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

Articles for Category Tag - Ofcom Regulation

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New Bill to Boost Consumer Protection on UK Broadband and Mobile

25th April, 2023 (6 Comments)

The Government will today introduce their new Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill (DMCCB), which among other things also promises several new protection measures that could benefit customers of broadband ISPs and mobile operators (e.g. clearer contract information and making it easier to exit a contract).

Ofcom – Only 220,000 UK Homes on Cheaper Social Broadband Tariffs

24th April, 2023 (11 Comments)

Ofcom has today published their latest UK consumer affordability report, which finds the take-up of cheaper social broadband ISP and mobile tariffs for those on state benefits has increased to 220,000 households (up from 136,000 six months ago). But that still represents just 5.1% of households on Universal Credit (4.3 million).

Fideres Claim Virgin Media and TalkTalk Overcharged for Voice Only Lines

19th April, 2023 (2 Comments)

A new study from economic consultancy firm Fideres has accused UK telecoms regulator Ofcom of “tacitly allowing” TalkTalk, Virgin Media (VMO2) and other voice-only landline providers (e.g. SSE) to overcharge consumers by up to £200 million since 2009 (£100m by TT, £50m by VMO2, and a further £50m by smaller providers).

Smart Data Council Looks to Tackle Broadband ISP Loyalty Penalties

17th April, 2023 (17 Comments)

The UK’s Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has today launched a new “Smart Data Council“, which aims to help cut consumer bills, such as by finding ways to make it easier for consumers and businesses to find the tariffs best suited to their needs, or reduce the “loyalty penalty” that customers face when switching providers.

Dear UK Broadband ISPs – Make Your Post Contract Prices Clear

12th April, 2023 (25 Comments)

We’ve lost count now of how many times ISPreview has had to say this over the years, but there are still far too many broadband ISPs in the UK – particularly larger players – that fail to clearly inform their customers of how much their package will cost post-contract. As a result, consumers often feel misled when it comes time to re-contract.

Ofcom Set to Refer UK Cloud Market for Competition Probe

5th April, 2023 (6 Comments)

Ofcom’s ongoing probe into internet-based UK cloud services, which tend to be dominated by big providers like Amazon (AWS) and Microsoft (Azure), has uncovered practices and features that “could limit competition” and is proposing to refer the market to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for further investigation.

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Frustration as Ofcom See Delay to Faster UK Broadband ISP Switching UPDATE5

3rd April, 2023 (12 Comments)

Consumers looking to change broadband providers in the UK will be unhappy to learn that the UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has confirmed a delay to the introduction of their faster and more extensive One Touch Switch (OTS) migration system – possibly by 6 months or more – because ISPs are not yet ready to support it.

Ofcom Raise UK Automatic Compensation Payments for Broadband Woes

31st March, 2023 (8 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has today increased the payment amounts issued to consumers under their automatic compensation system, which requires some home broadband ISPs to compensate customers (cash or bill credits) for internet connectivity mishaps and delivery delays.

Fibrus Bring Rural UK FTTP Broadband Network to 250,000 Premises

29th March, 2023 (13 Comments)

Infracapital-backed broadband ISP Fibrus, which is rolling out a new 10Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network across both Northern Ireland and the North of England (Scotland will follow), has issued a progress update that reveals they’ve now covered around 250,000 premises and have 36,000 customers (take-up of c.15%).

Digital Catapult and Ofcom Launch UK Open RAN Testing Facilities – SONIC Labs

29th March, 2023 (0 Comments)

Digital Catapult and Ofcom have today opened a new testing facility for Open Radio Access Network (OpenRAN) technology, which is funded by the UK’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and hopes to push forward the rollout of new O-RAN based 4G and 5G mobile networks.

CMA Clamps Down on Online UK Rip-offs and Misleading Prices

29th March, 2023 (7 Comments)

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has today set out its “red lines” for businesses (including broadband and mobile providers) that make use of “price reduction” and “urgency claims” when selling their products and services to UK consumers. People are also being encouraged to report online rip-offs via a new form.

Ofcom Looks to Improve Spectrum Sharing for 5G and Other Services

28th March, 2023 (0 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has today begun fielding industry views on how it could improve Shared Spectrum Licences, which enable small businesses to create their own local wireless broadband and mobile networks across various radio spectrum bands (many of these could previously only be used by national operators).

BT Group UK Reportedly Hunting for New CEO to Replace Jansen

26th March, 2023 (28 Comments)

The current CEO of broadband and telecoms giant BT Group (inc. Openreach, Plusnet and EE), Philip Jansen (56), could be on his way out – sooner than expected. Industry sources have reportedly told a Sunday newspaper that BT Group have already begun hunting for somebody to replace Jansen, who has held the position since 2018.

Ofcom May Reallocate Unpaired 2100MHz UK Mobile Band

23rd March, 2023 (5 Comments)

Ofcom has today announced that they may revoke the current mobile operator licences – held by EE (BT), Three UK and O2 (VMO2) – for the unpaired part of the 2100MHz band (1900-1920 MHz), which was originally auctioned off in April 2000 to support the rollout of 3G mobile (mobile broadband) networks.

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Ofcom See Average UK Fixed Broadband ISP Speeds Hit 65.3Mbps

20th March, 2023 (14 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has posted a small interim update to the data they hold on fixed line home broadband ISP speeds, which reveals that the average (median) UK download speed has increased to 65.3Mbps (up by 10% from 59.4Mbps six months ago) and uploads hit 15.5Mbps (up by 45% from 10.7Mbps).

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Virgin Media O2 UK Ponder £3bn Acquisition of Rival CityFibre

20th March, 2023 (73 Comments)

A major newspaper has reported that a parent of broadband ISP and mobile giant VMO2 (Virgin Media and O2) has held “initial talks” over the possibility of mounting a £3bn takeover bid for the UK’s third-largest alternative full fibre network (AltNet), CityFibre. But such a deal could face regulatory and competition concerns.

Ofcom UK Delay Start of Openreach FTTP Broadband Price Cuts UPDATE3

17th March, 2023 (96 Comments)

Ofcom has this morning announced that they will need “an additional two months” to undertake further analysis of Openreach’s “Equinox 2” discount scheme, which will delay the operator’s planned 1st April 2023 launch of cheaper wholesale prices on their Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) based broadband ISP products.