Ofcom adds some colour to ‘fairness’ campaign

It might sound like a political punchline, but the ‘Fairness Framework’ from Ofcom is starting to take shape, though whether it forces telco transparency remains to be seen.

The Fairness Framework is effectively incremental progress to address what some would suggest is an unfair dynamic between buyer and seller in the wider communications industry. While there is a gluttony of comparison websites which bill themselves as a means to cut-through the white-noise generated by the telcos, it is still an arduous campaign to find the best deal available, and then subsequently get out of current contracts.

Most would consider themselves above the risks and pitfalls of suspect and nefarious contracts, though campaigners believe this is not the case. In September last year, the UK Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) launched a super-complaint with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) suggesting service providers over-charging renewing customers to bring in an extra £4.1 billion a year.

In today’s announcement, Ofcom has provided more detail on the ‘Fairness Framework’.

Firstly, Ofcom has be conducting a review as to how to create a mechanism to ensure clearer, fairer deals for people who pay for mobile services and handsets together. Final proposals will be made public over the next couple of weeks.

Secondly, the team is currently reviewing broadband pricing practices, attempting to understand why some pay more than others for similar or exactly the same services. Vulnerable members of society are the ones who at the greatest risk here. Another initiative ties into this area, attempting to force the telcos to provide clear, honest information for broadband shoppers. Ofcom is also attempting to introduce rules which will compel service providers to be more transparent when their initial contract is up and explain their best available deal.

Another initiative will allow mobile phone customers to switch provider with a text message, while there are plans underway to introduce a new compensation scheme to provide money back for broadband and landline customers when things go wrong.

For the moment, the majority of this announcement should be attributed to the ‘work in progress’ column. Some of these initiatives will be written into regulation sooner rather than later, though most will still have to be cast out for public consultation. This is a mid-year report card more than anything else.

That said, it’s not a bad thing. In opposition to the stance of the telcos, Ofcom is attempting to be as transparent as possible with its work.

This is the objective of Ofcom here; transparency. For years, the telcos have operated partly behind a curtain of obscurity. Contracts were complicated due to a lack of transparency, and this is what Ofcom is looking to tackle. It is nice to see progress is being made, but we’re not quite there yet.