Ofcom fines broadband firm for putting up 15-metre metal pole on residential street
Wireless broadband group IX Wireless has been fined £7,500 for installing an unsightly 15-metre metal pole in a suburb in Rochdale.
In a statement on Wednesday (4 November), telecoms regulator Ofcom said that IXW contravened Regulation 3(3)(a) of the Electronic Communications Code.
“Our investigation was opened following the receipt of a complaint regarding the installation of a 15m piece of metal apparatus (the ‘Apparatus’) on a residential street in Rochdale in September 2023 (the ‘Site’). Our investigation has focused on what the intended use of the Apparatus was and what options IXW had for achieving this purpose, other than installing the Apparatus.
“We have found that in relation to the installation of the Apparatus, IXW contravened Regulation 3(3)(a) by failing, so far as reasonably practicable, to minimise the impact on visual amenity of properties,” said Ofcom.
Notably, Ofcom found that at the time of installation IXW had not decided whether the Apparatus would deliver GPON, wireless network access, or both, and did not consider the impact of this on visual amenity.
This led to the installation of the pole which had a greater impact on visual amenity than was necessary, it said.
“As a result, we are imposing a financial penalty of £7,500 on IXW. This penalty was set having regard to the statutory limit of £10,000 per contravention, as well as our Penalty Guidelines and reflects several factors.
“This includes that Ofcom considers this to be a serious breach of Regulation 3(3)(a), in particular due to: (i) the potential harm caused to residents local to the Site; and (ii) the duration the Apparatus was in place for and that, for the majority of this period, IXW knew that the Apparatus would not be providing a wireless service.”
