The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport has opened a consultation to guide Ofcom’s strategic priorities.
Background: Back in July 2018, the Government finalised its Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review (FTIR), which set out a national long-term strategy for the digital infrastructure of the UK. Among other objectives, the FTIR included targets for Gigabit connections (full coverage to be achieved by 2033); and to extend mobile coverage (one of the biggest pain-points of UK connectivity) to 95% of the country by 2022.
What’s new? The DCMS has now opened a consultation on the Statement of Strategic Priorities (SSP) for Ofcom to support the strategy. These include measures for consumers, such as the “loyalty penalty” for customers who do not shop around and end up paying higher prices; regulation to support investment in reliable Gigabit-broadband; and support to mobile coverage. The most noteworthy aspect, alongside the planned auction of the 700MHz band, is the request to Ofcom to consider national roaming in rural areas, to improve consumer choice and address not-spots. Previous governments hinted at the introduction of national roaming which sparked lively debates, but never led to further action.
Next steps: The consultation is open until 27 March 2019. Once finalised, the SSP will inform Ofcom’s priority actions for the years ahead. It is likely that consultation responses will have a strong focus on the national roaming issue, which that at least some mobile operators will voice their concerns over.
