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 [...]
EE extends headstart by rolling out 4G service in 17 more cities December 13, 2012 THE UK’S biggest mobile network operator, EE, will double the number of cities that its 4G service covers next spring. The move will extend the company’s headstart on Vodafone and O2, which will not be able to launch their own high-speed mobile internet services until early summer. EE said yesterday it would bring 4G to an [...]
UK leads global internet TV use December 12, 2012 BRITAIN has become a nation of online shoppers and internet television addicts, dedicating more time and money to those activities than any other nation. Research released today from Ofcom, the communications regulator, will reveal that UK citizens spend more than £1,000 a year online – hundreds more than other countries – and that a greater proportion [...]
What the other papers say this Morning December 11, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Call for cleaner succession strategies Companies must improve their succession planning and make sure they have strong candidates ready to take the helm as chief executive, or risk undermining shareholder value and damaging market performance. The Association of British Insurers (ABI), which represents some of the UK’s biggest investors, gave the warning as [...]