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

Articles for Category Tag - Ofcom Regulation

Which? Accuse ISP Virgin Media UK of Unlawful Customer Contracts

24th August, 2023 (19 Comments)

A team of legal experts at Which? have today accused broadband ISP Virgin Media (VMO2) of potentially breaching consumer contract law by “effectively [maintaining] a licence to impose unlimited [price] increases” through their Terms & Conditions (T&Cs) for existing customers. The consumer magazine wants Ofcom to investigate.

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What is “Fibre” Broadband? UK ISPs Respond to Ofcom’s Call for Clarity

22nd August, 2023 (56 Comments)

A few months ago Ofcom launched a new consultation that proposed to only allow broadband ISPs to use the terms “fibre” and “full-fibre” on their sites and in contracts “if their network uses fibre-optic cables all the way from the exchange to the home” (FTTP). But feedback suggests that the biggest providers are not supportive.

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Ofcom UK Propose More 28GHz Spectrum to Boost Satellite Broadband

18th August, 2023 (9 Comments)

The UK telecoms and media regulator, Ofcom, has today proposed to make 448MHz of the spectrum frequency in the 28GHz band (27.5–30GHz) available to satellite broadband services, specifically their Earth station gateways, which could help to boost data speeds and further expand coverage into remote communities.

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BT Reveals 1,000 of its Old UK Payphone Kiosks Up for Grabs

17th August, 2023 (11 Comments)

Telecoms giant BT has announced that, ahead of its iconic red phone box turning 100 years of age next year, around 1,000 of its 20,000 remaining kiosks (payphone boxes) are currently up for grabs across the United Kingdom (down from a historic peak of 92,000). Some 7,200 have already been adopted by communities across the country.

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One Touch UK Broadband ISP Switching Aims to Go Live March 2024

11th August, 2023 (7 Comments)

The industry-led One Touch Switching Company (TOTSCo), which has the arduous task of implementing Ofcom’s significantly delayed One Touch Switch (OTS) migration system for broadband ISPs, has today revealed that it is working toward a planned go-live date of Thursday 14th March 2024 – nearly a full year late.

Promising Trouble to Pilot Community-Owned Broadband in London

11th August, 2023 (0 Comments)

Non-profit policy developer Promising Trouble – supported by Impact on Urban Health – are preparing to launch a new 18-month project in London (likely around Southwark or Lambeth) next year that will pilot a community-owned broadband service, offering a free or very low cost internet access to those excluded by affordability.

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Quick Update on Delayed One Touch UK Broadband ISP Switching

7th August, 2023 (24 Comments)

Consumers may now have to wait until early 2024 before Ofcom’s new and much delayed One Touch Switch (OTS) migration system is fully ready for prime time. The system was designed to make it easier and quicker to switch broadband ISPs, including via alternative networks, but it has been beset by delays.

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TalkTalk Tops Ofcom’s Broadband Complaints Table for Q1 2023 UPDATE

27th July, 2023 (11 Comments)

Ofcom’s latest quarterly (Q1 2023) study of UK consumer complaints has named and shamed TalkTalk for attracting the most consumer gripes about both fixed line broadband and landline phone services (making a change from Shell Energy), while BT did the same for both Pay Monthly Mobile and Pay TV services.

Ofcom Publish Benchmarks of UK 5G, 4G and 3G Mobile Networks

21st July, 2023 (22 Comments)

Ofcom has published its 2023 Mobile Matters report, which uses Opensignal’s crowdsourced data (collected between 1st October 2022 and 31st March 2023) to benchmark the performance of UK mobile data (mobile broadband) networks by both technology (3G, 4G and 5G) and operator choice – including Three UK, O2, Vodafone and EE.

Ofcom Move to Protect UK People from Mobile Roaming Bill Shocks

20th July, 2023 (13 Comments)

Ofcom has today proposed new rules to force mobile network operators, such as Three UK, Vodafone, EE and O2 (inc. MVNO operators), to protect consumers who travel abroad from mobile BILL SHOCKS on data (broadband), call and text charges by introducing new roaming alert protections for consumers and small businesses.

Legal Opinion Warns of “unlawful” Clause in UK Online Safety Bill

19th July, 2023 (12 Comments)

The UK Government’s controversial new Online Safety Bill is facing more criticism today after Dan Squires KC and Emma Foubister of Matrix Chambers issued a legal opinion on its “prior restraint” clause. This suggests that there is “likely to be significant interference with freedom of expression that is unforeseeable and which is thus not prescribed by law“.

Ofcom UK Proposes to Tweak One of Openreach’s QoS Targets

14th July, 2023 (7 Comments)

Ofcom has proposed to tweak how it calculates one of Openreach’s regulated Quality of Service (QoS) standards for Ethernet and Dark Fibre repairs, which would replace the current “on-time repair” target with a “mean time to repair” target. The change reflects the fact that the operator’s performance has improved, not worsened.

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Ofcom UK to Publish Take-up of Social Tariffs by Provider

13th July, 2023 (9 Comments)

Ofcom has published an update on its action plan to support broadband and mobile customers during the cost-of-living crisis, which once again calls on UK ISPs to take “immediate action” to boost the take-up of cheaper social tariffs (available to those on state benefits) and promises to publish take-up data for each provider.

Ofcom Investigate Virgin Media UK Over Customer Cancellations UPDATE

13th July, 2023 (46 Comments)

The national telecoms and media regulator, Ofcom, has this morning announced that they’ve opened an investigation into the service cancellation practices of UK broadband ISP Virgin Media (VMO2), which follows customer complaints that suggest the “company is making it difficult for them to cancel their services“.

Unite Raise Conflict of Interest Concerns Over Vodafone and Three UK Merger

13th July, 2023 (16 Comments)

Unite the Union, which has previously expressed its opposition to Vodafone and Three UK’s proposed merger (here), is attempting to up the ante by pressing some of Vodafone’s largest shareholders (e.g. Blackrock, Vanguard, Norges Bank and local authority pension funds) to take a stand, on conflict of interest grounds, at the next AGM.

Big UK Mobile and Broadband ISPs Commit to Cut Emissions

13th July, 2023 (1 Comment)

The Digital Connectivity Forum (DCF), an industry think-tank, has today announced that the UK’s largest mobile and broadband providers, including BT, Three UK, and Sky Broadband, among many others, have agreed to work together to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the telecoms supply chain.

Vodafone Warn Gov 5G Targets to be Missed if Three UK Merger Blocked

10th July, 2023 (39 Comments)

The CEO of mobile operator Vodafone, Ahmed Essam, has indirectly warned regulators that a decision to block its attempted merger with Three UK (CK Hutchison) would result in them cutting their investment in digital infrastructure (5G broadband etc.) and being unable to deliver on the Government’s goals.