OfcomWatch interviewed James Purnell this weekend* and got his take on the fake photo controversy. By the way, those of you familiar with the U.S. FCC will recall that FCC Chairman Kevin Martin was involved in a similar photo controversy about a year ago. For details, click here. Anyway, here is what [...]
I just can’t get enough of these YouTube videos of angry people destroying their BT Home Hubs.
OfcomWatch safety tip:Â Be sure to unplug your home hub before destroying it on camera.
I was astonished after reading Scott’s earlier take on the Opera Telecom adjudication. What happened certainly is shocking. As ICSTIS writes in its adjudication:
The Executive stated that this case involved a very serious breach of the Code. The harm caused to consumers was immense. A huge number of people had been [...]
I must say I was surprised to see Ofcom get some great headlines today:
The Guardian:Â ‘Ofcom opens door for 10 times faster broadband connections’.
FT:Â ‘Ofcom seeks to spur broadband investment’.
The Telegraph was less sanguine:Â ‘Broadband speeds ‘lagging behind”.Â
But look at the mis-reporting by the Telegraph:Â
‘The average speed of these connections, meanwhile, has trebled during the [...]
Well the votes are in, and it looks like our judges Ofcom and ICSTIS were no impressed by the performances of GMTV and Opera Telecom. This morning Ofcom handed down a fine of £2 million to GMTV, following on from a £250,000 fine handed out to Opera Telecom by ICSTIS on Monday (both [...]
A few more random thoughts while I remain in a pre-sleeping stage awake — as I read the Ofcom consultation document…
Ofcom say: ‘Communications companies are already responding to this trend with a range of investments in upgrading the current access network infrastructure, including cable network improvements, and the ADSL2+ technologies being deployed by a [...]
Ofcom’s consultation can be found here. Next generation access is such a terrible name. But as everyone knows it basically means ‘we don’t have fibre’. Ofcom — to its credit — has now joined the debate with loads of evidence and arguments. It will probably take me a few days to [...]
Ofcom’s inaction on what is otherwise a confusing and troubling issue for consumers (misleading claims regarding broadband speeds) will certainly come under increasing scrutiny with the launch of the Crystal Clear Broadband Campaign and related petition aimed at No. 10 Downing Street. As of today, the petition has about 2500 signatures.
The Crystal Clear petition [...]
The Office of Fair Trading today cracked down on collusion over prices for dairy products, and quotes OFT Executive Director (and Ofcom alum) Sean Williams as saying:
”This is a very serious case. We believe supermarkets have been colluding to put up the price of dairy products. Consumers have lost out to the tune of hundreds [...]
OfcomWatch friend Roger Darlington today posts about a new Ofcom initiative: The regulator has apparently created an invite-only online discussion forum. We had wind of this earlier, and I basically maintained a wait-and-see attitude.
Like the snooze button on an alarm clock, any change in Ofcom’s procedures has its trade-offs:
The good? Ofcom are [...]
Long — sort of rambling — speech by James Purnell yesterday. (Available here). I thought the most interesting nugget was this:
‘The Government’s approach to spectrum is a case in point. A sure way to freeze innovation would be to reserve new spectrum for existing users and incumbents.
That’s why we have a clear [...]
Recently, I came across this article in PC magazine by Mike Elgan. The author tries to argue that Apple has passed Microsoft in predatory practices.
Hardly.
My favorite line is this one:
“ITunes is the slowest, clunkiest, most nonintuitive application on my system. But I need it because I love my iPods.”
By the way, Mike pointed out [...]
You know that anxious feeling you get when your favourite sports hero comes out of retirement for a comeback attempt? And everyone is excited to see them making a go of it again, but at the same time you have that sinking feeling that it will not live up to expectations?
I feel like that [...]
The downstairs espresso machine is not working this morning, so I have no energy today to post anything I thought I would re-emphasise a few good ways to spend your time this autumn, with a new one thrown in:
– NEW November 12/13 – Global Communications Consortium – ‘Competition and Regulation in a Converging Sector’ (London). [...]
I’m sure, like me, you have been waiting with baited breath for ICSTIS (Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of the Telephone Information Services) to announce their new name.
Wait no more… Drum roll please ….
…say hellow to PayPhonePlus …
Er, what? Apparently, “PhonepayPlus will give consumers a much better understanding of the help and advice [...]
Following my recent observation that Ofcom seems overly eager to avoid any bad news about broadband, someone emailed me the recent testimony of FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein before the U.S. Senate. (Click here for a copy). It certainly makes for an interesting comparison to Ofcom’s recent statements about broadband. Adelstein pulls [...]
Mlex (subscription needed) are reporting that according to a draft document seen by them, the European Commission will propose slashing the number of telecoms markets subject to ex ante regulation in a new recommendation for relevant markets, from 18 to just 8.
The new proposals, which will form part of the Commission’s ongoing review of the [...]
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