Sunday, November 05, 2006

Blue Skies Thinking from OfCom

Last Tuesday I was the warm-up act for Lord Currie at the Annual OfCom Parliamentary lecture. Much of the beginning of his lecture was a bit technical, but I'd recommend you took a look at the later sections headed 'Young Consumers & the New Media', 'Future of Public Service Broadcasting' and 'Implications for Politics'. There are some far sighted words contained there. Currie says that within ten years the entire media world will have completely changed. Click HERE to read the lecture. As you might imagine, I'm not a great fan of regulators, but Ofcom have rather impressed me in my dealings with them. They're open to new thinking and don't seem to have the 'if it moves, regulate it' virus that so many regulators suffer from. I'll probably live to regret those words, but there you go.
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3 comments:

  1. AnonymousNovember 05, 2006 9:36 pm

    I notice how very inept I am at media , computers and so on compared to most about the place ( and others) . I imagine that one thing that may happen is that unfashionable people like me, will trudge far behind and begin to change the flavour of new sorts of media .

    Iain - can I just say thatI very much enjoy this blog and wish to retain access to it .
    . I would interested to know how you see being an A list candidate and hosting a free forum sitting comfortably together. Are there not difficulties ? There surely must be, as far as expressing your own views is concerned.Some time perhaps it might be a good topic .
    Or not ?

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  2. TristanNovember 06, 2006 9:42 am

    OFCOM are actually very keen on deregulation... I've been quite impressed.

    I do have some problems with them, mostly due to special interests I hold though (they've been selling off portions of the spectrum used by radio amateurs - including satellite frequencies which are internationally used).
    Then again, they've cut costs for administration of licensing, which cuts the costs of the licensee as well.

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  3. uk-eventsNovember 06, 2006 5:51 pm

    Ofcom, a good regulator, you must be joking.

    Lets remember they were an amalgamation of various other bodies.

    Is all very well for you to go on about high level overviews of future media application.

    You and they again ignore how most people do or will access this - broadband.

    Their regulation in this area has been nothing short of disgraceful.

    They've let BT Wholesale do whatever they like - to the cost of the industry and consumer.

    Ofcom should be closed down.

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