UK Government wants your views on Ofcom's future

04 Sep 2009 | 15.31 Europe/London

While several policies advocated in the supposedly finalised Digital Britain report may be back up in the air, some things are still moving forward. One of them is the public consultation phase for the future of the UK's communications regulator, Ofcom - and the Government wants to hear from you. Meanwhile, Ofcom itself has just released "a guide for students on getting a good deal on communications services."

From the document, 'Consultation on the proposed new duties for Ofcom:'

It is argued that there may be a trade-off between the promotion of competition and investment through price regulation. This is because regulations which serve to lower the prices charged by network operators might weaken the incentives to invest in infrastructure since it reduces the potential return on investment.

The Government seeks to address a concern in the community that the promotion of competition has been at the expense of the promotion of investment in infrastructure. This is of particular concern as the UK Government at this time as it has set out ambitious goals in the Digital Britain Final Report to upgrade and extend the existing communication infrastructure, achievement of which will require significant new investment.

The UK Government is proposing to give Ofcom an additional duty to promote efficient investment in communications infrastructure (where appropriate), alongside the promotion of competition, when furthering the interests of consumers. Such a duty will sit alongside the existing duty to further the interests of citizens in relation to communication matters.

The intended effect of these changes to Ofcom’s duties is that it will serve to increase and accelerate future investment in the UK communications infrastructure by strengthening the incentives for network operators to invest.

Two policy options are being considered:
1. Do nothing
2. Amend Ofcom’s statutory duties to include the promotion of efficient investment in infrastructure under Section 3(1) of the Communications Act 2003

You can throw your two penneth into the hat here and you have three weeks (until September 25th) to do so - otherwise you'll have to wait until the next proposed consultation in two years. There are eleven fairly technical questions to answer, which aren't exactly aimed at the casual broadband user. The last one, for example, is something you'd could imagine popping up on a university exam: "What is your estimate of the economic impact to consumers and business on the proposed changes to Ofcoms duties?" (The full list of questions is under Annex D, on page 33.)

And, somewhat coincidentally, if you are a student then Ofcom's just released its own answers to things like "how to save money on communications services and how to get a landline or broadband when moving into new accommodation." For that, you can swot up here.

Nathan Massey says:

Ofcom needs to get on the side of the consumers like the FCC is starting to do in the US, where they are investigating issues like the blocking of Google Talk on the iPhone, and exclusivity contracts between mobile networks and handset manufacturers. I would love to see Ofcom take a lead on issues like net neutrality, naked DSL and, like the FCC, putting a end to the anti-competitive nature of mobile providers who block VoIP from their handsets/networks. If you can't be bothered to fill in Ofcom's lengthy consultations document, I would suggest posting and ideas on where you would like Ofcom to be improved, on their Get Satisfaction page, http://getsatisfaction.com/ofcom/

04 Sep 2009 | 17.27 Europe/London