White Paper Paves Way For Communications “Revolution”
Culture secretary Chris Smith this afternoon outlined the Government’s Communications White Paper: “Our world is changing, and communications are central to this change. Digital media have revolutionised the information society. Multi-channel television will soon be available to all. More and more people can gain access to the internet, through personal computers, televisions, mobile phones, and now even games consoles. The choice of services available is greater than ever before.
“High-speed phone lines give households access to a whole new range of communications services and experiences. Using their TV sets people are able to email, shop from home, and devise their own personal viewing schedules. The communications revolution has arrived.
“This White Paper sets out the Government’s response to the new communications environment. We want to ensure the widest possible access to a choice of diverse communications services of the highest quality. All of us can benefit from new services – as citizens, as parents, as workers, as students, and as consumers.
“We want to safeguard the interests of citizens and consumers. The new communications environment may appear bewildering to some, and threatening to others. Our goal is to make the UK the safest and most reliable place to use the new communications services. We want to protect consumers from poor service delivery and being overcharged. And we want to make sure that the right balance is struck between freedom of speech and basic standards of decency and quality.
“We want to make sure that the UK is home to the most dynamic and competitive communications market in the world. Communications businesses already make an important contribution to both national and regional economies. We want to maintain the UK’s competitive advantage in the rapidly changing international marketplace.
“To achieve these ambitious goals, our White Paper sets out a new framework for communications regulation in the 21st century. We will make sure that people can continue to receive much-loved broadcasting channels. We will promote access to the Internet and higher bandwidth services. We will strengthen the regional dimension to UK broadcasting and continue to support the independent production sector, as well as consider new plans for community media. We are committed to reforming the rules which protect media plurality, in the light of the new converging market conditions.
“We seek to combine a lighter touch in many aspects with tough protection of the genuine public interest in others.
“We will create a new regulator, an Office of Communications (OFCOM), with the expertise and the vision to understand the converging communications landscape and to act according to a clear set of principles. OFCOM will promote competition in telecommunications and broadcasting. It will regulate TV and radio by means of a new framework which will allow flexibility for industry whilst fully meeting the expectations of viewers and listeners and maintaining high levels of quality and diversity.
“This Communications White Paper is the joint work of two departments with different perspectives but a shared vision of the future. We are confident that it will establish the right conditions for communications services to flourish in the coming decades.”