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Utility Warehouse SIM

Indeed they seem in breach of those regulations.
Also I remember seeing somewhere that uw are speed and/or band limited compared to their upstream operator.
 
Think this is capped at 40meg by memory of another topic.

I don’t think they could enforce it, given ofcom said they’re not allowed to prevent this, and likely to just defer people from using it in that manner.
 
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I was using them for 9 months. After three months of use in my Huawei B818 router, they've called me a few times to state that, according to their data, I'm using their SIM in a router. I confirmed that. They advised me to switch to ADSL. I told them that my ADSL is 5 times slower than their rate limited 4g (40M down, 20M up at that time), so I will continue using their SIM. They said "We will send you a letter. We might disconnect you". I replied "OK".
They've sent me a letter two weeks later stating that I'm breaching the contract and should switch to ADSL, and they reserve the right to stop the service.

No other actions followed from their side, I continued to use their SIM on the same conditions on the same price for another 6 months, until I got FTTP delivered. I then stopped the contract.
 
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I have now written to them stating they are breaking OFCOM and EU rules governing Net Neutrality
4 Days and no response even after chasing them on their FB page
Now sent details of this possible breach of rules to OFCOM
 
Last edited:
Reply from OFCOM

I should explain that there are no regulations in place to stop the use of Fair Usage Policies, providers are free to apply these where they deem appropriate and if they do have Fair Usage Policies in place, these should be outlined within the contract terms and conditions. As there are many different terms and conditions in each contract, the responsibility lies with the consumer to check this.
We would also expect providers to ensure that customers are supplied with accurate advice and any queries are dealt with in a professional manner.
 
Reply from OFCOM

I should explain that there are no regulations in place to stop the use of Fair Usage Policies, providers are free to apply these where they deem appropriate and if they do have Fair Usage Policies in place, these should be outlined within the contract terms and conditions. As there are many different terms and conditions in each contract, the responsibility lies with the consumer to check this.
We would also expect providers to ensure that customers are supplied with accurate advice and any queries are dealt with in a professional manner.
Basically doesn’t want to be involved and sort it out yourselves.

You follow the companies rules, they should follow ofcoms rules.

ASA might be more inclined to hear of it though
 
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The reality is that the providers can always justify exclusion by the fact that "unknown" devices may impact their network performance. My testing 5G has shown that even if you connect with NSA if you don't actually use high data you get thrown back to 4G on some masts. We also know that VoLTE on some masts only works if the UE is on their registered list and its clear the operators are using the UE detail more. My EE bill now shows I have an iPhone 13 mini even though the phone was sourced elsewhere (what has it got to do with them?).

The mast behaviour and the policies applied by the network are set to become even more complex (and possibly account/device specific). Therefore it will be easy to apply policies that group any "unknown" devices into a base level performance. If you complain they will simply reply that the device is not supported or does not comply with their connectivity policies . You would never know or be able to prove that they are discriminating against you.

MVNOs will stick to their terms which is Phone SIM = Phone and Data SIM = Tablet/Dongle (they do not sell broadband even if LTE/5G provides it)

So it may be the end of devices not specifically supported by the Provider. They are unlikely to disconnect you, simply restrict.

Perhaps I'll give up hope of the cheap outdoor 5G units coming and stick with tethered phone (mainstream models) and wireguard VPN router.
 
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