Summary of 2024 Autumn Budget
The Chancellor of the Exchequer presented her Autumn Budget to Parliament on Wednesday 30 October 2024. Some of the measures announced that may be of relevance to the telecoms sector include: Digital Adoption Taskforce – The SME Digital Adoption Taskforce will be extended and will produce an interim report early in 2025 with practical steps […]
Ofcom publishes statement on the future regulation of phone-paid services
Ofcom has published a statement setting out how it will transfer responsibility for the day-to-day regulation of premium rate services (PRS) from the Phone-Paid Services Authority (PSA) to Ofcom. Historically, the PSA has been designated as day-to-day regulator for the PRS market, with Ofcom performing a ‘backstop’ regulatory function through its enforcement of the PRS […]
Gaining Provider Led Business Steering Group – business switching industry video
The Gaining Provider Led Business Steering Group has unveiled its inaugural industry video on business switching, which offers a comprehensive overview of the regulations and a high-level summary of the process. What to expect: Regulatory insights: understand the regulations governing business switching Process overview: get a clear, concise look at the overall switching process You […]
Ofcom confirms its intention to decommission the old switching system
Ofcom has published a letter it had recently sent to communications providers within scope of OTS rules confirming its intention to decommission Notification of Transfer (NoT+) functionality on 24th October 2024 in favour of the One Touch Switch (OTS) system. Ofcom had previously opted to retain the NoT+ process for a six week transitional period […]
The 2024 Comms Council UK Awards Winners Announced!
Comms Council UK today announced the winners of their 16th annual Awards. Each year, the Awards acknowledge accomplishments within the unified communications and VoIP industry. As with previous years, the 2024 Comms Council UK Awards were sponsored by Magrathea, and the winners were announced at a ceremony at The IET in London today. This year’s […]
Ofcom updated Network and Service Resilience guidance
Ofcom published a policy statement setting out how it intends to update its network resilience guidance to provide greater clarity to communication providers in order to reduce risk of network outages. Ofcom consulted on this proposal between December 2023 and March 2024, after feedback from industry that more guidance was needed on how providers can […]
Important Update: Ofcom General Conditions (GCs) of Entitlement
Ofcom has a set of General Conditions of Entitlement (GCs) which are published on the Ofcom Website. These GCs establish a comprehensive set of regulations governing electronic communications networks and services. They particularly draw your attention to Part C6 of the GCs, which outlines requirements for Calling Line Identification (CLI) facilities. To support this industry […]
Ofcom updated CLI Guidance – Tackling scam calls
Ofcom published a policy statement announcing its intention to proceed with the proposal to update the CLI Guidance to extend blocking to international calls which display a UK number as a Presentation Number. Ofcom consulted on this proposal between February 2024 and March 2024, to which Comms Council UK submitted a response to here. CCUK […]
Government Resilience Website – Phone and Broadband Outages
As part of the Government’s Prepare site, which provides information to help individuals prepare for emergencies and be more informed about hazards, a webpage on phone and broadband outages has been launched. The page outlines who is most at risk of being impacted by phone and broadband outages, such as people who live alone, who […]
Ofcom prohibits inflation-linked price rises
Ofcom has announced plans to ban providers from including inflation-linked or percentage-based price rise terms in new contracts. In December 2023, Ofcom consulted on making changes to require providers, where they apply in-contract price rises, to set these out upfront in pounds and pence and the point of sale. CCUK submitted a response to this […]