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Articles for Category Tag - Ofcom Regulation

Ofcom’s New CEO Hints at UK Telecoms and Broadband Deregulation

17th April, 2015 (50 Comments)

BT might be pleased to hear that the new boss of the United Kingdom’s communications and media regulator, Sharon White, is considering whether the entry of “newer players and technology” into the country’s Internet access and telecoms market should result in a “lighter approach” to regulation.

UK Mobile Broadband Speeds Average 5.9Mbps on 3G and 14.7Mbps on 4G

3rd April, 2015 (3 Comments)

Ofcom has released its second study into the national performance of Mobile Broadband services. The results show that the average mobile Internet download speed had shrunk slightly since last year’s study, with 4G networks delivering 14.7Mbps (down from 15.1Mbps) and 3G doing 5.9Mbps (down from 6.1Mbps).

Virgin Media, KC and BT Join Forces to Resist Opening their UK Dark Fibre

31st March, 2015 (19 Comments)

Three of the biggest UK telecoms and broadband giants, including BT, Virgin Media and KC (KCOM), have jointly written a new letter to the national communications regulator in an attempt to dissuade Ofcom from making any changes that might require them to provide access to their Dark Fibre Optic lines.

Ofcom Claims EE Broke their UK Consumer Complaint Handling Rules

27th March, 2015 (4 Comments)

The national telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has concluded a yearlong probe into EE’s (also trading as Orange UK and T-Mobile) handling of consumer complaints and found that “there are reasonable grounds for believing” that the operator broke its rules (General Condition 14.4).

Ofcom UK Warns Inmarsat and Solaris Mobile – Use Your Spectrum.. OR ELSE

19th March, 2015 (0 Comments)

Back in 2009 the European Commission picked Inmarsat Ventues and Solaris Mobile to provide Mobile Satellite Services (MSS) across Europe using the 1980-2010MHz and 2170-2200MHz radio spectrum bands. But so far neither company has provided the services and the UK telecoms regulator has now issued both with a strict ultimatum, use it or £ lose it.

Ofcom Impose Rule to Keep BT’s FTTC Superfast Broadband Prices Fair

19th March, 2015 (23 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator has, following corrective advice from Europe, today announced the 1st April 2015 introduction of a new margin test rule that will mean BT must “maintain a sufficient margin between its wholesale and retail superfast broadband charges“, in order to allow rival ISPs some profitably to match its prices.

BT Fined £800K for Late Rollout of an Improved Text-to-Voice Service

17th March, 2015 (0 Comments)

The national UK telecoms regulator has fined BT £800,000 after the operator last year failed to make an improved text-to-voice service available to its customers with hearing or speech impairments.

UPDATE Ofcom in Major UK Strategic Review of all things Broadband and Telco

12th March, 2015 (56 Comments)

The United Kingdom’s national telecoms regulator has today announced the start of a major strategic review into the country’s digital communications market, which could have significant implications. It will look at everything from competition and investment, to future innovation and the availability of broadband, phone and mobile services.

Consumers Back Calls for a Universal Service Obligation on Broadband

9th March, 2015 (7 Comments)

The recent discussion over whether broadband should be added to a legally binding Universal Service Obligation has prompted us to conduct a survey, which found that out of 1,445 respondents some 71.5% supported the idea of imposing a USO on BT (or KC in Hull) to deliver fixed line broadband speeds of at least 2Mbps to all.

BSG Warns Against Turning UK Home Broadband into a Utility Service

3rd March, 2015 (7 Comments)

The Broadband Stakeholder Group (BSG), which advises the Government on matters of fast Internet connectivity, has warned that the recent calls for broadband to be officially identified as a utility service may be misguided.

Fibre Cannibalises ADSL as UK Fixed Line Broadband ISP Lines Hit 23.4m

3rd March, 2015 (3 Comments)

Ofcom’s latest ‘Telecoms Market Data Tables’ update for Q3-2014 has reported that the United Kingdom is now home to a total of 23,411,000 fixed line residential and small business broadband ISP connections (excluding corporate lines), which is up by 192,000 in the quarter (better than the 179,000 added in Q2 2014).

Ofcom Expand Easier Broadband and Phone Switching to KC in Hull

3rd March, 2015 (2 Comments)

The UK communications regulator has today announced that their new harmonised broadband ISP and phone switching process (GPL NoT+) is to be expanded to include operators that offer similar services via KC’s (KCOM) incumbent telecoms network in and around Hull (East Riding of Yorkshire, England).

Ofcom UK Moot Manually Configured White Space Wireless Kit

27th February, 2015 (0 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator is considering granting “transitional” approval to a number of manually configured devices that harness the new White Space technology, which uses the gaps in radio spectrum between digital TV (UHF 470MHz to 790MHz) channels in order to deliver wireless broadband or other communication services over a wide area.

Ofcom – Average UK Home Broadband Speeds Jump to Reach 22.8Mbps

26th February, 2015 (26 Comments)

The telecoms regulator has today published their latest Q1-2015 report into the real-world performance of the largest fixed line broadband ISPs and their customers across the United Kingdom, which found that the average download speed has increased by 21.93% over the past six months to top 22.8Mbps (NOTE: Most of this boost came from urban areas, with rural and suburban being fairly flat).

EU Caution Ofcom Over Regulation of BT’s FTTC “Fibre Broadband” Prices

20th February, 2015 (28 Comments)

The national UK telecoms regulator’s plan to control the margin between BT’s wholesale and retail superfast “fibre broadband” (FTTC) prices has suffered a setback, albeit a non-binding one, after the European Commission (EC) warned that the “proposed approach lacks the necessary flexibility” and could result in higher retail prices for consumers.

Big Change Unlikely as Ofcom Consult on UK Mobile Operator Licence Fee Hike

19th February, 2015 (1 Comment)

The national telecoms regulator has today carried out its promise to once again review the plans for a massive hike in annual licence fees on the 900MHz and 1800MHz radio spectrum bands, but they’ve also been quick to warn that the recent coverage agreement between mobile operators and the Government is “unlikely to have a material effect“.

UPDATE ISP PlusNet Tackles Broadband Price Confusion on Low Cost Areas

16th February, 2015 (14 Comments)

Budget Internet provider PlusNet must correct their definition for “Low Cost” areas, which directly impacts the price that subscribers pay, after ISPreview.co.uk readers noted that the details on their website appeared to have been out of date since 26th June 2014 when Ofcom changed the regulation.