WELCOME

Consumer advocates say the new rules will make it impossible

Sept. 5, 2017 by Kenneth Newton

Consumer advocates say the new rules will make it impossible to sell broadband services at 20Mbps to younger people, who already have DSL and DSL-only broadband connections in their home, and will be more expensive to use for people under the age of 35.

The group also says the new rules will make it harder to meet government recommendations for improving the internet, as the government and regulators have already said they will not support a new plan to give broadband to all broadband users.

"It's been a long time since I've been on the internet, but the reality is there's almost zero evidence that the internet is improving the world's access to the web," Michael Lewis, of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, said earlier this year.

"I would argue that the new rules will make the internet less accessible and less reliable, with many people struggling to access online services and often unable to use them."

Lewis said the new rules will be a "hugely disruptive change if we are to have an effective, high-quality and reliable internet."

He estimated that the new rules will cost consumers roughly £1 billion over the next five years.

Government departments have already said they will consider introducing broadband to all of the UK's broadband providers, including the Government Communications Headquarters.

"The Government has said it will introduce broadband to all of its internet service providers in 2016. There will also be a decision by the Communications Secretary to make it mandatory for all broadband providers to deliver a minimum broadband speeds to their customers," a senior regulator said.

The group said that the rules "will allow companies to sell their broadband services at cheaper to consumers with less competition", adding that the changes will ensure that the UK's internet is "free for everyone".

The group's analysis found that many new internet providers were willing to sell cheaper speeds when they didn't advertise its product in the public interest, while others were unwilling to share the cost. "With this new policy, companies can't sell broadband to customers at lower prices, and they may find it harder to sell their services when they are being advertised at lower prices," the group wrote.

However, it said that there were concerns about "a potential risk to the public's safety" when some companies were not disclosing their speeds.This post was last updated on Jul 31, 2018.

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