The changing needs of viewers and listeners and a demand for greater public accountability are enshrined in a new, modernised BBC operating licence announced by broadcast regulator Ofcom. The licence, which comes into effect on April 1st, 2023, has been designed firmly to hold the BBC to account on delivering its remit, while enabling it […]

UK comms regulator Ofcom is to make millimetre wave (mmWave) spectrum across the 26 GHz and 40 GHz bands available for new mobile technology, including 5G services. This could deliver significant benefits by enabling large wireless data capacity and speeds. It can be used to improve mobile services and deliver innovative new services across the […]

The UK House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee MPs is to question Dame Melanie Dawes, Chief Executive of Ofcom, on the organisation’s work as the regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries. The session on March 14th is likely to explore a range of broadcasting issues, including the BBC’s operating licence, content […]

Broadband customers could get clearer and more consistent information about their service when signing up to a new deal, under proposals announced by UK comms regulator Ofcom. Under the planned new guidance, broadband providers would only be able to use the terms ‘fibre’ and ‘full-fibre’ on their websites and in contracts if their network uses […]

UK broadcast regulator Ofcom has found the Mark Steyn programme, which aired on GB News on April 21st, 2022, in breach of its broadcasting rules. Ofcom says it has been consistently clear that, under its rules, broadcasters are free to transmit programmes which may be considered controversial and challenging, or which question statistics or other […]

Ofcom has published the latest figures for complaints the regulator received about the UK’s major mobile, broadband and pay-TV providers between July and September 2022. In summary, the latest complaints data shows: Overall, complaint volumes during this quarter were broadly in line with the previous three months. Shell Energy continued to attract the most broadband […]

UK comms regulator Ofcom is seeking evidence on risks of harms to children online and how they can be mitigated, as it prepares to develop codes of practice in our forthcoming role as online safety regulator. Within the first 100 days of its online safety powers taking effect, Ofcom will publish and consult on draft […]

UK regulator, Ofcom, is reviewing the rules that restrict the UK’s PSBs from running as many minutes of advertising on their pay-TV or OTT rivals. The rules were introduced in 1991 to support the new pay-TV and cable companies such as Sky to build their businesses in the UK. Non-PSB channels are allowed to air […]

More than four in ten UK homes can now access faster, more reliable Internet connections, as the rollout of full-fibre technology continues at record pace. Ofcom’s annual Connected Nations report, which measures the availability of broadband and mobile services across the UK, found that full-fibre connections are now available to 12.4 million households (42 per […]

UK broadcast regulator Ofcom is consulting on proposed changes to the BBC’s Operating Licence. The BBC’s Operating Licence sets regulatory conditions designed to ensure that the BBC fulfils its Mission and Public Purposes; that audiences across the UK are well served by the BBC; and that it provides distinctive output and services. According to Ofcom, […]