Out-Law News 1 min. read

UK broadband speeds code gives customers new contract termination rights


Measures that require broadband providers to be more open with customers about the speed of service they provide them and to let those customers terminate contracts where minimum speed commitments are not met have been unveiled by the UK's telecoms regulator.

Ofcom has published a new voluntary code of practice on broadband speeds (16-page / 107KB PDF) that the UK’s largest internet service providers (ISPs), BT, EE, KC in Hull, Plusnet, Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin Media have all committed to.

Under the code, the broadband providers are required to tell prospective new customers what the range of "access line speeds" are that "similar customers" obtain from them. The companies must explain that the range is only an estimate and that consumers can contact them if they experience a service speed "significantly below" the estimated range.

If customers ask ISPs how they define 'significantly below', ISPs are obliged to outline "the minimum guaranteed access line speed" they will deliver. Should broadband services to those customers fall below the minimum level, ISPs are required to try to fix the problem but ultimately must allow customers to "leave their contract without penalty" if they are unable to do so.

"The speeds code has been around since 2008 and, like the sector, it has to move on," Ofcom chief executive Sharon White said. "The new version of the Code gives consumers the opportunity to walk away from contracts when speeds fall below acceptable levels, giving real power to the elbow of consumers."

Ofcom said that reforms to the 2008 code were necessary because the "headline speeds" for broadband services that have been advertised by ISPs were not always matched by the actual speed of service they delivered. It said the new self-regulatory code is an "appropriate" way to tackle the issue. However, it said it could "introduce formal regulation" if the code does not address the problems it has identified or it if "considers that there is a need to intervene more promptly or effectively".

"Whilst recognising that speed is not the only criterion on which consumers base their broadband purchasing decisions, the objective of the Code is to increase the overall standard of information on broadband speeds – and other relevant metrics – that should be made available to consumers at point of sale to help them make more informed choices of service products offered in the broadband market," Ofcom said.

The regulator urged ISPs to adhere to "the spirit" of the code and not just its wording.

Ofcom said that next month it will also unveil other plans to "make it easier for mobile phone customers to change provider". It also said that customers of broadband companies that use the Openreach network will, from 20 June, be able to take advantage of "a new 'one touch' process" which will "place the responsibility for the switch in the hands of the company the customer is moving to".

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