Home » UK ISP News Archive » Article Tag: Ofcom Regulation (1460 Posts)

Articles for Category Tag - Ofcom Regulation

Mobile Operators Face 900MHz and 1800MHz Licence Fee Hike Again

17th December, 2018 (7 Comments)

After years of delay and court battles Ofcom have today set the annual licence fees (ALF) that O2, Vodafone, Three UK (H3G) and EE will pay for their 2G, 3G and 4G Mobile services in the 900MHz and 1800MHz spectrum bands. The regulator has separately proposed fees for UK Broadband’s (H3G) holdings at 3.4GHz and 3.6GHz.

Three UK Secure Key Change to Boost 5G Wireless Broadband Plans

14th December, 2018 (38 Comments)

Ofcom has granted a small but controversial change to the part of the 3.6GHz band owned by mobile operator Three UK (H3G, UK Broadband Ltd.), which will give them access to a 100MHz block of contiguous spectrum that may result in faster 5G based mobile and fixed wireless networks. But BT, O2 and Vodafone aren’t happy.

Ofcom Probes UK Broadband ISP Prices and Tries to Boost Take-up UPDATE

14th December, 2018 (33 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator has today launched a new review of broadband pricing to examine whether loyal (existing) and vulnerable ISP customers are being ripped-off. On top of that they’ve also set out their final proposals for end-of-contract notification letters, which will soon also tell you about the best deals.

Vonage Fined £24.5K by Ofcom for Failure of UK VoIP Phone Service

12th December, 2018 (11 Comments)

An investigation into the availability of Vonage‘s internet phone (VoIP) service has resulted in Ofcom imposing a £24,500 penalty on the provider, which came after they discovered that the company had “failed to provide uninterrupted access” to the emergency services (999 or 112 for police, fire etc.).

CBI Demands Urgent Action to Fast Track UK Gigabit Broadband

12th December, 2018 (10 Comments)

A new report from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has warned that the UK Government must take “urgent action” and “fast track [new] laws” in order to ensure the delivery of its aspiration to achieve nationwide coverage of future 5G mobile by 2027 and “full fibre” (FTTP) Gigabit broadband ISP networks by 2033.

Ofcom Move to Redefine UK Geographic Fibre Markets from 2021

11th December, 2018 (4 Comments)

Over the next few years the UK will witness a surge in alternative fibre optic (FTTP) broadband ISP networks, which means that investment and competition will vary a lot by geography. In response Ofcom has today begun consulting upon a new approach to how they set regulation and define such markets from 2021.

Openreach and UK ISPs Reach Deal on Automatic Compensation

11th December, 2018 (16 Comments)

After some disagreement Openreach (BT) and five major retail ISPs appear to have finally reached agreement on payments as part of Ofcom’s new automatic compensation system, which from “early 2019” will require them to compensate consumers for a total loss of fixed broadband and phone connectivity.

O2 UK Outage Triggers Mobile Roaming and Compensation Debate

10th December, 2018 (11 Comments)

One positive outcome of last week’s O2 network outage (here) is that it has triggered a debate about whether mobile operators should introduce Automatic Compensation, like broadband ISPs will soon receive. On top of that others have called for more roaming flexibility, so users can use rival networks during downtime.

Ofcom Propose BT and KCOM to Deliver 10Mbps UK Broadband USO UPDATE

5th December, 2018 (33 Comments)

As predicted Ofcom has today proposed that BT and KCOM should be designated as the official Universal Service Providers (USP) for the Government’s new “legally binding” Universal Service Obligation (USO), which from 2020 will make it possible for those in slow speed areas to request a broadband speed of at least 10Mbps.

New Ombudsman Boss Wants to Help UK Telcos Retain Customers

3rd December, 2018 (5 Comments)

The new CEO and Chief Ombudsman at UK consumer complaints handler firm Ombudsman Services: Communications, Matthew Vickers, has said that he sees his role as helping naughty broadband ISPs and mobile operators to retain more customers (i.e. reducing churn in the sector).

Ofcom to Target Better UK Mobile and Broadband Cover in 2019-20

3rd December, 2018 (2 Comments)

Ofcom has today launched a new consultation on their annual plan for 2019/20, which summarises all of the major work they intend to do next year (e.g. improving mobile coverage, new consumer protections, deciding which ISPs will deliver the 10Mbps USO for broadband and promoting investment in “fibre” networks etc.).

Ofcom Accused of Ignoring SME Overcharging by UK Mobile Operators UPDATE

3rd December, 2018 (1 Comment)

A new report from Billmonitor has accused Ofcom of showing “little interest” in tackling the allegedly “Wild West” market for B2B mobile services. The investigation claimed that only one in ten small businesses get a “fair deal” from their mobile operator and EE is the most expensive UK provider for business contracts.

ISP Cloud M Fined £55K by Ofcom for Number Porting Shenanigans

30th November, 2018 (3 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator has fined business phone and broadband ISP Cloud M £50,000 for refusing to let one of its customers (a small business) take their phone number with them when they wanted to switch provider. A £5K fine was also imposed after they failed to provide accurate and complete info. by the deadline.

Ofcom UK Impose Cost Cap on Calls to 118 Directory Enquiries

28th November, 2018 (10 Comments)

The high cost of contacting 118 numbers (Directory Enquires), which can sometimes reach up to £20 for an average 90-second call, is not a new concern but Ofcom has now finally decided to clampdown on the problem by imposing a cap on the cost of calling such services (effective from 1st April 2019).

Ofcom UK Fine EE £6.3m and Virgin Media £7m for Overcharging UPDATE

16th November, 2018 (6 Comments)

Billing mistakes can be costly. The national UK telecoms regulator has today fined mobile operator EE and cable broadband ISP Virgin Media a combined total of £13.3m for overcharging customers (those on discounted deals) who wished to leave their contracts early. Overall nearly 500,000 customers were affected.

Poor Broadband and Mobile Discourages Moves to UK Countryside

16th November, 2018 (12 Comments)

A new Opinium survey of 2,008 UK adults (79% from urban areas) has found that 9 million Brits (17%) won’t move to the countryside for fear of being cut off by poor broadband. Meanwhile 25% of existing rural residents say they struggle to make any mobile calls at home and 38% complained of slow or unreliable internet.

Ofcom Satisfied with Openreach Split from BT, But Fibre Needs Work

15th November, 2018 (3 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator has today issued an update on Openreach’s legal separation from BT. Overall they were “broadly satisfied with progress,” although Ofcom still wants to see more progress being made on improving “full fibre” (FTTP) and general broadband ISP connectivity.