing (we’ve already seen a lot of this via private and local 5G networks etc.) and flexible access.