British watchdog launches broadband comparison site

UK watchdog Ofcom on Thursday announced the launch of TopComm, a scheme designed to provide consumers with a comparison of quality of service levels among fixed-line telecoms providers in the UK.

Independent research commissioned by Ofcom showed that quality of service is consistently identified by consumers as an important factor in deciding whether to switch to another fixed-line provider.

Cost continues to be the most important determining factor for consumers choosing between fixed-line providers and with that in mind, various price comparison services are available online.

The TopComm service will provide comparable information on:
The percentage of orders that are completed on or before the agreed date
Faults reported per 100 lines on a quarterly basis
The percentage of faults repaired within the agreed service time
The percentage of complaints processed within 28 calendar days.
TopComm will also measure the level of billing accuracy by tracking the numbers of complaints that are upheld per 1000 bills issued.
The watchdog has said that it “requires that all fixed-line providers with at least £4 million net revenues and 100 million minutes of voice calls handled to end users per quarter participate in the scheme”.