Ofcom
Ofcom offices at Riverside House, Bankside, next to Southwark Bridge in London | |
| Abbreviation | Ofcom |
|---|---|
| Formation | 29 December 2003 |
| Type | Statutory corporation |
| Legal status | Created by Office of Communications Act 2002 |
| Purpose | Regulator and competition authority for broadcasting, internet, postal services, telecommunications and radiocommunications spectrum |
| Headquarters | London, England |
| Location | |
Region served | United Kingdom |
Official language | English, Welsh |
Chairman | Michael Grade |
Chief Executive | Melanie Dawes |
Main organ | Board of Directors |
| Staff | 902 (full-time equivalents) (2019) |
| Website | www |
The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, internet, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom.
Ofcom has wide-ranging powers across the television, radio, telecoms, internet and postal sectors. It has a statutory duty to represent the interests of citizens and consumers by promoting competition and protecting the public from harmful or offensive material.
Some of the main areas Ofcom regulates are TV and radio standards, broadband and phones, video-sharing platforms online, the wireless spectrum and postal services.
| Office of Communications Act 2002 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
| Long title | An Act to establish a body corporate to be known as the Office of Communications; and to confer functions in relation to proposals about the regulation of communications on that body, on certain existing regulators and on the Secretary of State. |
| Citation | 2002 c. 11 |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 19 March 2002 |
Status: Amended | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Text of the Office of Communications Act 2002 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk. | |
The regulator was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002 (c. 11) and received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003 (c. 21).