BBC ‘risks irrelevance’ unless it adapts to digital age, says director general March 7, 2019 The BBC risks irrelevance unless it adapts to changing viewing habits, the broadcaster’s director general has said. Speaking at the Media & Telecoms Conference this morning, Tony Hall admitted the BBC faces an uphill struggle to keep up with deep-pocketed rivals such as Netflix and Amazon, but insisted public service broadcasters are as important as [...]
Rise in scammers using landline phone calls to impersonate HMRC March 2, 2019 There has been an increase in the number of scammers using landline phone calls after a crackdown on con emails and mobile phone texts. HM Revenue and Customs received 60,000 reports of phone scams between July 2018 and January 2019, which is more than three times the amount received in the first-half of last year. Read more: Why [...]
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 [...]