Customers can walk out of slow broadband contracts, Ofcom’s new rules say February 28, 2019 Broadband firms will have to be more honest about connection speeds before customers sign new contracts under new rules coming into force tomorrow. Read more: Ranked: The phone and broadband providers with the most complaints Regulator Ofcom's new protections will mean broadband providers have to give customers a minimum guaranteed speed at the point of sale. [...]
Royal Mail apologises for breaching stamp price cap after announcing increases February 23, 2019 Royal Mail has apologised after announcing that first and second-class stamp prices are set to increase above the price cap in place to make the postal service affordable. The price of a first-class stamp will increase by 3p to 70p, while a second-class stamp will rise to 61p from 25 March. It means that the [...]
Pound drops against dollar amid Brexit uncertainty February 22, 2019 The pound dipped to $1.29 against the dollar today after another week of ongoing Brexit uncertainty. Sterling dropped below $1.30 this afternoon as Theresa May was unable to renegotiate elements of the withdrawal agreement with the EU this week. Read more: Ofcom publishes no-deal Brexit draft broadcast TV licences May failed to reopen negotiations however, [...]
Ofcom publishes no-deal Brexit draft broadcast TV licences February 22, 2019 Ofcom has published draft TV broadcasting licences to issue in the event of a no-deal Brexit. If the UK crashes out of the EU without a deal next month the regulation of TV services would change and broadcasting licences would need to be adapted. Read more: Eurostar could be 'plunged into chaos' in no-deal Brexit However, [...]
MPs call for government to scrap ‘flawed’ inflation measure used to calculate rail fares and phone bills February 12, 2019 MPs have ramped up pressure on the government to fix errors in the “flawed” inflation measure used to calculate rail fares and mobile phone bills. The retail price index (RPI) lost its status as a national statistic in 2013 but, despite being branded a “very poor measure” by the Office for National Statistics, it is [...]
CMA must investigate the online advertising market, government report states February 11, 2019 The online advertising market must face a probe by the competition watchdog amid concerns tech giants are putting the future of quality journalism at risk, a major government report has found. In its findings published today, the Cairncross Review called on the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to investigate the online advertising market to ensure [...]
Ofcom complaints league table reveals worst phone and broadband providers February 4, 2019 Virgin Media and Vodafone have topped the league table for the most telecoms and broadband complaints in the third quarter last year, according to regulator Ofcom. Virgin received the most complaints for both pay-monthly mobile and pay-TV services, while Vodafone was the most bemoaned provider for broadband and landline. Read more: Which mobile operators offer London's [...]
Outgoing BT boss Gavin Patterson regrets delayed start to turnaround plan January 31, 2019 Outgoing BT boss Gavin Patterson today said he regretted not starting the company’s radical turnaround plan earlier as his turbulent time at the helm came to an end. The embattled chief executive said the company would be in a better position if it had been quicker to kick off its aggressive cost-cutting plan, which included thousands [...]
Facebook’s popularity among children wanes as social media safety concerns deepen January 29, 2019 Facebook’s popularity among children slipped in 2018 as more young people look to Instagram for their social media updates, according to an Ofcom report. While Facebook remains the most popular social media site among 12 to 15-year-olds, only 31 per cent of people in this age range named it as their main site or app, [...]
Openreach to hire 3,000 new engineers to boost full-fibre broadband rollout January 28, 2019 Openreach today said it will hire 3,000 new apprentice engineers across the UK to support its rollout of full-fibre broadband. The roles, just over half of which are newly-created, will be filled over the next 12 months and are an extension of a huge recruitment drive as the telecoms firm looks to build its new [...]