Ofcom's logo

The Office of Communications, usually known as Ofcom, is the UK's communications regulator. ImageMetadata File history File links Logo_300dpi_35mm-1-.jpg Ofcom logo File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Logo_300dpi_35mm-1-.jpg Ofcom logo File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

Introduction

Ofcom was designed to be a 'super regulator', required in an age where many media platforms are converging. Ofcom was initially established in the Office of Communications Act 2002, but received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003. On December 29, 2003, Ofcom inherited the duties that had previously been the responsibility of five regulatory bodies: Technological convergence is the modern presence of a vast array of different types of technology to perform very similar tasks. ... See also the Communications Act 2003 (Nigeria). ... December 29 is the 363rd day of the year (364th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 2 days remaining. ... 2003(MMIII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

• the Broadcasting Standards Commission
• the Independent Television Commission
• the Office of Telecommunications (Oftel)
• the Radio Authority
• the Radiocommunications Agency

The inaugural chairman of Ofcom is David Currie, Dean of Cass Business School at City University and a life peer under the title Lord Currie of Marylebone. Its chief executive Stephen Carter was formerly a senior executive of J Walter Thompson UK and NTL. The Office of Communications, usually known as Ofcom, is the UKs communications regulator. ... The ITC has been superseded as the British commercial television regulator by Ofcom (the Office of Communications). ... Ofcoms logo The Office of Communications, usually known as Ofcom, is the UKs communications regulator. ... Oftel has been superseded as the British telecommunications regulator by Ofcom (the Office of Communications). ... The Office of Communications, usually known as Ofcom, is the UKs communications regulator. ... The Radiocommunications Agency has been superseded as the British non-military radio spectrum regulator by Ofcom (the Office of Communications). ... Major David Vivian Currie, V.C. (8 July 1912 - 20 June 1986) was a soldier in the Canadian Army and later the Sergeant-at-Arms in the Canadian House of Commons. ... City University is a British University, based at Northampton Square in Clerkenwell, London, England. ... In the United Kingdom, Life Peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles may not be inherited (those whose titles are inheritable are known as hereditary peers). ... NTL (NASDAQ: NTLI) is a US listed company providing cable services. ...

The short form of the name is given as OFCOM (all capitals) in the Communications Act 2003, which established the Office of Communications. Ofcom itself uses the mixed case form seen here, which is also the more widespread in the media.

Ofcom's main office is at Riverside House, 2a, Southwark Bridge Road, Southwark, London SE1 9HA. The Borough of Southwark(e) (pronounced ) is the area of London immediately south of London Bridge and part of the larger London Borough of Southwark. ... The clock tower of the Palace of Westminster, which contains Big Ben London is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England. ...

Duties

Ofcom's duties are wide-ranging, covering all manner of industries and processes. It has a statutory duty to further the interests of citizens and consumers by promoting competiton and protecting consumers from harm or offensive material.

Some of the main things which Ofcom preside over are licensing, undertaking research, creating codes and policies, dealing with complaints and looking into competition. Ofcom has also become well known for its tendency to issue lots and lots of consultations (there was even a consultation on the consultations). However, this is the way Ofcom intends to run its business, being more open, accountable, and receptive to public and industry comments. Research is an active, diligent, and systematic process of inquiry in order to discover, interpret or revise facts, events, behaviours, or theories, or to make practical applications with theis also used to describe a collection of information about a particular subject. ...

Consultations

Ofcom considers consultations to be a vital way of helping it to make the right decisions based upon the right evidence. Ofcom's formal process of consultation starts with their publishing a document (all of which are published on their website), asking for views and responses. If the document is long and complicated, Ofcom will usually publish a plain English summary. Plain English focuses on being a flexible and efficient writing style that readers can understand in one reading. ...

Ofcom will then usually allow a period of ten weeks for interested persons, companies or organisations to read the document and send in their responses. After this ten week period, Ofcom will normally publish all of the responses on their website (excluding any which are marked by the respondent as confidential).

After the consultation has closed, Ofcom will prepare a summary of the responses, and may use this as a basis for some of their decisions. [1]

Programme Complaints

As the regulatory body for media broadcasts, part of Ofcom's duties are to examine specific complaints by viewers/listeners about programmes. When Ofcom receives a complaint, it firstly asks the broadcaster for a copy of the programme, and it then examines the programme to see whether it is in breach of the broadcasting code. Ofcom also asks for a response from the broadcaster to the complaint. Considering these, Ofcom will mark the complaint as either upheld or not upheld, or alternatively 'resolved'.

In June 2004, Ofcom, having received complaints from twenty-four viewers, censured Fox News commentator John Gibson for stating that the BBC had “a frothing-at-the-mouth anti-Americanism that was obsessive, irrational and dishonest”, that the BBC “felt entitled to lie and, when caught lying, felt entitled to defend its lying reporters and executives”, that BBC reporter, Andrew Gilligan, had “insisted on air that the Iraqi army was heroically repulsing an incompetent American military”, and that “the BBC, far from blaming itself, insisted its reporter had a right to lie— exaggerate— because, well, the BBC knew that the war was wrong, and anything they could say to underscore that point had to be right”[2]. Ofcom held that these statements were untrue opinions based on false evidence that necessitated that Fox offer the BBC rebuttal time.[3] 2004(MMIV) is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Fox News Channel tells its viewers We Report, You Decide The Fox News Channel is a U.S. cable and satellite news channel. ... John Gibson is the host of the week day show The Big Story on FOX News since 2000. ... Corporate logo of the British Broadcasting Corporation The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is the national broadcaster of the United Kingdom. ... Cover of Anti-Americanism by French author Jean-Francois Revel. ... Andrew Gilligan Andrew Paul Gilligan (born 22 November 1968, Teddington, Middlesex, England) is a journalist best known for his report, while defence and diplomatic correspondent for BBC Radio 4s The Today Programme, about the British Governments dossier on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. ... Iraqi soldiers from the 2nd Iraqi Army Brigade, train on cordon and search procedures at Diyala Regional Training Facility in August 2005. ... US Army Seal The Army is the branch of the United States armed forces which has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ...

Licensing

Ofcom is in charge of a large chunk of the electromagnetic spectrum, and licenses portions of it for use in TV and radio broadcasts, mobile phone transmissions, private communications networks, and so on. The process of licensing varies depending on the type of usage required. Some licenses simply have to be applied for and paid for, others are subject to a bidding process. Most of the procedures in place have been inherited from the systems used by the legacy regulators. However, Ofcom may change some of the processes in future. The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of all possible electromagnetic radiation. ... See TV (disambiguation) for other uses and Television (band) for the rock band European networks National In much of Europe television broadcasting has historically been state dominated, rather than commercially organised, although commercial stations have grown in number recently. ... Legacy could refer to any of the following: Subaru Legacy the rock band Legacy Fedora Legacy Legacy Virus Legacy Challenge Legacy Highway The Legacy In computing and other technological industries, the adjective legacy (see the Wiktionary definition) is often applied to qualify something as being obsolete, discontinued, deprecated, outmoded, superseded...

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The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is a British regulatory body which monitors advertising, ensuring each advert does not breach the Advertising Code, which requires accuracy and decency in advertising. ... The Press Complaints Commission is a British organisation that has regulated printed newspapers and magazines since 1990. ... Shortcut: UK topics This is a list of topics related to the United Kingdom. ... ISPA stands for the Internet Service Providers Association and is the UK trade group for ISPs. ...

External link

• Ofcom website
• OfcomWatch - Ofcom-related blog