NEWS
Ofcom tightens regulations for UK telcos
P
hone and broadband customers in the
UK must be warned when their current
contract is ending and what they could save
by signing up to a new deal, under Ofcom
rules that came into force on February 15.
Around 20 million customers are already out
of contract – including 8.8 million broadband
customers – and many are paying more than
they need to. Ofcom research reveals that
every day, 25,000 broadband customers
come to the end of their contract – usually
leading to an automatic price rise.
People can earn big savings on their monthly
bills if they take advantage of discounts
available when signing a new deal. But 16%
of broadband customers don’t know if they
are in contract, rising to 21% of over-55s.
So, Ofcom is introducing rules to ensure
people can see whether they are on the
best deal. Phone, broadband and pay-TV
companies will have to warn customers
between 10 and 40 days before their
contract comes to an end.
Lindsey Fussell, Ofcom’s Consumer Group
Director, said: “Millions of people are out of
contract right now and paying more than
they need to. These new rules make it easier
to grab a better deal.
“But you don’t need to wait to hear from
your provider. Just a few minutes of your time
could save you hundreds of pounds today.”
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Orange and Telxius to connect the US to France
with Dunant submarine cable
O
range, one of the world’s leading
telecommunications operators and
a major investor in over 40 submarine
cables, has teamed up with Telxius, the
communications infrastructure company
of the Telefónica Group, to collaborate in
Europe and the US on backhaul extensions
for the Dunant cable, a Google project.
The Atlantic is one of the world’s busiest
network routes and the Dunant cable will
address the massive growth in data and
content needs between Europe and the US.
This 6,600km-long transatlantic cable will
connect the US to the French Atlantic coast
and aims to launch services in late 2020.
Under this agreement, Orange and Telxius
offer co-location services at their respective
Cable Landing Stations in Saint-Hilaire-de-
Riez (France) and Virginia Beach (US) and
operate them.
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INTELLIGENTCIO
Both are strategic locations as they are
located near main connectivity hubs on both
sides of the Atlantic. From its Saint-Hilaire-
de-Riez Cable Landing Station, Orange will
enable terrestrial connection to Telxius up
to Paris, while Telxius will connect Orange to
Ashburn from Virginia Beach.
Jerome Barré, CEO of Orange Wholesale
and International Networks, said: “We are
pleased to announce this agreement with
Telxius, which will allow us to provide our
customers with very high capacity end-to-
end services, as well as network redundancy,
on the strategic transatlantic route.”
www.intelligentcio.com