Email system provision is unregulated in the UK.

System

But so far I haven't seen any good reason why an email provider would want to jump through the hoops that regulation would require. Would there be enough of a call for a regulated email system to make it worthwhile for a supplier to set up such a system? I think not but that is just my personal view.

How many subscribers would you need to make a regulated email system viable and would the people want to pay for it?

securityguy

vofs007 wrote: »

No I am not saying that. I am saying that email suppliers if they want to have the "regulated" qualification would have to be subject to UK jurisdiction.

So why can't that be achieved by a market solution, in which ISPs form an email ombudsman and sign up to it?

At risk of the old gag about the two economists, one of whom says "there's a ten pound note on the floor" and the other says "no, it can't be, because if it were real someone would have picked it up already", doesn't the fact that no such trade body has arisen tell you something?

vofs007

securityguy wrote: »

So why can't that be achieved by a market solution, in which ISPs form an email ombudsman and sign up to it?

Communications providers offering services to individuals and small businesses (up to 10 employees) must be members of an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Scheme.
Ofcom
http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/2009/12/adr-schemes/

All UK ISPs are either registered with
CISAS
http://www.cisas.org.uk/bHomeb-1_e.html or

Ombudsman Services
http://www.ombudsman-services.org/communications.html

So all UK ISPs already belong to an ADR scheme because they have to be. The ADR scheme includes:
broadband internet including mobile broadband (dongle);
WiFi;
dial up internet;
SMS texting services;

BUT not email services.

Why not ?
Because they are not included in the Communications Act 2003.

It would be a significant step forward if ISPs did as you suggested but encouragement/ coercion from Government seems to be required.

wealdroam

vofs007 wrote: »

It would be a significant step forward if ISPs did as you suggested but encouragement/ coercion from Government seems to be required.

Have you sought support from your MP?

Uxb

I've never worked in a UK regulated industry though I have worked in an industry where the products and more usually their sub-components could if the customer so requested be of an approved regulated type.

The result of this was that

1. customers wanting the regulated version were charged more to reflect our higher costs in dealing with the regulating authority and maintaining approvals.

2. The regulated version was always of an older type with fewer facilities or performance than the unregulated version. This was simply because we could update and change the unregulated version "just like that" but jumping though all the hoops and sorting out the endless paperwork to ensure that the every new version was also regulated was just too much hassle.


Needless to say we used to plead with our customers and their consultants to delete out of the specification the need for such components to be of a regulated type.
I cannot see why regulated email would be any different

Mark_G

No I am not saying that. I am saying that email suppliers if they want to have the "regulated" qualification would have to be subject to UK jurisdiction.

That will never happen

Why would i transfer my email address from one isp to another anyway, i could have abc123@gmail.com move to @bt.com only to find someone has already used abc123@bt.com.
Never had a problem with gmail in the 10+ years i have used the service, spam is caught 99.9% of the time so im happy.

And to the guy who said about keeping mobile numbers for life, ive had my number for 14 years every time i change provider (5 times so far)i just ask for a pac number, so technically yes you could have your number for life

securityguy

Mark_G wrote: »

That will never happen

Why would i transfer my email address from one isp to another anyway, i could have abc123@gmail.com move to @bt.com only to find someone has already used abc123@bt.com.

That's not the suggestion. The suggestion is that mail sent to your previous address would be forwarded to your present address indefinitely.

System

vofs007 wrote: »

It would be a significant step forward if ISPs did as you suggested but encouragement/ coercion from Government seems to be required.

You are missing the point that the majority of mail providers in the UK are not ISPs and also not all ISPs are mail providers.

The clue? There are more domain names in use in the UK than ISPs. If you are using your own domain email address then you will not be, in 99% of the cases, using your ISPs mail servers. In my case, for example, my mail server is in the USA.

ISPs and mail providers are not the same thing. In fact mail providers have been going a lot longer than ISPs

vofs007

!!!!!! wrote: »

You are missing the point that the majority of mail providers in the UK are not ISPs and also not all ISPs are mail providers.

The clue? There are more domain names in use in the UK than ISPs. If you are using your own domain email address then you will not be, in 99% of the cases, using your ISPs mail servers. In my case, for example, my mail server is in the USA.

ISPs and mail providers are not the same thing. In fact mail providers have been going a lot longer than ISPs

The comment was concerned with a particular post re ISPs so your criticism is unfounded and irrelevant.

vofs007

wealdroam wrote: »

Have you sought support from your MP?

Based on recent contact with my MP, I do not think it would be useful to do so at the present time but thank you for the suggestion.