Office of Communications

1. OFCOM
B Y S A D I E Q U I N N

2. WHAT IS OFCOM?
• ‘OFCOM’ stands for the ‘Office of communications’. In welsh this is ‘Y Swyddfa
Gyfathrebiadau’.
• OFCOM is the government-approved regulatory and is essentially the primary
authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United
Kingdom.
• ‘Some of the main areas Ofcom presides over are licensing, research, codes and
policies, complaints, competition and protecting the radio spectrum from abuse (e.g.
pirate radio stations).’- Wikipedia.

3. WHEN WAS IT ESTABLISHED?
• The creation of Ofcom was announced in the Queen's Speech to the UK parliament in June
2001.
• The regulator was established by the Office of Communications Act in 2002 and had full
authority by 2003.
• OFCOM officially launched on 29 December 2003.
• It took over the responsibilities of five previously dominant regulatory institutions:
 the Broadcasting Standards Commission,
 the Independent Television Commission,
 the Office of Telecommunications (Oftel),
 the Radio Authority, and
 the Radiocommunications Agency.

4. WHAT DO THEY DO?
• OFCOM are essentially responsible for ensuring that all forms of media and postal
institutions abide by a particular set of rules.
• These rules make sure that producers and presenters keep their media outlet as
legitimate as possible and do not insult or disturb any members of the public.
• What OFCOM do, according to their website:

5. ANNUAL PLAN
• Each year, OFCOM publish an ‘annual plan’- essentially a list of what the would like to
achieve and what the rules are each year:
• http://www.ofcom.org.uk/content/about/annual-reports-plans/ann-
plans/Annual_Plan_Statement.pdf

6. DETAILS
Formation 29th December 2003
Type Statutory corporation
Legal status Created through Office of Communications Act
2002
Headquarters Riverside House, 2a Southwark Bridge Road,
London SE1 9HA
Purpose and focus Regulator and competition authority for
broadcasting, telecommunications and radio
communications spectrum
Locations London, Belfast, Cardiff, Caterham, Newton-le-
Willows, Glasgow
Region served United Kingdom
Official languages English and Welsh