Tag • #broadband

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Still offline? Are you missing out on compensation for failed broadband?

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Monday, 15 April - 08:00

Customers who suffer loss of service should get compensation without having to ask. But many, unaware of their rights and facing opaque rules, do not

Broadband customers who suffer service failures may be missing out on money they are owed because they are unaware of their rights to automatic compensation.

Under the telecoms regulator’s “ automatic compensation ” scheme, customers should receive set daily payments of up to £9.76 if an internet outage is not rectified after two days, or if an installation date is missed.

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Household bills rise sharply despite easing energy costs

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Monday, 1 April - 04:00

Rates for phone, broadband and water will increase from Monday and other rises are in the pipeline

Consumers are braced for huge rises in their household bills on everything from water to broadband, as the cost of living crisis continues to bite.

Despite inflation easing, Monday will see the cost of a host of bills and taxes increasing, adding further pressure to household finances more than two years after bills began to rise significantly.

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BT cut off my landline out of the blue and ignored my protests

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Thursday, 7 March - 07:00

Widow who depends on wifi to order medication and grocers was disconnected in the autumn

I’m at my wits’ end trying to understand how my BT landline and wifi can be cut off without the company receiving any instructions from me.

I’m a 79-year-old widow living seven miles from a town and depend on wifi to order medication from the GP, groceries and many other things.

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Failure to connect: how Openreach left a home without a vital lifeline

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Monday, 4 March - 17:39

The network company has been accused of poor communication and delays in supplying often crucial services

John Burningham’s phone line became a lifeline after he went through brain surgery and spent five weeks in hospital. Complications from the treatment meant his wife needed to call 999 after his release.

So when both his broadband and landline phone weren’t working, he was consumed with anxiety.

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How can I lift the burden of a weighty Virgin Media package for my friend?

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Thursday, 29 February - 07:00

He is disabled and paying £144-£175 a month for a TV/broadband/landline package

I have a severely disabled friend . He has previously been sectioned and has not left his flat since October 2023. He only leaves his bed to cook small meals, and to use the bathroom. Among other ailments is a brittle bone condition which has caused him to suffer three fractured hips. He takes powerful medication, and relies on benefits to live.

Recently, I discovered that he is paying Virgin Media between £144 and £175 a month for his TV broadband/landline package.

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Cable lobby to FCC: Please don’t look too closely at the prices we charge

news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Wednesday, 6 December - 18:58

Illustration of US paper currency and binary data to represent Internet connectivity.

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | imagedepotpro)

The US broadband industry is protesting a Federal Communications Commission plan to measure the affordability of Internet service.

The FCC has been evaluating US-wide broadband deployment progress on a near-annual basis for almost three decades but hasn't factored affordability into these regular reviews. The broadband industry is afraid that a thorough examination of prices will lead to more regulation of ISPs.

An FCC Notice of Inquiry issued on November 1 proposes to analyze the affordability of Internet service in the agency's next congressionally required review of broadband deployment. That could include examining not just monthly prices but also data overage charges and various other fees.

Read 27 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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25M homes will lose broadband discounts if Congress keeps stalling, FCC warns

news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Friday, 1 December - 21:34

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel sitting at a table while answering questions at a Congressional hearing.

Enlarge / Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel during a House Energy and Commerce Committee Subcommittee hearing on March 31, 2022, in Washington, DC. (credit: Getty Images | Kevin Dietsch )

A federal program that provides $30 monthly broadband discounts to people with low incomes is expected to run out of money in April 2023, potentially taking affordable Internet service plans away from well over 20 million households.

For months, supporters of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) have been pushing Congress to give the Federal Communications Commission more funding for the program. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel urged lawmakers to act yesterday during a House Communications and Technology Subcommittee hearing .

In an opening statement , Rosenworcel said the ACP is providing discounts for over 22 million households. The FCC expects that number to reach 25 million by April, when the program would run out of money.

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US broadband grant rules shut out small ISPs and municipalities, advocates say

news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Wednesday, 6 September, 2023 - 18:50

Illustration of a US map with crisscrossing lines representing a broadband network.

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | Andrey Denisyuk)

The biggest Internet service providers will dominate a $42.45 billion broadband grant program unless the Biden administration changes a rule requiring grant recipients to obtain a letter of credit from a bank, according to a joint statement from consumer advocacy groups, local government officials, and advocates for small ISPs.

The letter sent today to US government officials argues that "by establishing capital barriers too steep for all but the best-funded ISPs, the LOC [letter-of-credit requirement] shuts out the vast majority of entities the program claims to prioritize: small and community-centered ISPs, minority and women-owned ISPs, nonprofits, and municipalities."

The rule is part of the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program that's being administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

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FCC says “too bad” to ISPs complaining that listing every fee is too hard

news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Wednesday, 30 August, 2023 - 18:28

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | imagedepotpro)

The Federal Communications Commission yesterday rejected requests to eliminate an upcoming requirement that Internet service providers list all of their monthly fees.

Five major trade groups representing US broadband providers petitioned the FCC in January to scrap the requirement before it takes effect. In June, Comcast told the FCC that the listing-every-fee rule "impose[s] significant administrative burdens and unnecessary complexity in complying with the broadband label requirements."

The five trade groups kept up the pressure earlier this month in a meeting with FCC officials and in a filing that complained that listing every fee is too hard. The FCC refused to bend, announcing yesterday that the rules will take effect without any major changes.

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