Regulators Prepare For Creation of OFCOM

The chief executives of the five regulators who will form the foundations of OFCOM have appointed management consulting firm Towers Perrin to map the process for its establishment. Towers Perrin will report to a steering group on which the chief executives from the Broadcasting Standards Commission (BSC), the Independent Television Commission (ITC), OFTEL, the Radiocommunications Agency and the Radio Authority will sit, as well as the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

The initial work set out for Towers Perrin, to be completed by August 2001, will include:

• The provision of a clear overall view of the functions, processes, structures and resources in each of the existing organisations.
• Assessment of the options for OFCOM under each of these four headings.
• The proposal of criteria for evaluating these options
• The creation of a clear timetable for the stages of work that will need to be carried out in order to get from the current situation to a fully functioning OFCOM by 2003.

BSC: 020 7808 1000 www.bsc.org.uk DCMS: 020 7211 6200 www.culture.gov.uk DTI: 020 7215 5000 www.dti.gov.uk ITC: 020 7306 7743 www.itc.org.uk OFTEL: 020 7634 8761 www.oftel.gov.uk Radiocommunications Agency: 020 7211 0211 www.radio.gov.uk Radio Authority: 020 7430 2724 www.radioauthority.org.uk