UK comms regulator Ofcom is proposing to grant an earth station network licence to Amazon Kuiper Services Europe SARL (Kuiper) for its non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellite system, which is also known as ‘Kuiper’. This would authorise it to deploy user terminals (the dishes and antennas used by customers to connect to an NGSO satellite system) […]

More than 97 per cent of UK homes could have access to gigabit-capable broadband by 2027, if communications providers deploy their networks as planned, according to data published by comms regulator Ofcom. Since 2018, availability of full-fibre broadband in the UK has increased from 6 per cent to more than 60 per cent, and average […]

Content creators on Twitch are labelling mature content much more accurately after the platform changed its content classification guidelines in June 2023, according to an evaluation of the measure by Ofcom. Content creators on the streaming platform must now apply content classification labels to tell viewers if the content they are about to watch contains […]

Ofcom recently published its Media Nations report, which looks at the UK’s media landscape and how people across the country use and consume media across a range of platforms. The main findings show that younger audiences are watching less broadcast TV, while, overall, radio listening is on the rise. The report also highlights a number […]

For the first time, less than half of 16-24-year-olds (Gen Z) are now watching broadcast TV in an average week, according to Ofcom’s annual study into the nation’s media habits. Just 48 per cent of young audiences tuned in during an average week last year, down from 76 per cent in 2018. Children aged 4-15 […]

The user-safety practices of tech firms will be put under the spotlight under draft transparency reporting plans announced by Ofcom. Under the Online Safety Act, ‘categorised services’, which include some of the most widely used social media and search services, are required to produce transparency reports at least annually. This means that, for the first […]

Ofcom has published the latest figures for complaints it received about the UK’s major mobile, broadband and pay-TV providers. These figures cover the first quarter of 2024, from January to March. During that time, complaints fell compared to the previous quarter – complaints about fixed broadband, pay-TV and landlines all fell while complaints about mobile services […]

Ofcom has published its initial findings on the local media landscape in the UK. Given the range of duties that Ofcom has relevant to local media, the media regulator says that “it is important that we maintain an up-to-date understanding of this rapidly changing sector”. Ofcom therefore launched a two-stage review of local media at […]

Ofcom has fined TikTok £1.875 million (€2.1m) for failing to accurately respond to a formal request for information about its parental controls safety feature. Ofcom explains that it  sought information from video-sharing platforms under regulations that pre-date the UK’s Online Safety Act, to inform a planned report highlighting the safety measures they have in place […]

Ofcom research has found that 43 per cent of people aged 16+ say they have seen at least one deepfake online in the last six months – rising to 50 per cent among children aged 8-15. Among adults who say they have seen deepfake content, one in seven (14 per cent) say they have seen […]