Name	Office of Communications
Size	301px
Abbreviation	Ofcom
Formation	29 December 2003
Type	Statutory corporation
Status	Created by Office of Communications Act 2002
Purpose	Regulator and competition authority for broadcasting, telecommunications and radiocommunications spectrum
Headquarters	Riverside House, 2a Southwark Bridge Road, London SE1 9HA
Location	London, Belfast, Cardiff, Caterham, Glasgow, Newton-le-Willows
Region served	United Kingdom
Language	English, Welsh
Leader title	Chairman
Leader name	Colette Bowe
Main organ	Board
Website	http://www.ofcom.org.uk/ }}

Ofcom (officially the Office of Communications; ) is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act of Parliament 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003. Ofcoms' focus no longer includes some of the technical standards issues overseen by the previous regulatory agencies.

History

On 29 December 2003, Ofcom inherited the duties that had previously been the responsibility of five regulatory bodies:

the Broadcasting Standards Commission,

the Independent Television Commission,

the Office of Telecommunications (Oftel),

the Radio Authority, and

the Radio communications Agency.

News International phone hacking scandal

In July 2011, in the wake of the News International phone hacking scandal, Ofcom came under pressure to launch an inquiry into whether the parent company of News International, News Corporation, was still the "fit and proper" owner of a controlling stake in the satellite broadcasting company British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB). On 13 July former Prime Minister Gordon Brown urged Ofcom to launch an investigation. On 15 July the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg stated that the Government would launch a review of laws on what constituted a "fit and proper" owner for broadcasting companies in the United Kingdom, and that anyone found not to meet that standard can be forced to give up their current holdings in a company. On 22 July it was reported that Ofcom had begun an investigation into whether the phone-hacking scandal may have changed BSkyB's status as the "fit and proper" holder of a UK broadcasting licence. On the same day Ed Richards, the Chief Executive of Ofcom, replied to Simon Hughes MP, Don Foster MP and Tim Farron MP following a letter which they had written to him on 8 July concerning News Corporation's shareholding in BSkyB. In the letter Richards confirmed that Ofcom considers that News Corporation’s current shareholding of 39.14% in BSkyB does give it a material influence over the company; that Ofcom is not precluded from acting by ongoing police investigations; and that Ofcom’s process is not dependent upon a criminal conviction being secured.

Organisation

Responsibilities

Ofcom's responsibilities are wide-ranging, covering all types of industries and processes. It has a statutory duty to the interests of citizens and consumers by promoting competition, and protecting consumers from what might be considers harmful or offensive material. Some of the main areas Ofcom presides over are licensing, research, codes and policies, complaints, competition and protect the radio spectrum from abuse. Ofcom has a policy to undertake many consultation processes.

Consultations

Ofcom consultations are a vital way of helping it to make the correct decisions based upon the evidence presented. Consultation processes begin with publishing documents on its website, asking for views and responses. If the document is perceived to be long and complicated, a plain English summary is usually published as well. A period of ten weeks is allowed for interested persons, companies or organisations to send in their responses to documents.

After this consultation period, Ofcom publishes the responses on their website (excluding any personal or confidential information). When the consultation period has elapsed, Ofcom will prepare a summary of the responses received, and will use this information as a basis for their decisions.

Programme complaints

As the regulatory body for media broadcasts, part of Ofcom's duties are to examine specific complaints by viewers or listeners about programmes broadcast on channels that it has licensed. It does not oversee unlicensed channels broadcast to UK viewers. When Ofcom receives a complaint, it asks the broadcaster for a copy of the programme, it then examines the programme content to see if it is in breach of the broadcasting code. Ofcom requests response from the broadcaster to the complaint. On the basis of this response, Ofcom will mark the complaint as either "upheld" or "not upheld", or alternatively simply "resolved".

Licensing

Ofcom is responsible for the management, regulation, assignment and licensing of the electromagnetic spectrum in the UK, 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 licences simply have to be applied and paid for, other commercial licences are subject to a bidding process. Most of the procedures in place have been inherited from the systems used by the previous regulators. However, Ofcom may change some of these processes in future.

Protection

Ofcom protects the radio spectrum in a number of ways:

Working within International organisations (ITU, CEPT and BEREC).

Licencing UK controlled commercial radio spectrum; Ministry of Defence controls its own spectrum. Within the international frame work for frequency use; Ofcom liaises through the UK Government to produce the UKFAT (UK Frequency Allocation Table). The current table was produced in 2010.

Investigate and, when necessary, carryout enforcement activities to clear interference or illegal use from the spectrum. Until June 2010 Ofcom investigated all interference cases within the UK. However Radio and Television Broadcast interference reporting has reverted to the BBC. So consumers in the UK should report cases of interference to the BBC. However commercial and spectrum licence holders report to Ofcom and in all cases Illegal/Pirate Radio operations are also reported to Ofcom.

Postal services

The Postal Services Act 2011 includes transferring regulatory responsibility from Postcomm to Ofcom, ensuring the primary duty of Ofcom would be to maintain the U.K. 6-day a week postal service. In October 2010 the UK Government confirmed that Ofcom would inherit the functions of Postcomm as part of a wider set of public service austerity measures.

Leadership

Colette Bowe was appointed Ofcom Chairman with effect from 11 March 2009. She is the founding chairman of the Telecoms Ombudsman Council, and chaired Ofcom’s Consumer Panel from its inception in 2003 to December 2007. The current Chief Executive is Ed Richards, who previously was Chief Operating Officer, and is responsible for Strategy, Market Research, Finance, Human Resources and other functions. Richards was Senior Policy Advisor to the Labour party Prime Minister Tony Blair for Media, telecoms, the internet and e-govt and Controller of Corporate Strategy at the BBC.

The first chairman of Ofcom was David Currie, Dean of Cass Business School at City University and a life peer under the title Lord Currie of Marylebone. The first chief executive was Stephen Carter, Baron Carter of Barnes, formerly a senior executive of JWT UK and NTL and now Minister for Communications, Technology and Broadcasting.

In June 2009, Conservative party leader, David Cameron said that if his party were elected, they would restructure Ofcom.

Sitefinder database and freedom of information

"Sitefinder" is an Internet database maintained by Ofcom. This was recommended in the "Stewart Report" to the Government in 2000. It is a recommended voluntary scheme which national mobile network operators provide information about the location and operating characteristics of individual mobile phone base stations (or masts).

In September 2007 an Information Tribunal ruled that the public should have access to the database under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. However, as Ofcom has no legal power to enforce mobile phone operators to add information the database, UK mobile phone operators consequently ceased updating it. Ofcom appealed against the Freedom of Information Act ruling, together with one UK mobile operator - T-Mobile. This has led to accusations of the organisation's complicity with the mobile telecommunications industry in keeping information about mast locations secret. Ofcom's stated reasons for the appeal have ranged from "preventing terrorist attacks" on the sites of phone masts to "protecting the intellectual property" of the mobile telecommunications industry.

In April 2008, the High Court found in favour of the Information Commissioner's Office and overruled Ofcom's objections. It is unclear whether Ofcom intends to appeal against this ruling.

Criticism

Ofcom was criticised for incurring unnecessary expenses to the public purse with the use of "extravagant Thames-side offices" and a "top-heavy salary bill". Also for a "Nero approach" and for "poor service".

In May 2011, Ofcom ruled that Press TV, Iran's English satellite channel, was responsible for a serious breach of UK broadcasting rules and could face a fine for airing an interview with Maziar Bahari, the Newsweek journalist arrested covering the Iranian presidential election in 2009, that was obtained by force while he was held in a Tehran jail.

Upon the release of Ofcom's findings, Press TV launched a campaign against Maziar Bahari and Ofcom. Maziar Bahari was accused of being a "an MI6 contact person" taking guidance from "The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion, protocol #7". Press TV called Ofcom's ruling "part of an anti-Iranian campaign," and that "A quick look at senior decision makers at OFCOM demonstrates that the regulator is mostly made up of former Channel4 and BBC executives, some of whom are well-linked to and influenced by powerful pro-Israeli politicians."

See also

Advertising Standards Authority

Broadband stakeholder group

Office of Fair Trading

Press Complaints Commission

ISPA

International Telecommunications Union

List of telecommunications regulatory bodies

References

External links

Ofcom website

Ofcom Broadcast Codes

OfcomWatch - Ofcom-related blog

Quick video guide to Ofcom for broadcast journalists

The UK’s only impartial comparison service for digital TV, broadband & home phone, accredited by Ofcom

Category:British radio Category:Television in the United Kingdom Category:Communications authorities Category:Communications in the United Kingdom Category:Media complaints authorities Category:Statutory corporations of the United Kingdom government Category:Government agencies established in 2003 Category:2003 establishments in the United Kingdom

ar:أوفكوم de:Office of Communications fr:Office of communications it:Ofcom ja:Ofcom no:Ofcom pl:Ofcom simple:Ofcom

Chris Bambery was a member of the Central Committee of the British Socialist Workers Party until April 2011 when he resigned from the party. He is a leading member of the newly formed International Socialist Group (Scotland).

Originally from Edinburgh he began his political career as a member of the International Marxist Group in 1972. After leaving Edinburgh University, where he had been Vice President of the Students Representative Council, he became a full time organiser for the IMG in Glasgow in 1978-79 but left that organisation in May 1979 joining the Socialist Workers Party seven months later. In late 1981 he became the SWP's Glasgow organiser.

In the 1983 he moved to North London as an organiser for the SWP and was elected a member of its Central Committee in 1987 becoming its National Organiser shortly afterwards, a position which he held to 2004 when he replaced the long serving Chris Harman as editor of ''Socialist Worker''. Since 2010 he has been an organiser for the Right to Work campaign. The right to work campaign, in conjunction with the Socialist Workers Party, were criticised for storming negotiations between Unite and British Airways over striking cabin crew. Both sides involved in the talks condemned the intervention, which resulted in negotiations in the dispute breaking down. Chris was not, however, present at this incident, and the action was led by SWP national secretary Martin Smith.

It has been alleged that he has attempted to get other demonstrators arrested because he does not agree with their slogans. Freedom newspaper have stated that they have had access to several signed witness statements from people present on the October 3rd. 2010 'Right To Work' march in Birmingham, that identify stewards collaborating with police against anarchists. Freedom newspaper states that one statement read "Chris Bambery gathered other stewards with the intention of not allowing anarchists to join the march and form a block." It goes on to state that people were directly told by Chris Bambery to "put that banner away or I'll get you all nicked" before Bambery walked over to the police to complain.

It has however also been suggested that Chris Bambery was only trying to get the Anarchists to move back down the order of the demonstration. This was due to the fact that a group of disability rights activists in wheel chairs had been invited to lead the march. However the anarchist contingent refused to accept this and demanded that they be allowed to march at the front contrary to the wishes of the disability rights activists and the Right to Work Campaign.

Chris Bambery has been criticised by anti-fascists for an article in ''International Socialism'' autumn 1993. In this article he wrote about physical opposition to the Nazis by members of the KPD in Germany in the 1930s. In his opinion this reduced the struggle to a minority of hardmen grouped around the KPD. He claimed that these individuals glorified a laddish lifestyle, there was bullying amongst Red Front Brigade (RFB) fighters and that they were happy to join the Brownshirts for beers and some were even happy to go over to the Nazis. This was seen as an attack on anti-fascists who support the use of violence. (At the time the article was written, the groups Anti-Fascist Action and Red Action were perceived to be the target of these attacks). It was also seen as a twisting of facts. In particular, the incident alleging RFB fighters joining SA members for beers mentioned by Bambery was in fact an ambush on the SA by RFB fighters, and ended in one of the Brownshirts being stabbed.

He led the International Socialist Tendency at the Genoa Group of Eight Summit protest in Italy in 2001 with Alex Callinicos.

Bambery made public his resignation letter to SWP national organiser Charlie Kimber on April 11 2011.

Bibliography

''Scotland's National Question'' (1995)

''Ireland's Permanent Revolution'' (1990)

''Scotland - Nation & Class''

''Scotland - The Socialist Answer''

''Stopping The Nazi Menace - How To Fight The Fascists Today''

''Fighting To Change The World''

''Ireland - Why The Troops Must Get Out''

''Permanent Revolution''

''Imperialism''

''A Rebel's Guide to Gramsci'' (2006)

''Gramsci: Hegemony and revolutionary strategy''

References

Category:Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Category:British Trotskyists Category:International Marxist Group members Category:Living people Category:People from Edinburgh Category:Socialist Workers Party (UK) members Category:Year of birth missing (living people)