Yesterday I retweeted a link to an article which appeared in Abu Dhabi’s The National entitled Genuine competition needed in telecoms. The article is extremely pertinent and timely given Thursday’s IRG/ERG press release regarding the creation of BEREC, the election of its officers and secretariat and the decision to locate the body in Brussels. (Acronym [...]
New EU Communications Body (can you hear us?)
Make FREEPHONE free campaign!
You’ve probably detected a little frustration in the posts on this blog. It’s become a bit of a crusade really – this desire for a level playing field for fixed and mobile communications providers. Unfortunately, more than 25 years since their introduction, 0800 “freephone” numbers are still not free when dialled from most UK mobile [...]
Letter to BBC Breakfast
Dear Bill and Sian I am shocked and extremely disappointed to see the following text on your on your website in relation to your 03 contact number: “Calls cost no more than calls to 01/02 geographic numbers, although calls from mobiles will vary according to your provider.” Worse still, the text which appears on the [...]
03TALK: At last, mobile-friendly conference calls!
How many times have you been sent a conference dial-in number and been frustrated that the service is operated on an 08 number so you know you’re going to be stung by your mobile operator? It happens to me frequently and, as Murphy’s Law would have it, usually when I have no access to a [...]
Ofcom’s PRS Scope Review. Come on guys!
Today, Ofcom published a Statement establishing an “analytical framework that will help inform future Ofcom considerations on whether the scope of [PRS] regulation should be widened or narrowed”. From a consumer perspective, there can only be one outcome of such considerations. Surely. The level of confusion and ambiguity in PRS regulation – particularly pricing – [...]
Consumer Focus – Priorities in the Mobile Phone Sector
This morning I received a link to the October 2009 Position Paper and Advocacy Plan (PDF Download) from Consumer Focus, “the independent champion for consumers… operating across the whole of the economy, persuading businesses and public services to put consumers at the heart of what they do”. From a personal view, the timing could not [...]
Apple approves IP calls over GSM for iPhone
I’m very pleased to have read a couple of stories in the telecoms press about approval of iPhone applications which help users save money on calls from their mobile handsets. Typically these involve the provision of alternative numbers – such as Simon Maddox 0870 Android and iPhone application. iPhone approval was a long time coming. [...]
0844 numbers and more sloppy journalism
Headline grabbing, poorly researched stories have become the norm in certain British newspapers, but I was appalled by the constant reference to 0844 numbers as “premium rate” on the BBC lunchtime news recently. Reporting on this release (copied below for convenience) from the UK Department of Health, the BBC’s inaccuracies prompted me to email the [...]
Apples and Oranges
According to The Guardian this morning, O2′s exclusive contract with Apple will soon be at an end. For iPhone / O2 customers, this has to be good news. We’ve been paying a premium for two years (the inevitability of a monopoly position undoubtedly) and a little competition will certainly stir things up. The upgrade path [...]
Mobile Number Porting
How are you planning to spend the 4p Ofcom saves you next year? Since 2005, mobile penetration has exceeded 100%. For almost five years, we’ve boasted more mobiles than people in the UK. Customer acquisition is expensive – even when a market is not completely saturated. With virtually no access to brand new customers but [...]