Home » UK ISP News Archive » Article Tag: Ofcom Regulation (1793 Posts)

Articles for Category Tag - Ofcom Regulation

57 Cross-party MPs Back Report Seeking Compensation for Slow Broadband

29th July, 2017 (35 Comments)

Grant Shapps’s (MP) cross-party British Infrastructure Group, which is supported by 57 MPs, has published its latest Broadbad 2.0 report, which among other things calls for consumers in the United Kingdom to be compensated for sub-10Mbps broadband speeds. Sadly it also makes some mistakes.

Ofcom Consults on UK Use of 26GHz and 3.6-3.8GHz for Future 5G Mobile

28th July, 2017 (1 Comment)

The UK telecoms regulator has launched a Call for Inputs that seeks feedback on their proposal to harness the 26GHz radio spectrum band for future 5G based fixed wireless and Mobile Broadband technologies. Ofcom has also confirmed their intention to use the 3.6GHz to 3.8GHz band.

Ofcom Offers More 5.8GHz Spectrum to Speed Boost Wireless Broadband ISPs

27th July, 2017 (4 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator has today proposed to free up an extra 20MHz notch of radio spectrum in the 5.8GHz band, which is currently used for road tolling systems, so that it can be harnessed to boost the speed of existing outdoor Broadband Fixed Wireless Access (BFWA) providers.

UPD BT Stall Ofcom Dark Fibre and 2016 Business Connectivity Review Changes

26th July, 2017 (3 Comments)

Ofcom’s Business Connectivity Market Review (here), which last year pledged to open up access to Openreach’s (BT) national Dark Fibre network, cut leased line (Ethernet) prices and deliver quicker installs, has been sent back to the drawing board by the Competition Appeals Tribunal (CAT).

Trouble for BT as MP Grant Shapps Preps Cross-Party UK Broadband Report

21st July, 2017 (43 Comments)

The cross-party British Infrastructure Group (BIG), which is led by Grant Shapps (Conservative MP for Welwyn Hatfield), will next week publish their new Broadbad 2.0 report that is expected to highlight a number of problems with the state of broadband in the UK and call for improvements.

Openreach Start Consultation on Plan for Large Scale FTTP “Full Fibre” Rollout

17th July, 2017 (55 Comments)

Openreach (BT) has today launched their consultation on the prospects for a “large-scale” roll-out of Fibre-to-the-Premise (FTTP) ultrafast broadband technology across the United Kingdom by around 2025, which in theory could see the operator’s “full fibre” network reach up to 10 million premises.

Ofcom Scrap Easier Switching Between Openreach, KCOM, Virgin Media and Sky

14th July, 2017 (0 Comments)

Ofcom has started a new consultation that aims to find ways of improving consumer engagement and encouraging more switching in the Broadband, TV, Mobile and Phone market. But they’ve also given up on making it easier to switch between separate network platforms (e.g. Openreach, Virgin Media and KCOM).

Ofcom Speeds Up UK Wi-Fi Networks by Adding 5.8GHz Spectrum Band

13th July, 2017 (6 Comments)

The United Kingdom’s telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has today made an additional 125MHz of radio spectrum available to WiFi networks (Wireless Local Area Networks – WLAN) by introducing support for the 5.8GHz (5725 – 5850MHz) radio spectrum sub-band to deliver faster speeds.

UPDATE Ofcom Shows How it Will Monitor Openreach Independence from BT

13th July, 2017 (5 Comments)

Earlier this year Ofcom reached a voluntary agreement over the “legal separation” of BT’s network access division (Openreach). Today the UK telecoms regulator has set out how they intend to monitor and enforce the changes, which will be conducted via a dedicated Openreach Monitoring Unit.

UPD Ofcom Set 4G / 5G Spectrum Caps for 2.3GHz and 3.4GHz Mobile Auction

11th July, 2017 (9 Comments)

After various delays and a bizarre campaign (here), Ofcom has today set out the final rules and caps for their auction of radio spectrum in the 2.3GHz and 3.4GHz bands, which will help mobile operators to launch “very fast” Mobile Broadband (4G and 5G) services by 2020.

Researcher Publishes New Map of Broadband Speed in the United Kingdom

6th July, 2017 (16 Comments)

A senior researcher at the University College London‘s (UCL) Department of Geography, Oliver O’Brien, has taken data from Ofcom and used it to produce a new map of estimated broadband speeds across the country, which reveals some very familiar Digital Divides between different areas.

Openreach Publish Technical Details for the Dark Fibre Access (DFA) Trial

29th June, 2017 (3 Comments)

Openreach (BT) has uploaded a new technical information document for their imminent Dark Fibre Access (DFA) trial, which is due to start in August. The document describes how the product works and sets out what solutions will be made available to ISPs.

Complaints Prompt Probe of Virgin Media’s Contract Cancellation Charges

28th June, 2017 (46 Comments)

A string of consumer complaints have today prompted Ofcom to launch a probe into Virgin Media’s contract cancellations policy, which will examine whether or not the cable broadband, phone and TV provider has been playing fair when applying Early Termination Charges.

UPD Ofcom Q1 2017 UK Consumer Complaints Report Slaps BT and TalkTalk

28th June, 2017 (9 Comments)

Ofcom’s latest Q1 2017 study of UK consumer complaints about fixed line Broadband, Phone, Pay TV and Mobile services has praised Sky (Sky Broadband) for receiving the fewest gripes. Meanwhile BT, TalkTalk and Vodafone are highlighted for attracting the most complaints.

Ofcom Report to EU Finds “no major” Abuse of Net Neutrality by UK ISPs

23rd June, 2017 (4 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has published its first annual report to the European Commission on their monitoring of the EU’s new rules for protecting Net Neutrality (open internet access). The report finds that “there are no major concerns regarding the openness of the internet in the UK.”

UPDATE Ofcom to Deregulate More of the UK Wholesale Broadband Market

22nd June, 2017 (17 Comments)

The national telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has today updated their 2017 Wholesale Broadband Access (WBA) market review by proposing changes to improve competition around the UK, where BT (Openreach) continues to have Significant Market Power, and in Hull where KCOM is dominant.

No Surprise as Ofcom Study Shows WiFi Beats 4G and 3G Mobile Performance

16th June, 2017 (1 Comment)

Ofcom has used crowd-sourced data collected from 4,288 users of their Smartphone app to reveal that 72% of users in UK urban areas were satisfied with their overall mobile service, although this falls to just 56% in rural areas. Elsewhere WiFi gave the best YouTube speed (average of 6.6Mbps).