PhonepayPlus, the phone-paid services regulator, welcomed the publication of Ofcom’s statement on the regulation of premium rate services (PRS). Ofcom has asked PhonepayPlus to take forward a number of the actions arising from the review, including:

• A mandatory registration scheme for the PRS industry;
• An expansion of its current Number Checker service to cover all PRS numbers, as far as possible;
• A consultation on strengthening PRS advertising requirements to improve pricing transparency;
• Consideration of creating complaints handling standards for the PRS industry.
• PhonepayPlus agrees that these measures, implemented carefully, could bring significant improvements to PRS regulation. It intends to work closely with the PRS industry to ensure any changes to the regulatory framework are effective and proportionate.

PhonepayPlus is currently revising its Code of Practice and will look at incorporating these recommendations into the Code. It will set out further detail on how these proposals will be taken forward when its Business Plan is published for consultation later this year.

Ofcom’s full statement on PRS regulation can be found here.

Ofcom today set out the next steps it will take to ensure availability, take-up and effective use of communications services following analysis which shows there is more to be done to achieve widespread access and inclusion across the UK.

Ofcom’s next steps, following its recent consultation, include reviewing services for disabled consumers, addressing mobile phone “not spots”, encouraging broadband take-up and digital participation and reviewing the Universal Service Obligation.

Ofcom has also confirmed that from today, mobile phone users will be able to call the emergency service numbers (999 and 112) from another network if their own network is unavailable and an alternative provider has coverage.

The full Access and Inclusion, Digital communications for all statement can be found here: Ofcom Statement

Ofcom has also announced the launch of a new Consortium to promote Digital Participation in the UK.

The Consortium – which will be launched today by Ofcom Chairman Colette Bowe and Minister for Digital Britain Stephen Timms MP – aims to increase the reach, breadth and depth of digital technology use. It also aims to maximise digital participation and promote its economic and social benefits.

The Consortium will encourage people to take up digital communication technologies by providing information, motivation and support.

The full news release can be found here: Ofcom – News

The latest changes to Ofcom’s Competition and Consumer Enforcement Bulletin were made today, and relate to update notes for:

i. CW/00992/06/08 Disputes from THUS, Cable & Wireless, Global Crossing, Verizon and Virgin Media against BT about the level of charges for partial private circuits; and

Ofcom – Disputes against BT

ii. CW/01002/11/08 Dispute between COLT and BT about the level of charges for partial private circuits.

Ofcom – COLT vs BT

The update notes announce that Ofcom has issued final determinations in these disputes and that it will conduct some further work in relation to these disputes.

This Update provides a list of recent Ofcom publications. It is a new initiative to group together a number of Ofcom Updates to simplify our communications with stakeholders. The Communications Monthly Update will be published on the first Tuesday of each month.

This month’s Update covers:

• Consumer Bulletin
• Media Literacy e-Bulletin
• Office of the Telecommunications Adjudicator update
• Licence variation: Freedom4
• Timetable update to wholesale mobile call termination consultation
• Radio licensing update
• TV licensing update
• Guidance on AVMS
• Consumer protection test for telephone numbers

Consumer Bulletin

The quarterly Bulletin summarises recent work on consumer advice and protection. It also includes data on the number of calls on telecoms issues such as silent calls and slamming. The Consumer Bulletin can be found here: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/telecoms/ioi/bulletins/consumers/ and the telecoms complaints data can be found here: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/telecoms/ioi/bulletins/complaints/

Media Literacy e-Bulletin

This month’s Media Literacy e-Bulletin features extracts from the latest edition of ‘Adults Learning’, the magazine of the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education. This includes analysis of the Digital Britain Report from a number of thinkers in this area, including Ofcom’s Stewart Purvis.

Office of the Telecommunications Adjudicator Update

The independent Office of the Telecommunications Adjudicator (OTA2) has today published its update for September 2009. This shows that at the end of September there were 6.12 million unbundled lines and 6.14 million Wholesale Line Rental lines. In addition, the number of telephone numbers using Carrier Pre-Select was 3.84 million. The update can be found here: http://www.offta.org.uk/

Licence variation: Freedom4

Ofcom has today published a statement approving a licence variation request from Freedom4, allowing the WiMAX provider to offer mobile wireless access. The statement can be found at:

Ofcom – Freedom4 Statement

Timetable update to wholesale mobile call termination consultation

Ofcom has published an update to the proposed timetable for its consultation on wholesale mobile voice call termination. Details can be found here: Ofcom – Mobile Call Term Update

Radio licensing update

The Monthly Update provides information about Ofcom’s broadcast radio licensing activity, including details of commercial radio licence re-advertisements, changes to the formats of stations, and community radio licence awards. This month, the update also includes details of how to apply for a grant from the Community Radio Fund. Details can be found here: Ofcom – Radio Licensing Update

TV licensing update

The latest information about Ofcom’s broadcast TV licensing activity, including details of new licences issued and changes to existing licences, can be found here: Ofcom – TV Licensing Update

Guidance on AVMS

The guidance on broadcasters’ compliance with Articles 4 and 5 of the Television without Frontiers Directive has been updated to give effect to the provisions of the Audio Visual Media Services Directive. The document can be found here: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv/ifi/guidance/epq.pdf

Consumer protection test for telephone numbers

The Consumer Protection Test for telephone number allocation focuses on communications providers who have used numbers to cause serious or repeated harm to consumers. Ofcom will not allocate 070 personal numbers, 0871/2/3 special service higher rate numbers and 09 premium rate numbers to anyone who appears on either of two lists. We strongly encourage all providers that assign telephone numbers to others to take best use of numbers and consumer protection into account and to refer to the following two lists that we are publishing when making assignment decisions. The latest ‘Under Assessment’ and ‘Number Refusal’ lists have been updated here: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/telecoms/ioi/numbers/cpt/