Ofcom

We have announced the outcome of the principal stage of the mmWave spectrum auction. The UK’s three mobile networks have committed to pay a combined £39m to secure more airwaves to boost mobile services. EE, O2 and VodafoneThree took part, bidding for airwaves in ‘lots’ to determine how much of the available spectrum they each secured. Each won 800 MHz of spectrum in the 26 GHz band and 1 GHz of spectrum in the 40 GHz band. David Willis, Ofcom’s Group Director for Spectrum, said: “Today’s results are an important milestone on the path to better, faster 5G. The large amount of spectrum we’ve released will help support innovation, open doors to new applications and growth, and can bring noticeable improvements to mobile services in busier places up and down the UK.” The auction will now move to the Assignment stage, where the companies can bid for the frequency positions for the airwaves they have secured in the Principal stage. Find out more 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eF7SgJAP

Busy day of media activity for our Director of Enforcement, Ian Strawhorne, who was on the airwaves to explain our decision to fine Royal Mail £21 million.   As part of a packed broadcast round, Ian spoke to: 📺 BBC Breakfast 📻 BBC Radio 4 📺 ITV News 📻 LBC Ian highlighted how our investigation found Royal Mail failed to meet its delivery targets in 2024/25 - meaning millions of people didn't get the service they paid for.

We have fined Royal Mail £21m for missing its 2024/25 First and Second Class delivery targets. Our investigation found the company only delivered 77% of First Class mail and 92.5% of Second Class mail on time, well short of its 93% and 98.5% targets - even after accounting for exceptional weather events. The company took insufficient and ineffective steps to try and prevent this failure - impacting millions of customers. Ian Strawhorne, Director of Enforcement at Ofcom, said: “Royal Mail must rebuild consumers’ confidence as a matter of urgency. And that means making actual significant improvements, not more empty promises. We’ve told the company to publicly set out how it’s going to deliver this change, and we expect to start seeing meaningful progress soon. If this doesn’t happen, fines are likely to continue.” Find out more 🔗https://lnkd.in/e8d96NnX

Bidding for the mmWave spectrum will begin on Wednesday, 15 October. We are releasing a total of 5.4 GHz of spectrum, the most ever made available in an Ofcom auction. It will play an important role in improving the capacity of mobile services, especially in busy areas like stadiums and train stations. Find out more 🔗 https://lnkd.in/ehmngZf8,

We’ve published an update on 11 Online Safety Act investigations - including details of enforcement action against online services. 🔹 File-sharing services are now using automated hash-matching technology to tackle child sexual abuse material following our enforcement. 🔹 We have fined 4chan £20,000 for failing to respond to legally-binding information requests 🔹 We're continuing to monitor services that have taken steps to stop UK users from accessing them, including file-sharing services and an online suicide forum that remains on our watchlist. Suzanne Cater, our Director of Enforcement, said: “Today sends a clear message that any service which flagrantly fails to engage with Ofcom and their duties under the Online Safety Act can expect to face robust enforcement action." “We’re also seeing some services take steps to introduce improved safety measures as a direct result of our enforcement action. Services who choose to restrict access rather than protect UK users remain on our watchlist as we continue to monitor their availability to UK users.” 🔗 Read the full update: https://lnkd.in/eyWe3bmU

We have published an update on appointments to our Content Board and Advisory Committee for Wales.    Read more on the new appointments here ⬇️ ............. Rydym wedi cyhoeddi penodiadau newydd i’n Bwrdd Cynnwys a Phwyllgor Cynghori Cymru.   Darllenwch fwy yma ⬇️

Following concerns raised with Ofcom about Openreach’s recent FTTP proactive upgrades special offer, Ofcom has today published an open letter to industry setting out our response to these concerns. Natalie Black CBE

We've confirmed the companies taking part in the upcoming mmWave spectrum auction. This spectrum will be used for mobile technology, including 5G, which will help improve the speed and quality of mobile services, particularly in busy areas like stadiums and train stations. We will announce the start date of the auction soon.

Congratulations to England’s Red Roses on their success in the Women’s Rugby World Cup! 🌹🏉 As well as all the action on the pitch, there was also plenty going on backstage, with Ofcom’s spectrum experts making sure things went smoothly with communications and broadcasting equipment at the tournament venues. Read more about our role during the tournament and other big sports and entertainment events. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eezr_YJY #womensrugbyworldcup

Last week we hosted an event to highlight the growing risks posed by online access to 3D-printed firearm blueprints.   We brought together expert speakers - including policymakers, researchers, online services, and law enforcement - to share their perspectives.    This event was a vital opportunity to spotlight these evolving risks, and deepen our understanding of how young people can become entangled in this issue and the serious real-world harms that can follow.   📽️ Hear from members of our team from the event, on why it is important for industry to come together to help tackle this issue.