Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Several large British business groups have called on the UK communications regulator to establish an automatic compensation scheme for companies affected by broadband outages, a move they argue will boost the country’s economic growth and productivity. The British Chambers of Commerce, the Federation of Small Businesses and Institute of Directors said in a letter to Ofcom and seen by the Financial Times that improved network resilience and fewer disruptions would “deliver significant productivity benefits to the UK economy”.“Supporting businesses to increase productivity and economic growth is critical, and solutions which drive improvements in UK connectivity infrastructure will play an important role in achieving this,” they wrote in the letter, which was sent to Ofcom chief executive Dame Melanie Dawes on Friday.It added connectivity was a “key enabler of economic growth”, the loss of which has a “significant impact on productivity”.The signatories cited recent research commissioned by Vorboss, an internet provider for London businesses — which sent the letter on the business groups’ behalf — that found 51 per cent of UK fixed business connectivity customers experienced at least one outage in the past year, with 61 per cent of businesses not receiving any compensation. Some telecoms groups already provide compensation for disrupted service to a certain degree but formal regulation around this only applies to small businesses that use residential services, in addition to a requirement that companies provide “clear and accessible information” on service levels and potential compensation for SMEs. BT has a compensation scheme for SMEs while larger business and public sector customers have individual contractual agreements. It said it has “clear compensation terms for when things do go wrong from time to time”. Virgin Media O2 said it has contractual provisions that cover “remedies and recourse for any issues that may arise” for businesses customers. Vodafone UK said it offered compensation for business customers on a “case-by-case basis”, as does Three UK. Three UK did not respond to a request for comment. Ofcom said: “We constantly keep the market under review, and we continue to engage with businesses about their needs.”The regulator has already introduced a voluntary automatic compensation scheme for residential customers, which also covers some small businesses that use residential services. It plans to publish final guidance on how UK telecoms companies can reduce the risk of network outages soon. The request by the businesses groups is also supported by the Mayor of London’s office. Theo Blackwell, chief digital officer, said the quality of internet services in London was “critically important to growth”. He added Ofcom had a key responsibility and opportunity as the regulator “to increase business productivity by promoting quality-based competition” among providers. Vorboss in April also wrote to Ofcom to ask that it considered whether an automatic compensation scheme was “an appropriate remedy” in the fixed line business connectivity market, in correspondence seen by the FT. It added the company would from that point onwards implement automated compensation for its own customers.The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology was contacted for comment.
