Ofcom Rules Openreach Must Repair Faults Within Two Days

27th June 2014

Commenting on Ofcom's ruling that Openreach must repair the majority of phone and broadband faults within two days, and that most customers requiring a new line must receive an appointment within 12 working days or face sanctions, Ewan Taylor-Gibson, broadband expert at uSwitch.com says: "Today's news that Ofcom is cracking the whip on Openreach is very welcome. Anyone who has waited for their broadband or phone to be fixed for weeks on end would have felt at the mercy of their provider, whilst paying for a service they couldn't use.

"Broadband is increasingly considered an essential utility. With more and more people working from home, good broadband connectivity is no longer seen as a luxury, but vital for people's livelihoods as well as education, and even has an effect on house prices.

“Ofcom setting its sights on improving line repairs and installations is good news for consumers. Slashing the time it takes for this to be done should alleviate any worries people have about losing their connections while switching providers. It will also lay to rest customers' fears of living without internet connections while waiting for an engineer to repair faults with their lines."