Home » UK ISP News Archive » Article Tag: Ofcom Regulation (1461 Posts)

Articles for Category Tag - Ofcom Regulation

Former BT CEO Ben Verwaayen Confirmed to Join Ofcom’s Board

14th January, 2016 (6 Comments)

Ofcom has confirmed the appointment of former BT CEO Ben Verwaayen to the position of non-executive director on their board, which comes just ahead of the Strategic Review that will decide whether or not BT should be separated from control of their national UK broadband and phone network.

Ofcom Pressure – UK ISP Sky Broadband Extends Sky Talk Deadline

11th January, 2016 (2 Comments)

Last year’s move by Sky Broadband to swap their existing Sky Talk (voice calls) customers, including those who received free calls at no extra cost, on to a new paid package (presumed consent) did not go down well with everybody (here). But a little pressure from Ofcom appears to have helped.

Dinner Lady Wins Compensation from UK ISP Unicom After 2 Year Battle

11th January, 2016 (2 Comments)

A dinner lady from Sheffield (England) has finally ended a two year battle with telecoms and broadband provider Unicom (Universal Utilities / VERASTAR) by receiving compensation of £718.35, after the ISP initially denied ever having offered her a service with “no termination fee“.

Ofcom Tries to Resolve Vodafone Complaint of Unfair BT Ethernet Delays

8th January, 2016 (2 Comments)

The national UK telecoms regulator has ruled that BTOpenreach does in some cases appear be in breach of several obligations because of the way that it delayed the provision of certain Ethernet (high-capacity data line) services to Vodafone, although the issue of compensation may be harder to resolve.

UK ISPA and ITSPA Adopt Ombudsman Services for Consumer Complaints

8th January, 2016 (3 Comments)

The UK Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA) and Internet Telephony Services Providers Association (ITSPA) have officially swapped their Ofcom approved consumer complaints handler (ADR) scheme from CISAS to Ombudsman Services.

UK Competition Regulator to Examine BT’s Superfast Broadband Prices

6th January, 2016 (5 Comments)

Opposing appeals by both BT and TalkTalk against the approach taken last year by Ofcom’s new “margin squeeze” test, which is designed to keep the incumbent operator’s FTTC “fibre broadband” prices under control, have today been referred to the Competition and Markets Authority.

Ofcom Attempts to Lure Former BT CEO Ben Verwaayen to its Board

31st December, 2015 (0 Comments)

The endless debate over whether or not the national UK telecoms regulator will separate BT from control of Openreach has introduced another twist after it was revealed that Ofcom are attempting to lure Ben Verwaayen in for a directorship position on their board.

Examining the Changing Cost of UK Phone Line Rental and its Future

30th December, 2015 (21 Comments)

Home phone lines aren’t as popular as they once were, with consumers increasingly turning to mobile and VoIP (e.g. Skype) alternatives. At the same time ISPs have been gutting free voice call options from related broadband bundles and yet despite all of this the price of line rental continues to soar.

UK Home Broadband ISP Users Shun Adult Internet Content Filters

16th December, 2015 (6 Comments)

A new report from Ofcom has revealed that the vast majority of fixed line home broadband ISP subscribers have, after being given an “enforced” choice, chosen not to implement their provider’s network-level filtering (Parental Controls), which are designed to block adult websites (porn etc.).

Ofcom Name the Worst UK Mobile, Phone and Broadband ISPs – Q3 2015

15th December, 2015 (7 Comments)

The telecoms regulator has today published their latest Q3 2015 complaints report, which reveals the volume of gripes received for all of the United Kingdom’s largest broadband, phone, mobile and TV providers. As usual EE takes a beating, while Sky Broadband and Virgin Media win praise.

BT’s G.Fast Cost and a £500m Risk to Openreach from Ofcom and the EE Deal

15th December, 2015 (12 Comments)

Financial analyst firm Redburn has published a new piece of research that offers some extra cost predictions for BT’s forthcoming roll-out of 500Mbps G.fast broadband tech and also warns that the merger with EE could help create a £500m+ risk to Openreach’s cash flow.

Mixed Results as Ofcom Compares UK Broadband to 18 Major Countries

10th December, 2015 (16 Comments)

The telecoms regulator has today published their annual International Communications Market Report 2015 (ICMR), which among other things compares the performance of broadband and telecoms networks in the United Kingdom with 18 other key countries around the world.

Interview – Sky’s Position on Separating BT from its UK Telecoms Network

7th December, 2015 (37 Comments)

In our final ISP interview of the year we’ve been able to hit up Sky’s (Sky Broadband) Chief Economist, Alan Sewell, to examine the operator’s often outspoken position on separating BT from control of their national UK phone and broadband network and what it might mean for consumers.

Legal Threats Cause Ofcom to Delay UK Auction of 2.3GHz and 3.4GHz

3rd December, 2015 (3 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator has today announced its intention to delay the start of their auction for 190MHz worth of prime Mobile Broadband spectrum in the 2.3GHz (2350MHz to 2390MHz) and 3.4GHz (3410MHz to 3600MHz) bands, which was due to commence this month.

Home and Small Business UK Broadband Connections Hit 24.17 Million

1st December, 2015 (0 Comments)

Ofcom has published their latest Telecoms Market Data update, which reports that the United Kingdom is now home to a total of 24.17 million fixed line residential and small business broadband ISP connections (excludes corporate lines) in Q2 2015 (up by +167K since Q1, but down from the +277K added in Q4 2014).

Ofcom Redefine Ultrafast Broadband as 300Mbps, But Only 2% Coverage

1st December, 2015 (27 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator has today published its Connected Nations 2015 report and confirmed that 83% of premises are now within reach of a fixed line superfast broadband (30Mbps+) service (up from 75% in 2014), with take-up reaching 27% (up from 22%). But they also changed the definition of “ultrafast” speeds from 100Mbps+ to 300Mbps+.

Ofcom Slap BT for Missing Info on Regulatory Financial Statements

30th November, 2015 (4 Comments)

The national UK telecoms regulator has ruled that they have “reasonable grounds” for believing that BT contravened 13A.8 and 8A.8 of their Significant Market Power (SMP) conditions, which means that the operator has not provided all of the information that it is required to supply.