‘Bond market tantrum risks’: Gilt traders brace for Labour leftward pivot as Starmer future uncertain
4G bidding war starts as Ofcom opens auction January 23, 2013 BIDDING for the UK’s 4G mobile airwaves kicked off yesterday, with communications watchdog Ofcom hosting an auction that is expected to hand George Osborne a multi-billion pound windfall. Seven parties are now vying for a slice of spectrum that will enable them to deliver the next generation of mobile internet, promising speeds around 10 times [...]
Ofcom crackdown on surge in nuisance calls January 8, 2013 NUISANCE silent phone calls received by homes and businesses almost doubled last year according to figure published yesterday, prompting regulator Ofcom to promise tougher action to stamp out the practice. Silent and abandoned phone calls are associated with automatic diallers used in call centres punching in numbers at random. The calls are silent when they [...]
Rapid responses January 7, 2013 Broadband policy [Re: Think tank slams plan to splash out on UK broadband arms race, yesterday] This is an essential look at the UK’s costly and ineffective broadband policies. But it fails to recommend immediate policy changes that would result in much-needed, competition for fixed line and mobile internet access. Allowing wholesale internet service providers [...]
Crackdown on mobile contract price increases January 3, 2013 MOBILE owners will be able to break contracts free of charge if operators hike prices mid-way through a deal under new proposals. Telecoms regulator Ofcom has lodged plans to put an end to mid-contract price rises, following an outcry over what consumers believed to be fixed deals. O2, Vodafone, Orange, T-Mobile and Three have all [...]
If Ofcom plans will really push up prices, networks must speak out January 3, 2013 VODAFONE aside, mobile phone network providers were strangely reluctant to criticise Ofcom’s proposals that customers should be allowed to get out of contracts scot free if prices are hiked. While Ofcom claims it is reacting to customer complaints, Vodafone – which stuck its head above the parapet to fight back – said new rules would [...]
Seven bidders face off for 4G mobile auction December 20, 2012 SEVEN firms are bidding in an auction of the UK’s 4G airwaves that will allow them to run significantly faster mobile internet services while boosting the government’s coffers. Ofcom yesterday announced the participants for January’s auction. The UK’s four mobile operators – EE, O2, Vodafone and Three – are expected to grab the lion’s share [...]
Ofcom names seven 4G auction bidders December 20, 2012 Regulator Ofcom this morning announced that seven telecoms companies had qualified to bid in the forthcoming 4G mobile airwaves auction. Mobile network operators Everything Everywhere, Three, 02 owner Telefonica, Vodafone and fixed lines provider BT are among the bidders, Ofcom said. Bidders, who will be competing to acquire new capacity to roll out superfast 4G [...]
Orange tops complaints list after broadband hike December 18, 2012 A CONTROVERSIAL decision from mobile firm Orange to start charging some customers extra for its broadband service has seen complaints about the operator rocket, figures from industry watchdog Ofcom have revealed. The regulator’s data for the third quarter of the year, published yesterday, showed that Orange saw the highest level of complaints out of any [...]
4G bidders to be outed as hopes rise for windfall December 17, 2012 OFCOM is this week expected to reveal the bidders for an auction of 4G spectrum, in the next step of a process that could earn the Treasury far more than originally expected. George Osborne pencilled in a sum of £3.5bn in his Autumn Statement, but recent auctions in other countries have beaten forecasts, as the [...]
As more Christmas shoppers choose to buy online, can the British high street survive? December 16, 2012 YES Rob Myers Regardless of how the internet evolves, you can’t try on a pair of the latest shoes or feel the quality of a gift for a loved one. Our research has shown that, far from killing the high street, the internet is lending itself as a valuable tool in the retailer’s armoury. The [...]