Ofcom reckons we’re clueless about broadband pricing

UK telecoms regulator Ofcom thinks consumers are ill-informed about the best broadband deals and wants ISPs to help rectify that.

As with many other utilities, UK punters often don’t shop around when it comes to broadband deals and often don’t even get the best service their current ISP offers at the price they’re paying.  Ofcom thinks that’s bang out of order and wants ISPs to be a lot more proactive about communicating this stud to their customers.

It’s kind of depressing that a regulator needs to get involved in this sort of thing at all. How difficult would it be for an ISP to notify their customers of the best deals on offer once their contract comes to an end? Not only is it underhand to conceal such things, but it’s presumably in the ISP’s interest to keep their customers happy so they don’t moan, churn or harm their precious net promoter score.

Yet here we are. Ofcom is proposing new rules that will oblige all UK communications service providers to flag up the best deals to their customers when discounted deals come to an end and also annually regardless of what kind of deal they’re on. “We’re concerned that many loyal broadband customers aren’t getting the best deal they could,” said Ofcom Chief Exec Sharon White. “So we’re reviewing broadband pricing practices and ensuring customers get clear, accurate information from their provider about the best deals they offer.”

The hook in Ofcom’s accompanying press release is a factoid that only half of the country is on ‘superfast’ broadband, while nearly everyone has access to it. What’s that all about? Ofcom puts the blame squarely at the feet of ISPs, as we’ve already explored, and it certainly seems like poor form for them not to even give their customers the best service at a given price point. Surely that should happen automatically.

Having said that it shouldn’t be beyond us to shop around every now and then. “While it’s true that half the battle in finding the most suitable and cost-effective broadband deal for your household is the availability of information, there must also be the will to find a better deal on the part of the customer,” said Dan Howdle of Cable.co.uk. “Thanks to the ‘stickiness’ of bundled TV packages, physical equipment such as dishes, set-top boxes and cable installations, along with no small amount of apathy when it comes to shopping around, too many stick with what they have and as such pay more than they should.”

Just in case CSPs were thinking of brushing this stuff off, Ofcom has thrown in an extra angle around ‘vulnerable’ people to ensure that wouldn’t be a good look. Additionally it’s launching a consumer campaign called Boost Your Broadband, fronted by consumer champion celeb Gloria Hunniford and designed to make it easier for punters to shop around.