Ofcom sets Christmas launch date

By Matt Whipp

Posted on 5 Mar 2003 at 17:25

Ofcom, the joint regulation body - which replaces the Independent Television Commission (ITC), the Broadcasting Standards Commission (BSC), Oftel, the Radiocommunications Agency and the Radio Authority - says it will be open for business by the end of the year.

With the Communications Bill expected to pass into law this summer, and everyone who is joining Ofcom to be in situ at Ofcom's Riverside House headquarters by mid December, the new body will be flexing its regulatory muscle by then.

CEO Stephen Carter described Ofcom as a 'new, leaner, effective and important organisation,' and we are told that there may be redundancies in achieving this.

Richard Peel, Communications Advisor, told us: 'It's a possibility. Replacing five bodies with one will inevitably involve areas of duplication.' He said that any figures 'were not determined' and that we needed to wait 'probably until the summer for clarity'. Even so, Peel said that Ofcom would be fully staffed and 'equipped to deal with a converged world'.

Peel also said that as the timetable for the transfer of powers in still in discussion, some regulatory powers may initially stay with the regulators that have been brought into Ofcom in order to fulfil contractual arrangements. But a full transfer of powers will be achieved.

The Right Honourable Patricia Hewitt, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry said: 'This is excellent news. The careful advance planning will ensure that everything is lined up for a smooth transition to Ofcom, once the powers are granted. This clear target date will provide a focus for all organisations involved to move seamlessly into the new converged regime.'