Now that we have entered Lockdown 2, BEIS has issued updated guidance on the following:
The impact of COVID-19 on the digitally excluded
Broadband Stakeholder Group publishes research by Savanta ComRes into the impact of Covid-19 on digital exclusion in the UK
Broadband Stakeholder Group has published primary research on digital exclusion undertaken by the leading research consultancy, Savanta ComRes. The research closely examines the attitudinal challenges that the UK faces in encouraging greater internet adoption by 3.6 million digitally excluded citizens, alongside the financial, and skills-based aptitudes. The research examines the lived experience of 30 respondents during the first phase of the pandemic. The results suggest that that we may now need to broaden the scope of policy questions that relate to the pathways online for the digitally excluded.
The qualitative in-depth telephone interviews, undertaken between August and September 2020 by Savanta ComRes, highlighted the following findings:
In its December 2019 consultation, Ofcom proposed a package of measures to implement new customer protections in the EECC. In a statement by the regulator published today, the following decisions have been made:
Within the statement, Ofcom is consulting on proposed changes to the General Conditions, the Metering and Billing Direction and the Numbering Plan until 30 November.
The full document is available here:
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/consultations-and-statements/category-1/proposals-to-implement-new-eecc
The government has re-issued guidance covering telecommunications workers and the industry during the outbreak. Work to repair and maintain the telecommunications network must be allowed to continue, and gatherings of more than two people are permitted where essential for work purposes. (more…)
The 2018 revision to the AVMS Directive introduces a regulatory framework for a new category of service, Video-Sharing Platforms (VSPs). In September the government transposed the framework into the Communications Act. From 01 November 2020 VSP providers must comply with new requirements aimed at protecting users from harmful content. They will need to take appropriate measures to protect children from harmful content and protect the general public from incitement to hatred, violence, and criminal content. Ofcom has powers to take enforcement action in line with its existing enforcement guidelines for regulatory investigations. (more…)
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has today issued guidance on the new rules affecting telecoms companies in the UK once the transition period ends on 31 December 2020. (more…)
Today legislation was laid in Parliament by Matt Warman, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital Infrastructure, which implements the European Electronic Communications Code Directive. Transposing the changes into UK law ensures that Ofcom’s powers remain operable and reflect recent technological innovation. Some measures, such as the security of networks and services, are being given effect through alternative legislation.
The Draft Statutory Instrument can be found here.
Ofcom has published its second ‘Mobile Matters‘ report, which analyses how around 200,000 people used their Android mobile phones between January and April this year. Time spent on mobile calls rose significantly, as people turned to their phones to keep in touch with loved ones and work from home during the COVID-19 lockdown.
The report reveals marked differences in how people used their phones before and during the initial lockdown period, with the average mobile call in the initial weeks lasting around five and a half minutes – nearly two minutes more than before the social and working restrictions began. (more…)
In January this year, Ofcom published proposals for increasing terrestrial access to three spectrum bands in the 100-200 GHz range (116-122 GHz, 174.8-182 GHz and 185-190 GHz), currently used by Earth Exploration Satellite Services. This was followed by a further consultation in May covering the technical analysis. Ofcom has set out its decision to introduce the new licence which can be applied for through Ofcom’s website, from today. (more…)
Ofcom has published its Communications Market Report.
Revenue from telecoms contributed £32 billion to the UK economy in 2019. Retail fixed and mobile generated £13.4 billion and the remainder was from wholesale revenues. Ofcom also reported that 80% of households have a fixed broadband connection and 98% have a mobile phone. (more…)
A new taskforce, the Telecoms Diversification Task Force, has been set up to support the development and implementation of the government’s forthcoming strategy on the UK’s telecoms supply chain – aimed at reducing the reliance on high-risk vendors and bring more players into the market. Lord Livingston will lead the taskforce as Chair, with members from industry (Vodafone, Openreach, Copper Horse, BSI) and academic experts from Universities of Surrey and Bristol. Technical Director of NCSC and Ofcom’s Director of Emerging Technology will provide technical advice. (more…)
The announcement today builds on the earlier government update, setting out that a further 250,000 English homes and businesses are now eligible for boosted funding from 17 English councils for the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme.
More than £22 million of additional funding has been provided by local councils to top-up the values of the vouchers in their areas. The Scheme targets areas where the cost of building new gigabit broadband infrastructure is likely to be too high for commercial operators to cover alone. Since May 2019, vouchers worth up to £3,500 for small and medium sized businesses and up to £1,500 for residential premises have been available to cover these costs in rural areas across the UK. (more…)
Ofcom has published its interim report which states that full fibre broadband is now available to over 4.2 million UK homes (14%), an increase of 670,000 (2%) since January. This is a result of increased rollout from the expansion of existing broadband networks as well as companies building entirely new fibre networks.
The UK Government recently announced that almost 500,000 premises across the UK have been connected to gigabit-capable broadband since summer 2018 as a result of a £1 billion government funding commitment that runs until the end of 2021, with a further £5 billion earmarked for the hardest-to-reach areas. Government has also launched a new taskforce – GigaTAG – to encourage further take-up of gigabit broadband services. (more…)
Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden announced Government’s National Data Strategy to drive growth, boost innovation, create new jobs and improve public services. Government will develop a clear policy framework to determine what interventions are needed to unlock the value of data across the economy and help drive the recovery from Covid-19. It proposes an overhaul in the use of data across the public sector and a programme of work will be launched that will transform the way data is managed, used, shared internally within government, and with wider public sectors organisations. (more…)
One of Government’s major infrastructure projects – the clearance of 700 MHz spectrum airwaves – has been delivered, allowing it to be used for 5G services and 4G rural mobile coverage.
On 20 August Ofcom announced that it had completed the work which began in 2017. This involved moving Freeview TV channels out of the 700 MHz spectrum band and re-tuning TV equipment in millions of homes, 99% of which was done by viewers themselves. Arqiva carried out the engineering necessary to change the frequencies on which transmitters were operating. TV broadcasters, Digital UK and Freeview, and Digital Mobile Spectrum Limited (DMSL) were all heavily involved. (more…)
