Mobile Customer Service is Better

New Ofcom research reveals that consumers are more satisfied with their mobile phone provider than they are with landline or broadband suppliers.

In September the communication regulators interviewed 3,000 people, quizzing them on recent contact from their providers and the levels of service that they received.   The results showed that whilst service ratings for landlines had improved with BT, Sky and Talk Talk since 2009, on average, these satisfaction levels were still below those for mobile services.

It seems broadband speeds are still a major bone of contention and the underlying reason for many customer complaints.  Consumers having to contact their providers to change the deals that they signed up for proved the most common gripe from dissatisfied customers.

The telecommunication industry gets a lot of bad press for poor service, overcomplicated tariffs and for tying customers into long term contracts.  However, there are still some good guys out there that put a strong emphasis on customer service, simple tariffs and 30 days rolling contracts.  If you have a telecoms query then please feel free to Ask Adodo.

Internet Service Providers Continue to Mislead

It is a well known fact that consumers in the past have received much slower broadband speeds than those claimed by the ISP’s, but Ofcom have been clamping down on these instances of rogue trading for some time.  However, it seems they are still not happy with the way the industry advertises.

Ofcom's biannual report into the state of the broadband market is urging changes to advertising guidance "so that consumers are able to make more informed decisions based on the adverts they see" said Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards.

Almost half of broadband users are now on packages with advertised speeds above 10Mbps but few achieve this. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has also stepped in and is currently reviewing broadband advertising. Its report is expected in the next few months.

In accordance with their own advice, Ofcom has introduced a code of practice to help inform the public about their likely speed before signing up to a service.

·         It recommends that broadband customers should be given a speed range rather than a single estimate of the maximum speed on their line.

·         It also suggests that users be allowed to leave their provider without penalty if they receive a maximum speed which is significantly below estimates.

Do you think Ofcom’s code of practice goes far enough to protect consumers?

Ofcom Demand Rural Broadband Pricing Should Be Cut

The digital divide between town and country looks to be shrinking, as Ofcom rule that BT have to cut wholesale pricing.

Currently, BT is the only operator with equipment in many of the smaller telephone exchanges, meaning that other ISP’s have to factor ‘renting costs’ into their pricing plans.  The result is that customers often miss out on cheaper deals available in towns and cities.

In cities, many ISPs, other than BT, are able to offer consumers cheap broadband through a system known as local loop unbundling (LLU), where they place their own equipment in the exchange.  This is deemed ‘less economical’ in many rural areas, resulting in pricing being affected by the renting costs. 

As competition rises, this could be great news then for rural customers; however, the telecoms regulator has not applied the reduced charges ruling to ADSL2+, a next-generation copper-wire technology which offers speeds of up to 24Mbps.  The hope is that BT focus on investing in the new technology. 

The pricing changes should begin from mid August, and under the ruling BT must cut its rates by 12% below inflation per year until March 2014.

In the meantime, Fujitsu is bidding for government money to create a fibre network for rural areas. Both Virgin Media and TalkTalk have said they will offer services on it if the bid is successful.

Find out more about about Business Broadband Speeds and Network Analysis with Adodo here.

Ofcom Gives Green Light to Spectrum Trade

With the massive rise in Smartphone use, bandwidth is becoming a huge issue, putting an ever increasing demand on networks.  So the UK regulator Ofcom, has given phone operators the green light to trade with each other in an effort to combat the problem.

The controversial will enable networks to sell off the airwaves they own in the 900MHz, 1800MHz and 2100MHz frequency bands.  The move comes ahead of a crucial spectrum auction next year that will usher in 4G data services.  The UK has been slow in offering a more level-playing field compared to other nations. 

The merger of T-mobile and Orange forced Ofcom to change their original plans and now Everything Everywhere, the parent company of these two networks, are set to be the biggest beneficiaries of spectrum trading.  

Three is the least happy, as they have the least spectrum to trade, and said in a statement.

"This move simply allows those who have been gifted access to public spectrum to profit from it, with no benefit for UK taxpayers."

Could you be Overpaying on your Mobile Bills?

3 of 4 people overpay by £200 per year because their mobile contract is not right for them: according to Billmonitor.

Billmonitor consists of information gathered and analysed by Oxford mathematicians that has been approved by Ofcom. 

The most fundamental problem highlighted by the research is that people over-estimate how many minutes they would spend on the phone, with most using just a quarter of their monthly allowance.

Of the 28,000 bills analysed as a part of the study, researchers concluded that the UK's mobile phone users were wasting nearly £5bn a year on misjudged contracts.

The growing popularity of smartphones is also causing confusion as more customers are now adding on data plans, but are struggling to estimate their usage requirements. 

According to the research, the average usage was 133MB per month, with around 5% of users exceeding 500MB.  However, consumers were again preparing themselves for “bill shock” and overestimating their usage.  

Have you got a business mobile contract?  Let us help you to find the right contract for your business…Call us now 0115 970 1471

Reduced Prices for Home Telecoms

Consumers may be on the brink of reduced home telephone and broadband services as Ofcom make moves to level the wholesale playing field. 

The telecoms regulator has revised the list of rates that Openreach, which manages BT's network, can charge other providers for using its services.  The proposals are the start of a consultation process that will end on 9 June.

With wholesale prices potentially falling by more than 10% per year, companies such as TalkTalk and Sky will see real benefits that could be passed on to consumers.  However, those that provide their own cable network, such as Virgin Media, will not experience those benefits.

Under Ofcom's proposals the prices of two of the ways that BT's rivals get access to its network will come down.  The first, called Local Loop Unbundling, allows telecoms firms to site their equipment in BT exchanges and take over lines to customers.  The second, is called Wholesale Line Rental, which involves telecoms firms simply renting lines from Openreach.

In response, BT released a statement which said: "BT invests more than any other company in the UK's communications infrastructure, so it is critical that it is able to achieve a fair rate of return in order to continue its investment in copper and fibre-based services."

Any concerns BT have will be raised during the continued consultation process, the conclusions of which will be published in the autumn.  Any price changes will take affect later this year.

Drop in Costs For Cross Network Calls

The fee mobile phone firms charge rivals for handling calls from their networks, is set to fall by 80% over the next four years following cuts imposed by Ofcom. 

Currently, mobile operators charge between 4.18p and 4.48p for delivering a call to another network.  However, Ofcom wants this to be reduced to 0.69p by 2014-15, and says it expects the cuts to be passed on to customers.  The proposed changes should increase competition within the market and thus, improve prices for consumers.

The phased reductions will begin on 1 April with the termination rate for the big four operators - O2, Everything Everywhere, Vodafone, and 3UK - cut to 2.66p. Lower termination rates will also reduce the cost to landline companies of passing calls to mobile phones.

Average Broadband Speeds, No Such Thing

Broadband ‘Up to’ 20Mbps is a familiar sight in ISP marketing, but according to Ofcom's latest research, very few consumers actually get these kind of headline speeds.  As a result, the industry regulator is seeking to stop providers from advertising unrealistic broadband speeds

The research suggested that just 14% of customers on 'up to' 20Mbps services received speeds of over 12Mbps, while 58% averaged speeds of 6Mbps or less.  For example;

• BT 'up to' 20Mbps - 6.9 to 8.7Mbps
• Sky 'up to' 20Mbps - 7.4 to 8.8Mbps
• TalkTalk 'up to' 24Mbps - 7.7 to 9.3Mbps

Ofcom that ISPs should use Typical Speed Rates (TSR) to avoid confusing consumers.  It has set guidelines for these speeds. It recommends that ADSL services currently advertised as 'up to' 20Mbps (megabits per second) be changed to a TSR of between 3 and 9Mbps.

The response from the industry has been less than positive.  With BT far from impressed, John Petter, managing director of BT Retail said "We have real concerns with their approach. Broadband speeds vary from line to line and so it is meaningless to use one speed for advertising.

TalkTalk Pays Millions in Compensation

As consultants in the Telecoms industry, we regularly see elements of bad practice from suppliers.  For example, we recently came across a situation where unreasonable connection charges were hidden within the terms and conditions of a suppliers contract.

However, it is a case of bogus billing that has taken to the headlines this week.  Industry regulator Ofcom launched an investigation in July 2010, following more than 1,000 complaints from customers who received aggressive demands for the payment of bills they did not owe.

As a result, two telecoms firms, TalkTalk and Tiscali, have repaid nearly £2.5m to customers in compensation, amounting to an average of £40 per customer. 

TalkTalk put the problems down to a new billing system introduced after it bought Tiscali in June 2009.  Following the complaints, Ofcom have confirmed that the two firms, who together have 4.2 million customers, have now taken steps to fix the problem. 

Cheaper Broadband for Rural areas under Ofcom plans

This Summer, following a period of consultation, Ofcom are expected to publish plans that could mean cheaper broadband for rural Britain.

The proposal is that Ofcom will instill pricing controls on BT in parts of the country where they are the sole provider of wholesale broadband services.  This will affect how much BT can charge internet service providers (ISPs) in those areas.  The hope is that the changes could increase competition between retail ISPs.

The telecom regulator wants BT to reduce its wholesale charges by between 10.75% and 14.75% below the RPI measure of inflation. The plan could benefit an estimated three million homes and businesses.

Whilst Consumer Focus welcomed the move by Ofcom, they have highlighted the fact that in some remote areas people were still waiting for broadband to reach them, and the emphasis needs to remain on government plans for everywhere in the UK to have faster broadband by 2015.

3G Switchover May Cause Unfair Advantage

After a long period of deliberation Ofcom has finally given the go-ahead for mobile operators to use their 2G spectrum for 3G mobile broadband.

The result will help mobile operators to "increase mobile broadband speeds" as well as offer more mobile broadband coverage in rural areas, meaning that consumers will receive a better service. 

Currently the 2G spectrum is used for making phone calls and sending texts, but this decision could ease some of the pressure on current 3G services.  They are feeling the strain due to the massive increase in the use of smart phones and mobile internet.

However, not all UK mobile phone operators were happy with the decision; Kevin Russell, chief executive of Three UK said the decision would give "unfair competitive advantage" to the operators that hold 2G licences.

Ofcom’s verdict comes ahead of the Digital Dividend auction planned before 2012, in which we will see the government sell off frequencies for next-generation mobile services, which will offer speeds faster than today's 3G networks.

It was the issue of “competition” that delayed Ofcom’s decision for so long.  Mr. Russell called on Ofcom to ensure the 2012 auction would create a market where all operators could compete on a level playing field.

Eat, Sleep, Media!

The average person in the UK spends 15hours 45mins awake per day. Of this time, according to Ofcom’s annual Communications Market Report, the average person spends seven hours and five minutes "engaging in media and communications activities".



The Report that looks into the UK's TV, radio, telecoms and internet industries also shows that we're ‘media multi-tasking’ more than ever before.


Another buzz phrase to add to your technology dictionary, ‘Media Multi-Tasking’, meaning, for example, making a phone call whilst surfing the internet.


As you would expect the group that is most likely to be found doing more than one media related activity at a time is the 16-24 year olds. 52% in fact of that particular age group participates in simultaneous media activity. Compare this to the over 55 age group and that figure slips to 22%.


Smartphones are one of the biggest catalysts for the developing world of multi-tasking. Their growing popularity is rapidly changing the way in which we use our mobiles and increasing our overall use of communications.

Cheaper calls for UK consumers

Telecom regulator Ofcom have today shaken the market up with new proposals that will make it cheaper for us to call mobiles.

It has proposed cutting the cost mobile phone firms can charge for connecting a call from another network from 4.3 pence per minute to 0.5p by 2015. Better still, mobile termination rates are set to be slashed and it is going to be easier to switch networks.

Ofcom research shows that 70% of customers want to keep their mobile number when they change providers. For this you need a PAC code, and up until now that has been known to take weeks. Under the new rules, mobile phone companies will have to issue PAC codes within a maximum two hour period.

There is more choice for consumers in the mobile market than ever before. The proposals will also mean that both landline and mobile operators have more flexibility in designing competitive call packages, promoting competition for the benefit of consumers.

Ofcom to cut Mobile Pricing

Mobile number portability and mobile termination rates have been argued over by the industry and Ofcom for many years. Last Summer Ofcom had suggested that they were going to reduce the time it takes to switch providers from 2days to as little as 2hours, but they only went as far as reducing the time period to one day. They also suggested that they would scrap mobile termination fees completely, and whilst that is not expected to be the case, consumers can expect massive reductions.

It is becoming more usual for mobile phone companies to ‘merge’ their networks in order to cut costs. For example, T-Mobile and Orange have recently begun moves to merge completely, which is a transaction that has recently been cleared by the EU Commission and should be completed in Spring.

Further good news in the mobile market is that the price of calling a mobile phone is due to drop further over the coming years. This week Ofcom are expected to propose new caps on the price that operators can charge each other and fixed line companies to connect calls on their networks.