New Ofcom Market bands announced

[x47c]

Quote from: Anotherone

So what's wrong with emailing customers on exchanges whose classifications have been changed?

Probably for the same reason that:
Tesco's/Sainsburys/M&S don't email me to tell me I could buy a cheaper version of whatever I'm buying.
Gas/Electric companies don't email me that I can move to a cheaper tarrif.
Insurance companies don't tell me I could move to a cheaper house/contents/car/life whatever policy.
Banks/building societies don't tell me that I can move my savings to a higher paying account.
Builders/plumbers don't pass on trade discounts to their customers.
..and nor do we tell our business customers that they can have product/service cheaper or even that we are selling the same product to another corporate customer for a lower price. 
This is not the way the world works. 
It is up to customers to keep on top of things to avoid being taken advantage of.  You will often find the financial directors of businesses don't like canny customers who do keep on top of things, but they really really like those who do nothing.....hence the savings accounts earning 0.1% interest.
Sad to say in the end it's up to you of how you value/cost your time of keeping on top of this sort of thing vs either instead earning money or perhaps sitting in the sun in the deckchair.

[stuck]

Quote from: Joanne

Hi pint, Quote from: pint at the moment im looking to save some money, and talk talk prices are certainly extremly tempting, with no sign that plunsent are willing to compete. I'm sure if it came to that our customer options team would do what they could for you. Jojo :)

This thread has prompted me to look again at the classification of my exchange.  It appears that like the ones referred to by Paxy & Pint a few posts up, TalkTalk joined the party in recent months (Dec 2011 in my case) but because OFCOM haven't reviewed market status since then it remains in the top rate Market 1 band.
Look like I better ask Plus what they can do for me as well.
stuck

[pint]

Ive been doing a little bit of digging around, trying to find out if/when the next Offcom market review is due, and it appears that the last one was in December 2010, and apparently thats it no more reviews are due.
apparently its now up to the ISPs to make a request to offcom to change the market classification for an exchange.(??)
As the only benefactors in this are plusnet ( asd they charge more) and their wholesalers BT ( who can also charge more) and as plusnet are owned by BT, is this why there is a distinct lack of momentum to get things changed?
This has been on the Samknows website for some time...

Quote

AOL: Not available O2 / Be: Not available C&W: Not available Digital Region: Not available Edge Telecom: Not available Entanet: Not available KC (Kingston): Not available Lumison: Not available NewNet: Not available Node4: Not available Pipex: Not available Rutland Telecom: Not available Sky / Easynet: Not available Smallworld: Not available TalkTalk (CPW): Enabled Tiscali: Not available Tiscali TV: Not available WB Internet: Not available Zen Internet: Not available

which should mean market 2 ( and lower prices) but this is the status and it appears that it will be stuck like that for now and evermore,

Quote

Ofcom Classification: Market 1 This exchange has BT Wholesale as the sole provider of broadband services

which somewhat contradicts the above

Quote

TalkTalk (CPW): Enabled

[ReedRichards]

The whole system of pricing based on "Market Classification" but "Market Classification" not subject to review at some predefined interval of time seems grossly unfair.  I would happily lodge a complaint to the regulator but since the complaint is about Ofcom, who regulates Ofcom?  Is there an Ofof to regulate the regulators?

[James]

The government?
I think the data is review every 3 years.

[paxy]

Any news on the new consultation process which was due to be announced?

[James]

I'm not aware of one?

[davidj66]

This reclassification is of interest to me because my Market 1 exchange has now had Sky/Easynet enabled - I've just been phoned back by Sky who have confirmed that I can move my phone/b/band to their equipment - but the saving is relatively modest and  less than if I stayed with Plusnet on the cheaper Market2/3 b/band rate!!
EDIT -Thinking about it - it could be a double edged sword - isn't it true that public funds under this latest Govt. initiative (BDUK??) will only be spent in Market 1 areas??

[WWWombat]

Quote from: davidj60

EDIT -Thinking about it - it could be a double edged sword - isn't it true that public funds under this latest Govt. initiative (BDUK??) will only be spent in Market 1 areas??

BDUK funding is a split thing anyway, where some of the funding is aimed at getting around 90% onto superfast broadband, and the rest aimed at getting a minimum of 2Mbps to everyone else.
Ofcom's last split put around 12% of the population on market 1, 10% on market 2, and 77% on market 3. A crude guess would suggest that markets 2 and 3 will get the "superfast" portion, and market 1 will get the "min 2Mbps" portion. I'm sure the real answer won't be that crude, but it is a starting point for discussion.

[davidj66]

That would seem to be very unfair and illogical - because a LOT of Market 2/3 consumers have already  got "superfast" b/band  via Virgin cable/BT fibre/ADSL2+ ??

[prichardson]

Unfortunately superfast broadband doesn't actually influence the market classification.
Superfast is mostly unregulated at this time, in part to allow an element of free reign to deploy and pretty much encourage it. The only element of regulation in the undertakings is that Openreach must continue to allow other CPs access to this superfast network, which is what others including Sky are doing right now.
This could well be set to change in the future as Openreach gain significant market power.

[WWWombat]

It might appear unfair & illogical (especially if you are outside the target areas), but it makes sound business sense - go where your customers are, and where you can compete on a decent pricing level. It also makes sense that the 1st subsidised funding helps build outwards from the existing core.
The areas that Virgin don't want to go to are expensive to service - which is precisely why they don't go there. IIRC, Virgin are somewhere around 50% - and have no money to further build out, and appear to have no desire to either. My (previous) estate of 200 properties, dating from 1996, is fully surrounded by Virgin, but they've never chosen to come & infill there (either as Virgin, or as the original NTL). You have to ask why - my opinion is that they have no real *ambition*.
Thankfully the counties & districts have a better ambition. While many have taken the BDUK (and EU) funding (because that helps improve their local provision) and accepted the BDUK targets for that funding, they haven't just stopped there. For example, Surrey have targetted near 100% by 2013 and put more of their own money in (probably an extra £10-15m). Leicestershire have the BDUK targets for 2015, but then targetted 100% for 2017. North Yorkshire (with very sparse rural areas) has only specified the BDUK targets (but for 2014), but seems to be aiming at community-based projects to help cover more of the last 10%.
Consider BDUK as just the next step in the journey, not the end result. And every step taken in the journey makes it just a tiny bit more likely that the end becomes reachable.

[davidj66]

I understand the lack of a business case for the ISPs to expand in the more rural Market 1 areas. I must admit I was amazed when I heard that Sky were installing their kit in our little exchange of ~ 1500 lines. It's just very frustrating living ~2 miles from another exchange which is supplied by the 3 major LLU players plus Virgin (partly) and is now being "fibreised" at a rate of knots. Lets hope some of the funding allows my exchange to be upgraded soon otherwise I will be forced to take up Sky's offer !!

[ReedRichards]

Quote from: davidj60

- isn't it true that public funds under this latest Govt. initiative (BDUK??) will only be spent in Market 1 areas??

I don't know if this is true but I went to a presentation by BT where they said they have no plans to make FTTC available at Market 1 exchanges.  Whether this makes good business sense is debatable.  Although getting the government to subsidise your business, as BT have, must be good.   

[Anotherone]

How long ago did they say that Reed?