Office
of Communications (Ofcom) or Office of Telecommunications - OFTEL
- Regulator for the UK telecommunications industry
About
the Office of Communications (Ofcom) or Office of Telecommunications
- OFTEL
Please
Note: Office of Telecommunications (OFTEL) is now Office of Communications
(Ofcom)
Office
of Communications (ofcom) are an independent organisation which
regulates the United Kingdom’s broadcasting, telecommunications
and wireless communications sectors. They also set and enforce rules
on fair competition between companies in these industries.
Ofcom's
legal duties
Their main legal duties, as set out in the United Kingdom Communications
Act 2003, are to ensure:
- the
UK has a wide range of electronic communications services, including
high-speed information services
- a
wide range of high-quality television and radio programmes are
provided, appealing to a range of tastes and interests
- television
and radio services are provided by a range of different organisations
- people
who watch television and listen to the radio are protected from
harmful or offensive material
- people
are protected from being treated unfairly in television and radio
programmes, and from having their privacy invaded
- the
radio spectrum (the airwaves used by everyone from taxi firms
and boat owners, to mobile-phone companies and broadcasters) is
used in the most effective way
Ofcom are funded by:
- fees
from industry for regulating broadcasting and communications networks
- grant-in-aid
from the Government
Ofcom
answer to the United Kingdom Parliament but they are independent
of the UK Government. The Government Departments that sponsor them
are the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
Ofcom,
Riverside House,
2a Southwark Bridge Road,
London
SE1 9HA
Telephone:
020 7981 3000 or 0300 123 3000
Fax: 020 7981 3333 or 0300 123 0811
To
speak to a member of the Ofcom Advisory Team
Telephone:
020 7981 3040 or 0300 123 3040
Textphone: 020 7981 3043 or 0300 123 2024
Welsh line: 020 7981 3042 or 0300 123 2023
Email:
contact@ofcom.org.uk
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