Ofcom has published a statement allowing “GSM refarming”, the use of 3G frequencies on what were old 2G bands, following a Government Direction which was made on December 20 2010 and came into force on ten days later. As well as allowing 3G use, the licenses now cannot be revoked for a period of 5 years up from the existing 1 year period. Though this is in-line with European policy, it has been contentious to a degree as 900MHz has proven propogation characteristics compared to 1800MHz, leading to both T-Mobile and Orange (now combined as Everything Everywhere) to request access to the 900MHz band....

Ofcom, the UK regulatory body for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries, hasconfirmedthat rollover contracts will be banned from December this year. Rollover contracts – officially known as Automatically Renewable Contracts (ARCs) – are where broadband and landline customers are automatically tied into repeat minimum contract periods unless they specifically opt out during a 30-day switching window. This has meant that customers who perhaps haven’t noticed that their contract period is about to expire are automatically rolled forward onto a new long-term deal....

UK communications regulator Ofcom hastoday announcedit will be forcing all major UK mobile operators to reduce the amount they charge to connect calls between other networks, leading to an 80% reduction in termination rates over the next four years. The rate changes will be enforced from April 1, placing caps on all four UK mobile network operators – 3UK, O2, Everything Everywhere and Vodafone. Ofcom will also ensure landline providers reduce the cost of calls to mobile phones....

Ofcomthe UK’s communications regulator has sent out a letter to call centre operators outlining new rules that came into force on February 1st 2011 which are designed to prevent consumers from being harrassed by repeated silent calls from the same company. Parliament has set the maximum fine for companies that don’t comply at £2m (which increases from the current maximum fine of £50,000). Silent calls usually stem from automated calling systems (ACS) which are then meant to pass the call to an operator, but for whatever reason don’t and the call is then dropped....

New rules set by the European Union which state mobile operators must offer 12-month contracts to their customers are set to be enforced by Ofcom, the UK’s telecommunications regulator. According toMoneySavingExpert, Ofcom will make sure operators offer yearly contracts by the end of May, allowing consumers to have the option to upgrade their mobile phones to newer and updated models and assess the costs of their contracts in the process....