New Ofcom report raises concern about new regulations

A recent report released by Ofcom shows that ninety four percent of mobile users are happy with the service they receive. Although this score is good there are many that are questioning whether this assessment is really necessary.

The release of an Ofcom report has raised criticism of whether this sort of assessment is needed for an industry that looks to be working fine at the moment. An industry analyst stated: ‘Compared with other countries, coverage in the UK is good, prices are low, and take-up of services is good, so why do we need a review? It’s just bureaucracy for bureaucracy’s sake.’

There are fears from some of the service providers that this report on the industry is just a way for Ofcom to bring in new regulations. The head of government policy and mobile regulation at Orange stated ‘We welcome the review but we are concerned about areas that don’t need regulation, like customer service. We are concerned that Ofcom is using this review to impose regulation in areas that don’t need it.’ He also advised that Orange would be responding officially to the report ‘in detail and at length’

According to Ofcom the report will not be used as a regulatory blueprint and the competition partner at Ofcom, David Stewart, advised that the regulator is ‘thinking about where mobile is heading and our role in it’.

Highlights from the report include the rise in complaints, the complexity of pricing especially with the increase number of mobile broadband packages available, and the level of coverage offered by the mobile service providers. All these areas are ones in which Ofcom believes operators can improve and the review shows that although the industry is doing well it can always do better for its customers.