The Independent Television Commission (ITC) has published its response to the Government’s Communications White Paper, which among other items, announced plans for a single communications regulator, OFCOM.
The ITC welcomes and supports a great many objectives set out in the paper, most importantly that which aims to protect consumers “through the promotion of open and competitive markets.” The ITC’s response was to say that “convergence is driving economic growth and improving consumer choice, but services are likely to develop in unpredictable ways.” The feeling is therefore that OFCOM’s powers should be flexible in order to cope.
Among other proposals welcomed was the ability for OFCOM to apply pro-competition powers to new systems such as Electronic Programme Guides and the commitment to ensuring that public service broadcasting was available free to all at the point of consumption. The ITC has recently commissioned research into the continuing role and image of public service broadcasting in society.
The three-tier regulatory system, which should also ensure some simplification at the first level, emphasis on regionalism and independent production and the abolition of the 15% limit on share of TV audience have also found favour with the ITC. Overall, the organisation stated that it “strongly supports a single regulatory system covering the three key functions of infrastructure/network, broadcasting and spectrum management, with common services supporting the three functions.”
A summary of the ITC response and the full document itself is available on the ITC website or from the ITC information office.
