Harriet Haman today criticised the Government's complacency:
- On broadband rollout, where the Government schedule has slipped;
- On mobile coverage where targets will not be met;
- On digital inclusion where there is no effective plan; and
- On consumer protection and child protection where actions are too little, slowly.
Ms Harman announced a consumer-friendly package of measures for the telecoms market which Labour will support in Government. These measures will help consumers benefit from competitive pricing and better services. The package covers:
- Action to make switching easier across the market by moving to the practice of the new provider running the process for products such as mobiles packages, pay TV and multiple-product communications packages where this is not currently the case, as they are incentivised to make it happen more efficiently;
- Strengthening Ofcom by ensuring that legal challenges to its decisions are not frustrated by the length of legal process nor by disproportionate costs;
- Action on nuisance calls by making it easier to serve penalties on companies making them and making caller listing mandatory in most cases; and
- Acting on the costs of mobile calls, and encouraging investment in 4G roll-out through amendments to the Electronic Communications Code as recommended by the Law Commission.