UK telecoms regulation, Ofcom, General Conditions, numbering, spectrum, switching, enforcement
In short: The copper retirement second threshold changes on 1 April 2029: from that date Openreach may exclude 10% of the premises in an exchange area, so 90% ultrafast coverage replaces 100%. Ofcom decided this on 9 September 2026. The mechanism operates for two years, and Ofcom expects conditions for full copper deregulation from 2031….
In short: WRC-27 will decide whether four frequency ranges are identified for mobile use in the international treaty governing radio spectrum. Ofcom is minded to oppose three and to support one, 7125 to 7250 MHz, on which UK alignment with Europe in the upper 6 GHz band depends. Every position is provisional and responses close…
In short: section 60A Competition Act 1998 obliges a UK court, the CMA and the concurrent regulators to have regard to European Commission statements made before Brexit implementation period (IP) completion day (31 December 2020) and not subsequently withdrawn. At paragraph 246 of its Guidelines of 3 September 2026 the Commission withdrew its prior 2009…
In short: Open market review declarations state where a supplier will build, and Building Digital UK (BDUK) spends Project Gigabit subsidy only on premises no supplier has claimed. The September 2026 National Rolling Open Market Review closes on 1 October 2026. BDUK classifies declared premises Grey, Black or Under Review and excludes them; it monitors…
In short: Digital Networks Act copper switch-off provisions would oblige every EU Member State to mandate copper retirement by binding legal act, in all switch-off areas by 31 December 2035. The first lists of qualifying areas are due by 30 June 2029, which is the operative date. The UK has no equivalent statute and is…
In short: Ofcom has consulted on the six Openreach commercial offers notified on 1 June 2026. It proposes to allow five and to direct Openreach to withdraw one, the Incremental New to Openreach Customer Offer. Three tests applied, producing seventeen assessments and a single adverse finding: that one offer’s charges are not fair and reasonable….
In short: The CMA unfair contract terms guidance (CMA37) was reissued on 22 July 2026, the first substantive revision since 2015. Part 2 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 is unchanged and applies to consumer contracts generally, alongside any sector rules. Since 6 April 2025 the CMA can fine a trader up to £300,000 or…
In short: Ofcom innovation licensing is under review. Ofcom opened two spectrum consultations on 16 July 2026 and wants responses to both by 5pm on 30 September 2026. One proposes drone control spectrum at 450 MHz and 5030 to 5091 MHz, and a drone detection radar licence at 16 and 24 GHz. The other asks…
In short: Regulatory appeals reform is the Department for Business and Trade’s proposal, published on 17 July 2026, to move economic-regulation appeals from the CMA to the Competition Appeal Tribunal and to apply one standard across every sector: judicial review principles taking due account of the merits. That is the standard already used for Ofcom….
In short: Calling line identification (CLI) is the caller information carried with a telephone call. In the UK it is governed by Ofcom General Condition C6 and by regulations 10 to 13 of PECR. Ofcom’s CLI guidance sets how providers must handle it. A further change, requiring inbound +447 presentation numbers to be withheld, applies…
In short: Ofcom opened a funds for liabilities enforcement programme on 16 July 2026 into code operators’ compliance with regulation 16 of the Electronic Communications Code (Conditions and Restrictions) Regulations 2003, with immediate investigations into six operators it has reasonable grounds to believe may not have complied. The most recent annual certificate deadline was 1…
In short: The revised Telecommunications Security Code of Practice was issued on 14 July 2026 as version 1.1, replacing the December 2022 Code as the guidance Ofcom measures Tier 1 and Tier 2 public telecoms providers against. The underlying law is unchanged, and the genuinely new measures carry compliance timeframes running to March 2028, December…