Category: Regulation

Ofcom has this morning announced it has launched investigations into 34 adult content websites which it believes are failing to comply with the age verification requirements of Section 12 of the Online Safety Act which took effect last week. As of Friday, the rules require such adult content websites to use ‘highly effective age assurance’ […]

Ofcom have fined fibre broadband provider Gigaclear £122,500 for failures in providing location data to emergency services. Ofcom Regulations known as ‘General Conditions A3.5 and A3.6(a)’ require providers to provide accurate location information for all calls to emergency phone numbers where possible, particularly for fixed location based services such as phone lines. Ofcom’s investigation found […]

A key part of the Online Safety Act took effect on Friday, requiring certain websites (such as those with adult content) to carry out reliable age verification checks before allowing access to users. This has resulted in a kind of cookie-consent type banner appearing before loading pages, requiring the user to prove they are over […]

From April 2026, consumers will be able to escalate a complaint about their service if their complaint has not been resolved within six weeks. Current rules allow an escalation to Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) at the 8-week mark, but following a consultation and review launched in November 2023, Ofcom has decided to decrease the time […]

Ofcom has fined broadband alt-net BRSK £14,000 for two failures in relation to telegraph pole installations in Birmingham, which are used to roll out their full fibre broadband network. Ofcom announced an investigation in to BRSK in 2024 as it believed it had breached its ‘Code Powers’ following a complaint from Birmingham City Council . […]

Ofcom have announced that major providers of online pornography have agreed to check users’ age for the first time to ensure they comply with rules that come into effect from the 25th of July. All sites and apps that allow pornography must use ‘highly effective age checks’ which include credit card checks, open banking or […]

Ofcom warned ISPs about using alternative methods for switching broadband customers after it investigated the performance of the One Touch Switching system. According to ISP Review, no major problems were found with the biggest ISPs, but some smaller providers were using other methods of switching, and should cease to do so. “In January, we issued […]

INCA, the Independent Networks Cooperative Association, which represents the UK altnets has urged Ofcom to ensure that the Telecoms Access Review (TAR) will help to promote a competitive environment across all fixed telecoms markets and support future infrastructure investment. In particular, they believe that leaving Openreach as the default provider in areas where competition is considered […]

The Spending Review has been talked about for some time now as the government adjusts departmental budgets with each department arguing the case for more funding, retaining the current funding or even battling reductions. There wasn’t a huge amount said about broadband with the full document containing one mention of the word The key difference […]

The One Touch Switching Company (TOTSCo), the company set up to handle the communications between broadband providers for the One Touch Switching (OTS) system, has announced the appointment of a new board member. Ana Baide, Head of Regulatory at Vodafone UK is joining the board, replacing Anne Hoitink who is stepping down as she leaves […]