Theres good news on the horizon for broadband consumers as Ofcom UK has announced that it is clamping down on the misleading usage of the terms “fibre” and “full fibre”.
Under the new proposals announced by Ofcom UK this week, broadband providers would only be able to use the terms ‘fibre’ and ‘full fibre’ if their network uses fibre-optic cables from the exchange to the home address.
Consumers will also need to be given a description of the type of broadband network technology they are signing up for. This includes all types of connections including superfast, ultrafast, fibre and full fibre.
The announcement by Ofcom UK will allow consumers to better understand what broadband they are signing up for and promote better transparency within the broadband industry.
This news comes off the back of Ofcom UK completing a series of surveys to better understand what kind of service consumers ‘believed’ they had. One of these surveys found that there is widespread customer confusion about whether or not a home has a full fibre broadband connection. Of all customers who believed they had full fibre broadband, only 46% actually had the technology available to them.
The study also found that more than a quarter (27%) of broadband customers lacked the confidence in understanding the language and terminology providers used. This showcases how bad Internet service providers need to help educate the average broadband consumer
Selina Chadha, Ofcom’s Director of Connectivity, said: “Some of the industry jargon used to describe the underlying technology supporting their broadband service can be unclear and inconsistent, meaning customers are left confused.
“So we’re proposing to introduce new guidance to ensure that broadband firms give clearer, straightforward information about their services.”
Jarlath Finnegan, CEO at Giganet said: “At a time where there is a significant investment in fibre infrastructure across the UK, many customers are gaining access to full fibre broadband for the first time, so we welcome this announcement that Ofcom is going to ensure that customers get much clearer and consistent information when they are signing up to a new provider.”
At Giganet, we do everything we can to be transparent and as helpful to our customers as possible. With us, you’ll find there are no misleading claims or complicated wording, just honest access to fast and reliable full fibre. As a broadband provider, we welcome these positive changes and believe it will make it easier to understand the benefits a full fibre connection can offer broadband consumers.
