Clear, honest information before you buy broadband Add to Your Pages
28 February 2019
New protections are part of Ofcom's work to ensure Fairness for Customers
Firms must give minimum and peak-time speeds, before you sign up to a deal
Stronger right to walk away if speeds drop below guaranteed level
Boost for millions of households looking to switch to faster speeds
Broadband shoppers must be told how fast their new service will be, before they sign a contract, under new Ofcom protections from tomorrow (1 March).
The new Code of Practice is part of Ofcom's work to promote Fairness for Customers, which ensures people get a fair deal and are treated well by their providers. The Code means broadband firms will always have to give customers a minimum guaranteed speed at the point of sale.
If a customer's broadband speed then drops below the promised level, companies will have one month to improve performance, before they must let the customer walk away penalty-free. This right to exit also applies to landline and TV packages bought at the same time as broadband.
Broadband providers must also be upfront with customers about what speeds to expect during peak times. This is because broadband is typically not as fast during the busiest times of the day: 8:00pm 10:00pm for people online at home, and 12:00pm 2:00pm for businesses.[1]
Fairness for CustomersThe new protections are one part of Ofcom's Fairness for Customers work, and apply whether people are switching to a new provider or changing their current package.
They cover all the major broadband firms signed up to the new Code BT, EE, Plusnet, Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin Media, which together serve around 95% of home broadband customers.[2]
Here's how the new Code works:
Lindsey Fussell, Ofcom's Consumer Group Director, said: When you sign a contract, you should be treated fairly and know exactly what you're getting.
These protections mean broadband shoppers can buy with confidence. Before they sign up, customers will be told their minimum internet speed. And if companies break that promise, they'll have to sort it out quickly, or let the customer walk away.
Ofcom's latest data reveals that only three in 20 broadband customers contacted their existing provider proactively and renegotiated their deal last year.[3] And with millions of households able to upgrade to faster broadband for the same or less money, people could be missing out on better deals.
Our research also shows that people with a basic, copper broadband connection have less than a one-in-five chance of being able to stream Netflix in ultra-high definition. But if they were to upgrade to entry-level superfast broadband, they would almost certainly be able to do so.[4]
So Ofcom is helping people who want to boost their broadband, switch provider or just renegotiate what they pay. People can also find practical tips for improving broadband speeds on our website.
Ofcom will keep a close eye on companies' compliance with these new requirements, and will report on their performance next year.
Our work to ensure Fairness for Customers also includes:
a major new information campaign and website, Boost Your Broadband, to help people get faster broadband and save money;
plans for companies to tell customers about their best available deal when their contracts are coming to an end, and every year after that if they don't change their deal;
reviewing reviewing broadband companies' pricing practices, examining why some customers pay more than others;
reviewing reviewing how mobile operators charge their customers for handsets when these are bundled with airtime; and
introducing a simple text-message process to allow mobile customers to switch provider more easily.
NOTES TO EDITORS1. The new protections apply to all types of broadband package, regardless of whether the connection is copper, fibre or cable.
2. Business customers are covered by BT, Daisy, TalkTalk and Virgin Media. KCOM and XLN have also signed up in principle, and expect to be compliant shortly.
3. In addition, a further 1 in 25 broadband customers renegotiated with their existing provider in response to the company making contact with them. Source: Ofcom's Switching Tracker data.
4. On a basic, copper broadband connection, 18% of Netflix streams could be reliably delivered in ultra-high definition during the 8-10pm peak-time period. On the next package up the up to' 38Mbit/s fibre-to-the-cabinet product this rises to 98% of streams. Source: Ofcom's UK Home Broadband Performance data.
CONTACTHarry Rippon
harry.rippon@ofcom.org.uk
0300 123 1795
Add to Your Pages
Most recent headlines
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
30/08/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has adopted its FY 2025 Regulatory Fees Order that establishes the regulatory fee rates for the broadcast stati...
29/08/2025
Australian Red Cross and SBS launch training to help workplaces in the fight aga...
29/08/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
29/08/2025
L3Harris Technologies has concentrated decades of expertise across the entire enterprise to develop affordable and reliable best-of-breed solutions to rapidly c...
29/08/2025
BURBANK, Calif. The CW Network and the Pac-12 Conference have announced a new media rights deal that will extend their broadcast partnership beginning with the ...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK Gracenote has released a new analysis of its global video dataset showing that the number of FAST channels grew nearly 14% from Q1 2025 and 76% since 2...
29/08/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. Harmonic has announced a series of improvements to its live sports streaming solution that the company said will improve fan engagement, protec...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES Fox Corp. and YouTube TV last night announced a renewal of the full portfolio of Fox networks, including Fox News Channel, Fox Business...
29/08/2025
Budapest, Hungary, August 2025 - The integration of Microsoft Teams Rooms (MTR) with Lightware's Taurus universal matrix switchers delivers a new level of f...
29/08/2025
Frequency, the engine behind many of the world's best-known streaming television channels, today announced it will launch Studio Live, a next-generation uni...
29/08/2025
In an era when AI and cyber resilience are essential, Scality will mark the 10th anniversary of Scality Day on October 16, 2025 in Paris. This flagship global e...
29/08/2025
Disguise's In-House Creative and Technical Teams Pre-Visualised, Programmed and Delivered Content for the Experience, All Powered by EX 3+
Technology solu...
29/08/2025
Disguise will be demonstrating the latest workflows for TV, film and live events on a number of partner booths at the show
Disguise, the industry-leading tech...
29/08/2025
STOCKHOLM, Sweden Accedo will showcase Accedo Compose, its AI agent-powered modular orchestration layer that assists streaming providers in transitioning client...
29/08/2025
LOS ANGELES Cineverse has announced that it is working with Xperi to bring four of its streaming channels to automobiles for the first time as part of the DTS A...
29/08/2025
DALLAS & ATLANTA Gray Media has announced an agreement with the sports streaming service Victory+ to simulcast 17 Dallas Stars NHL games in 15 television market...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK AND CULVER CITY Comcast NBCUniversal and Amazon have announced new and extended distribution agreements that will expand the content available on their...
29/08/2025
FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif. RED Digital Cinema will feature its Cine-Broadcast Module supporting live broadcast workflows during IBC2025, Sept. 12-15, at the RAI Ams...
29/08/2025
29 Aug 2025
Kyivstar Rings Opening Bell at Nasdaq Marking Landmark Listing and ...
29/08/2025
More than half of all NFL games live on Sky for the first timeFriday 29 August 2025
Sky Sports has announced a new three-year deal with the NFL, extending its ...
29/08/2025
Back to All News
RIV4LRIES: The Trailer of the New Series With Samuele Carrino ...
29/08/2025
Get ready for an inspiring and emotional insight into the world of competitive Irish dancing with My Story: Tomi Champion of the World airing on RT 2 this monda...
29/08/2025
RT has today announced that David McCullagh is to be the new presenter of RT Radio 1's flagship Today programme, which airs every weekday at 10am, replaci...
28/08/2025
By Kristin Feeley, Director, Documentary Film & Artist Programs
If you want to tell untold stories, if you want to give voice to the voiceless, you've got ...
28/08/2025
Directed by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, Sundance Institute-supported Amer...
28/08/2025
Corridos have been a cornerstone of M sica Mexicana for generations, telling stories rooted in everyday life. Now, a new chapter is taking shape: motivational c...
28/08/2025
Los corridos han sido un pilar de la M sica Mexicana durante generaciones, contando historias enraizadas en la vida cotidiana. Ahora, un nuevo cap tulo est tom...
28/08/2025
Earlier this month, we promised our Verano Forever party would bring the heat, a...
28/08/2025
L3Harris will provide the Polish F-16V fleet with the Viper Shield electronic warfare system as part of an upgrade program....
28/08/2025
Bilbao, August 26, 2025 - AgileTV, an international television and video technol...
28/08/2025
Ken Wilkinson is an Emmy Awards nominated New York audio engineer who specialises in production sound mixing for film, commercial, episodic and documentary work...
28/08/2025
NEW YORK FuboTV today announced that it will launch Fubo Sports, a skinny bundle that focuses on sports with a subscription price of $56 monthly....
28/08/2025
NEVADA City, Calif. At IBC2025, Sept. 12-15 at the RAI Amsterdam, Telestream will debut its new Global Ingest strategy, introducing a next-generation ingest arc...
28/08/2025
Dr. Rhoda Bernard Releases Groundbreaking Debut Book on Accessible Arts Educatio...
28/08/2025
TAG Video Systems, the leader in software-based IP end-to-end workflow monitoring, deep probing, and real-time visualization, has named Oliver Gappa as Sales Di...
28/08/2025
AI-based voice enhancement will be among a series of innovations making their IBC 2025 debut on the DHD stand B46 in Hall 8 at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Cent...
28/08/2025
Telef nica Servicios Audiovisuales (TSA), the leading system integrator and service provider in the media sector in Spain, with the support of Appear, the globa...
28/08/2025
To fully immerse sailing fans in the world's biggest offshore yacht race, production company, Optical Media turned to LiveU's On-site Production solutio...
28/08/2025
Working with Calrec on its most recent overhaul, radio and television broadcaster, WNED has migrated to a fully IP infrastructure with multiple Type R consoles,...
28/08/2025
Cleeng, the Subscriber Retention Management (SRM ) inventor, has unveiled Cleeng Pro, the first-ever direct-to-consumer (D2C) subscription management platform t...
28/08/2025
Zixi, the industry leader in live broadcast-quality video over IP, today announced that French media distribution platform OKAST has selected Zixi to enable rel...
28/08/2025
Solution offers a streamlined, speaker-free architecture to optimize integration with premium external loudspeakers and advanced loudness metering
Nixer Pro Au...
28/08/2025
Cinegy, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, has announced a strategic partnership with Vision One Touch Film Production Services L.L...
28/08/2025
Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, will debut its new Global Ingest strategy at IBC2025, introducing a next-generation ingest architect...
28/08/2025
Tier 1 operator selects Broadpeak to power high-performance, unified CDN solution across Norway, Sweden and Finland
Broadpeak, a leader in streaming and moneti...
28/08/2025
Leading video software provider, Synamedia, today announced that 24 Frames Digital, one of India's leading live event streaming service providers, has chose...
28/08/2025
Meet VisualOn at IBC2025: See What's Next in AI-Powered Video Streaming Join VisualOn at IBC2025 and discover how our AI-driven Optimizer and advanced media...
Clear, honest information before you buy broadband Add to Your Pages 
