Several business groups have called on Ofcom to establish an automatic compensation scheme for companies impacted by broadband outages.
The British Chambers of Commerce, the Federation of Small Businesses and the Institute of Directors have written to the regulator, saying that improved network resilience and fewer outages would “deliver significant productivity benefits to the UK economy”.
In the letter addressed to Ofcom chief executive Dame Melanie Dawes, they wrote, “Supporting businesses to increase productivity and economic growth is critical, and solutions which drive improvements in UK connectivity infrastructure will play an important role in achieving this.”
The signatories cited research commissioned by Vorboss - which sent the letter on their behalf - which found that 51 per cent of fixed business connectivity customers had experienced at least one outage in the past year, with 61 per cent of businesses not receiving any compensation.
Some telecoms groups already provide compensation for disrupted services to a degree, but formal regulation of it only applies to small businesses that use residential services. Providers are also required to give “clear and accessible information” on service levels and potential compensation for SMEs.
BT has a compensation scheme for SMEs, while larger business and public sector customers have individual contractual agreements.
Virgin Media O2 has contractual provisions that cover “remedies and recourse for any issues that may arise” for business customers.
Vodafone UK offers compensation for business customers on a “case-by-case basis”, as does Three UK.
Ofcom said, “We constantly keep the market under review, and we continue to engage with businesses about their needs.”The regulator has introduced a voluntary automatic compensation scheme for residential customers, which covers small businesses that use residential services. It plans to publish final guidance on how UK companies can reduce the risk of network outages soon.
The request is supported by the Mayor of London’s office. Theo Blackwell, chief digital officer, said the quality of internet services on London was “critically important to growth”.
He said Ofcom had a responsibility and opportunity to “increase business productivity by promoting quality-based competition” among providers.