The UK's draft Communications Bill was published this week. It
establishes OFCOM, the newly merged regulator for the
communications and media industries and sets out the Government's
plans “to overhaul and simplify the legal framework for the media
industry.
The draft Bill will be subject to a consultation period of three
months as well as pre-legislative scrutiny by a joint committee of
both Houses. Among other matters, the draft Bill would:
- Establish a single regulator - the Office for Communications
(OFCOM) - replacing the existing five regulators (Oftel, the ITC,
Radio Authority, Broadcasting Standards Commission,
Radiocommunications Agency);
- Give OFCOM powers concurrent with the Office of Fair Trading to
apply competition rules in the Communications Sector;
- Remove the requirement for licensing of telecommunications
systems, so removing about 400 licences, and replace it with a new
regulatory regime for electronic communications networks, services
and associated facilities in line with European Directives;
and
- Allow spectrum trading to secure more efficient use of the
available radio spectrum.
All of the supporting documents are available on a dedicated web
site: www.communicationsbill.gov.uk.
