Category Archives: Broadband

Virgin Media is most complained about UK broadband provider

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Ofcom figures show Virgin attracted about 32 complaints per 100,000 customers compared with 18 for Now Broadband

Virgin Media is the UK’s most complained about broadband provider according to the latest figures, compounding woes for the firm, which is already under investigation by the communications regulator.

Figures released by Ofcom on Thursday showed that the number of complaints made about Virgin’s internet services between July and September were nearly double that of the next-most complained about provider, with Virgin attracting about 32 complaints per 100,000 customers compared with 18 for Now Broadband.

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BT scraps above-inflation price rises for mobile and broadband customers

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UK’s mobile and broadband firms were accused of ‘greedflation’ last year by the Guardian

BT has become the first major telecoms company to scrap controversial above-inflation price rises for mobile and broadband customers – but not before pushing through a final increase this year.

The owner of mobile operator EE has moved to address the pressure on consumers from rising household costs during the cost of living crisis, after telecoms companies were criticised for increasing bills.

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Number of Britons facing significant internet outages doubles in a year

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Two-fifths of UK adults disconnected for three hours or more with one in four left without service for nearly a week

The number of Britons who have experienced their internet connection failing for at least three hours has almost doubled in the last year, with irate consumers now ranking broadband outages as a bigger frustration than roadworks or public transport delays.

In the past year, two-fifths (41%) of all UK adults – 22 million consumers – have had their internet disconnected for three or more hours, a significant increase on the 12 million who reported disruption the previous year, according to a report by the price comparison website Uswitch.

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Ofcom urged to investigate Virgin Media broadband contracts

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Terms and conditions allow firm to raise bills at any time and by an unlimited amount, Which? claims

Virgin Media is facing calls for the telecoms watchdog to urgently investigate the legality of its broadband contracts, under which it can increase bills at any time and by unlimited amounts.

The consumer champion Which? has concluded that Virgin Media’s terms and conditions may amount to unfair contract terms and could be in breach of the Consumer Rights Act. It has written to Ofcom calling on it to intervene.

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Stop UK mobile and broadband firms ‘lining their pockets’, urge consumer experts

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Companies facing backlash amid warning of mid-contract price rises of up to 17% during cost of living crisis

Britain’s telecoms regulator is being urged to intervene over concerns that mobile and broadband operators are “lining their pockets” with £2.2bn of above-inflation price rises during the cost of living crisis.

While ministers have urged employees to show pay restraint, the mobile phone and broadband firms are facing a consumer backlash as they announce record price increases.

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BT asks ministers to help pay for low-cost broadband for poorest customers

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Critics say telecoms firms such as BT – which made £1.9bn profit last year – can afford to keep customers on benefits connected

BT has warned that the telecoms industry cannot afford an estimated potential loss of up to £2bn annually providing low-cost broadband to millions of the UK’s most financially pressured households, but critics have said they have an obligation to do so.

Marc Allera, the chief executive of BT’s consumer division, which includes the mobile company EE, said the industry needed government support to help cover the ongoing cost of providing cheap tariffs, the same way households have been helped with energy bills.

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Broadband customers face up to 14% hike in bills, warns Which?

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BT customers face £113 rise as providers such as EE and TalkTalk prepare controversial ‘inflation-plus’ mechanism

Broadband bills could surge by as much as £113 next year if a number of the UK’s biggest telecoms firms push ahead with inflation-busting price increases next spring, says consumer watchdog Which?

Many of the country’s main internet providers – including the largest player BT, along with TalkTalk, EE, Plusnet and Vodafone – use a mechanism to increase the cost of bills annually by the rate of inflation as measured by the consumer prices index (CPI) in January, plus 3.9%.

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British rural voters ‘ignored’ by Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak

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Tory leadership hopefuls ‘taking countryside voters for granted’ and neglecting pressing issues, says CLA business group

Neither of the candidates for leadership of the Conservative party has made a convincing pitch to rural voters, despite that demographic being one of the biggest sources of Tory power, the head of the UK’s biggest rural business organisation said.

Mark Tufnell, president of the Country Land and Business Association (CLA), which represents about 30,000 landowners and rural businesses, said Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak had done too little to show how they would boost the countryside economy and deal with pressing concerns such as planning, rural broadband, and farm support.

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Kilimanjaro gets high-speed internet so climbers can tweet or Instagram ascent

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Tanzanian minister hails move and says connectivity will also improve safety of porters and visitors

Tanzania has installed high-speed internet services on the slopes of Kilimanjaro, allowing anyone with a smartphone to tweet, Instagram or WhatsApp their ascent up Africa’s highest mountain.

The state-owned Tanzania Telecommunications Corporation set up the broadband network on Tuesday at an altitude of 3,720 metres (12,200ft), with the country’s information minister, Nape Nnauye, calling the event historic.

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Almost 6m UK households ‘struggling to pay telecoms bills’

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Which? says people are cutting food and clothes spending to pay for mobile, broadband and landline

Almost 6 million UK households are struggling to pay their mobile, landline and broadband bills, with the cost of living squeeze forcing many to cut back on essentials such as food and clothes, cancel or change a service, or miss payments to stay connected.

A report from the consumer group Which? estimates that 5.7 million households have experienced at least one “affordability issue” in April, as cash-strapped homes struggle to cope with soaring bills and other costs.

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Satellite firm bailed out by UK to be taken over by French rival

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OneWeb, touted by Boris Johnson as a potential rival to Elon Musk’s Starlink, provides communications services

A satellite company part-owned by the British government is due to be taken over by an EU rival this week, dashing hopes of fostering a UK firm to rival Elon Musk’s Starlink following its taxpayer bailout at the height of the pandemic.

OneWeb, which provides services including broadband from its low-orbit satellites, will be taken over by one of its shareholders – the Paris-listed Eutelsat- in a deal that could be announced as early as Monday.

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Nottingham named worst UK city for broadband outages

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Internet downtime for the city averages 70 hours a year, with 11m Britons losing almost two days a year

Almost 11 million consumers have suffered a broadband blackout lasting more than three hours over the last year, with Nottingham named Britain’s “outage capital”.

The average UK household lost a total of almost two days of internet time as a result of loss of service, power cuts and maintenance, figures show.

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From energy costs to TV bills: what has gone up in price today?

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Britons face a shock as household costs soar – and some unexpected items such as beer also go up

It’s been dubbed “bleak Friday” by some: pre-announced price rises for many household bills are to take effect on 1 April, adding to the misery for consumers who are already paying more for goods and food than this time last year.

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Squid Game’s success reopens who pays debate over rising internet traffic

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Demand for capacity grows on back of hit Netflix shows, online games and more

The breakout success of the South Korean drama Squid Game has prompted a local broadband provider to launch legal action to force the maker, Netflix, to help pay for the huge surge in traffic, the latest flashpoint in the argument over who should carry the burden of the spiralling costs of data fuelled by the global streaming boom.

From Netflix’s latest global sensation and livestreamed Premier League football matches on Amazon Prime Video, to bandwidth-busting traffic when hit online games such as Fortnite or Call of Duty are updated, the demand for internet capacity has undergone unprecedented growth in recent years.

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What could a good green recovery plan actually look like?

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What do governments across the world need to do to shift economies away from fossil fuels?

What does a green recovery look like? That is the question governments around the world are considering as they decide how to align their $12tn worth of economic rescue packages for dealing with the coronavirus pandemic with their obligations under the Paris climate accord.

The UK is expected to announce a 10-point recovery plan this week, and observers have warned that if it lacks ambition, it could undermine the world’s goals of limiting catastrophic climate breakdown.

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