“The independent regulator and competition authority for the communication industries in the United Kingdom”

1. “The independent regulator and
competition authority for the
communication industries in the United
Kingdom”

2. A statutory corporation created by the Communication Act 2002
The purpose and focus is to regulate and act as a competition authority for
broadcasting, telecommunications and radio communications spectrum.
This is mainly the first body of authority that people will go to in order to file a
complaint about something which they have taken offence to on the television,
radio, or a potential problem that has occurred while participating in a
competition.
They also deal with the licences for radio stations in order for them to play
music.

3. Responsibilities
It has a statutory duty to further the interests of citizens and consumers by promoting
competition and protecting consumers from harmful or offensive material.
Ofcom doesn’t just deal with complaints, they deal with licensing, creating codes
and policies, undertaking research, this goes along with dealing with complaints and
looking into competitions.
Areas of regulation: Telecoms
Radio
Broadcasts

4. Consultations
Ofcom views consultations to be an important influence to making the right decision
based upon the right evidence.
The formal process of consultation starts with Ofcom publishing a document (published
on their website) requiring views and responses.
Ofcom will then usually allow a period of ten weeks for interested persons, companies or
organizations to read the document and send in their responses. After this ten week
period, they will normally publish all of the responses on their website (excluding any
which are marked by the respondent as confidential).
Once the consultation is closed, a summary of responses is produced and they may use
this as the basis of their decisions.

5. Programme
Complaints
Their duty is to examine specific complaints
by the viewers or listeners of that
programme. Once they have received the
complaint they ask the broadcaster for a copy
of the programme, and then examine it to see
whether it has breached the broadcasting
code. They also require a response from the
broadcaster about the complaint.
Previous Complaints:
•The fifth series of Celebrity BB;
involving racial abuse between Shilpa
Shetty and Jade Goodey . This was
Ofcom's highest ever complaints
response, and higher than that of any
other media regulator.
Licensing
This is their responsibility for the management,
regulation, assignment and licensing of the
electromagnetic spectrum in the UK. The licensing is
for use in TV and radio broadcasts, mobile phone
transmissions, private communications networks and
others like it.
The way in which the licence is processed depends
on what type of usage required. Some licences need
to be applied and paid for where as others may be
subjected a bidding process.

6. “Ofcom has received a number of complaints about the
current series of Big Brother, broadcast on Channel 4.
Ofcom is aware of viewer concerns and the issues raised
by complainants. Ofcom is currently monitoring the
situation and will decide on whether to launch an
investigation. Please note that we will not be able to
respond to individual complaints. To let us know your
views you can register your complaint on our system.”
Recent Decisions
“We welcome T-Mobile’s decision to cut data roaming
charges and the cost of texting whilst abroad. In January
I urged industry take the initiative on this issue, warning
that the cost of sending texts from abroad was too high
and that charges for data roaming discourage its use
whilst abroad.
Consumers will benefit from this decision as the summer
holiday season begins. This is an important first step
towards ensuring that mobile operators introduce fair
and transparent pricing for all consumers whilst
abroad. I encourage the mobile operators to continue to
address this issue and act in the interests of their
customers.”
ITV and the BBC will be sharing coverage of
Euro 2008. All of the matches which they will be
showing will be on ITV1 and BBC One except
for four in the earlier stages of the tournament
which clash with other matches on the same
evening and which will therefore be shown on
ITV or BBC digital channels.
Ofcom has informed ITV plc this morning that it is
imposing a fine totaling £5,675,000 for some of the most
serious breaches of Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code
concerning the abuse of premium rate services (PRS) in
its programming.
The programmes involved : Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night
Takeaway ,Soapstar Superstar, Ant & Dec’s Gameshow
Marathon and ITV2+1.