{"id":376,"date":"2008-12-08T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2008-12-08T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mhgoldberg.com\/blog\/?p=376"},"modified":"2008-12-08T07:00:00","modified_gmt":"2008-12-08T07:00:00","slug":"the-uk-isp-transparency-code","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mhgoldberg.com\/blog\/?p=376","title":{"rendered":"The UK ISP transparency code"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ofcom.org.uk\/telecoms\/ioi\/copbb\/copbb\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;\" alt=\"Ofcom\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ofcom.org.uk\/images\/furniture\/logo_ofcom\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a>Ofcom, the UK regulator, has <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ofcom.org.uk\/telecoms\/ioi\/copbb\/copbb\/\">published<\/a> a voluntary code of practice for ISPs in describing broadband speeds. ISPs that agree to adhere to the code are <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ofcom.org.uk\/telecoms\/ioi\/copbb\/list\/\">listed<\/a> on the Ofcom website.<\/p>\n<p>The agency has also produced a consumer guide [<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gstconferences.com\/pdf.gif\" \/> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ofcom.org.uk\/advice\/guides\/bbspeeds.pdf\">pdf<\/a>, 252 KB] describing the highlights, including an explanation that ISP fair usage policies can result in restrictions on speeds and capacities.<\/p>\n<p>Ofcom acknowledges network management by ISPs, but requires disclosure as part of its code: <\/p>\n<blockquote style=\"font-size: 85%; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); text-align: justify;\"><p>39. Where ISPs apply traffic management and shaping policies, they should publish on their website, in a clear and easily accessible form, information on the restrictions applied. This should include the types of applications, services and protocols that are affected and specific information on peak traffic periods. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>No prohibition on ISPs acting on the basis of applications, services and protocols: ISPs that sign up to the Ofcom code are required to disclose how they act on the data stream.<\/p>\n<p>Most Canadian ISPs would qualify under these very loose guidelines. For example, I decided to visit the fair use pages of a few of the ISPs listed by Ofcom.<\/p>\n<p>AOL&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/help.aol.co.uk\/fair-use-policy-for-aol-broadband\/article\/20070129054109990002?n=collection&amp;p=Conditions%20of%20Service%20help_portal&amp;c=help_portal\">disclosure<\/a> allows them a lot of freedom in responding to network management concerns: <\/p>\n<blockquote style=\"font-size: 85%; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); text-align: justify;\"><p>If a Member&#8217;s usage exceeds what AOL Broadband deems fair and reasonable for a residential broadband service, speed-limiting restrictions may be applied during peak hours (typically evenings) in the first instance. We&#8217;ll also be in contact with Members whose usage is deemed excessive with advice and recommendations of how to reduce usage.<\/p>\n<p>If usage continues to be very high, we may reluctantly give a Member notice that their account will be terminated. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>O2&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.o2.co.uk\/termsconditions\/broadband\">Fair Use Policy<\/a> has maintained its own discretion in determining what usage is considered excessive: <\/p>\n<blockquote style=\"font-size: 85%; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); text-align: justify;\"><p>There is no limit on the monthly network usage. However if we feel that your activities are so excessive that other customers are detrimentally affected, we may give you a written warning (by email or otherwise). In extreme circumstances, if the levels of activity do not immediately decrease after the warning, we may terminate or suspend your Services. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>As the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.crtc.gc.ca\/archive\/ENG\/Notices\/2008\/pt2008-19.htm\">CRTC reviews network management practices<\/a> for ISPs, will it develop similar consumer guides and codes?<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: rgb(51, 204, 0);font-size:78%;\">Technorati Tags:<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/technorati.com\/tag\/traffic+shaping\" rel=\"tag\">traffic shaping<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/technorati.com\/tag\/fair+use\" rel=\"tag\">fair use<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/technorati.com\/tag\/Ofcom\" rel=\"tag\">Ofcom<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/technorati.com\/tag\/CRTC\" rel=\"tag\">CRTC<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/technorati.com\/tag\/network+management\" rel=\"tag\">network management<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ofcom, the UK regulator, has published a voluntary code of practice for ISPs in describing broadband speeds. ISPs that agree to adhere to the code are listed on the Ofcom website. The agency has also produced a consumer guide [ pdf, 252 KB] describing the highlights, including an explanation that ISP fair usage policies can &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/mhgoldberg.com\/blog\/?p=376\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">The UK ISP transparency code<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","two_page_speed":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-376","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The UK ISP transparency code &#8226; Telecom Trends<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ofcom, the UK regulator, has published a voluntary code of practice for ISPs in describing broadband speeds. ISPs that agree to adhere to the code are &#8226; December 8, 2008\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mhgoldberg.com\/blog\/?p=376\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The UK ISP transparency code &#8226; Telecom Trends\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ofcom, the UK regulator, has published a voluntary code of practice for ISPs in describing broadband speeds. ISPs that agree to adhere to the code are &#8226; December 8, 2008\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/mhgoldberg.com\/blog\/?p=376\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Telecom Trends\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2008-12-08T07:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.ofcom.org.uk\/images\/furniture\/logo_ofcom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark Goldberg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@mark_goldberg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@mark_goldberg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mark Goldberg\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mhgoldberg.com\\\/blog\\\/?p=376#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mhgoldberg.com\\\/blog\\\/?p=376\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Mark Goldberg\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mhgoldberg.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3fb9ac7e53dc710f23be648a3b1ab4d7\"},\"headline\":\"The UK ISP transparency code\",\"datePublished\":\"2008-12-08T07:00:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mhgoldberg.com\\\/blog\\\/?p=376\"},\"wordCount\":377,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mhgoldberg.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mhgoldberg.com\\\/blog\\\/?p=376#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.ofcom.org.uk\\\/images\\\/furniture\\\/logo_ofcom\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/mhgoldberg.com\\\/blog\\\/?p=376#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mhgoldberg.com\\\/blog\\\/?p=376\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mhgoldberg.com\\\/blog\\\/?p=376\",\"name\":\"The UK ISP transparency code &#8226; Telecom Trends\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mhgoldberg.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mhgoldberg.com\\\/blog\\\/?p=376#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mhgoldberg.com\\\/blog\\\/?p=376#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.ofcom.org.uk\\\/images\\\/furniture\\\/logo_ofcom\",\"datePublished\":\"2008-12-08T07:00:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"Ofcom, the UK regulator, has published a voluntary code of practice for ISPs in describing broadband speeds. 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