The Office of Communications (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. Footnote 15.
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.
The regulator was initially established by the (c. 11) and received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003 (c. 21).
History
On 20 June 2001, the Queen's Speech to the UK Parliament announced the creation of Ofcom. The new body, which was to replace several existing authorities, was conceived as a "super-regulator" to oversee media channels that were rapidly converging through digital transmission.
On 29 December 2003, Ofcom launched, formally inheriting the duties that had previously been the responsibility of five different regulators:
the Broadcasting Standards Commission the Independent Television Commission the Office of Telecommunications (Oftel) the Radio Authority the Radiocommunications Agency
In July 2009, Conservative Party opposition leader David Cameron referenced Ofcom in a speech against the proliferation of quangos:
Under Cameron's subsequent premiership of the 2010 UK coalition government, the Public Bodies Act 2011 did remove or modify several of Ofcom's duties, although it did not substantially reduce Ofcom's remit.
On 1 October 2011, Ofcom took over responsibility for regulating the postal services industry from the Postal Services Commission (Postcomm).
In April 2015, Ofcom announced that telephone companies would have to provide customers with a set charge for the cost of calling numbers starting with 084, 087 and 09. The streamlining of these charges must be printed in each customer's contract and monthly bills. The change came into force on 1 July 2015 and affected over 175 million phone numbers, making it the biggest overhaul of telephoning in over a decade.
On 1 January 2016, the regulation of video on demand was transferred to Ofcom from ATVOD, the Authority for Television on Demand.
The Digital Economy Act 2017 extended Ofcom's remit and powers. Ofcom were given powers concerning the minimum broadband speed provided by Internet service providers, the ability to financially penalise communications providers for failing to comply with licence commitments and the power to require public service broadcasters to include a minimum quantity of children's programming made in the United Kingdom. The act also transferred to Ofcom the regulation of the BBC, a duty previously undertaken by the BBC Trust, and updated the Ofcom Electronic Communications Code to make it easier for telecommunications companies to erect and extend mobile masts.
Following a consultation over the Online Harms White Paper published by the UK government in April 2019, the government announced in February 2020 that it intended Ofcom to have a greater role in Internet regulation to protect users from "harmful and illegal content".
In July 2022, Ofcom received additional tools to prevent, identify and remove any content that depicts child sexual abuse and exploitation. These tools will be introduced through an amendment to the Online Safety Bill. Ofcom will be allowed to penalise those tech firms that do not comply, either by fines up to £18m or by 10% of the company's annual turnover, whichever amount is higher.
On 1 February 2025, Ofcom took the regulation of Controlled Premium Rate Services (CPRS) back in-house. These services were previously regulated by the Phone-paid Services Authority (PSA) which was disbanded on 31 January 2025 as Ofcom withdrew its formal approval of the former PSA Code of Practice.
News International phone hacking scandal
In July 2011, in the wake of the News International phone hacking scandal, Ofcom came under pressure to launch an inquiry into whether the parent company of News International, News Corporation, was still the "fit and proper" owner of a controlling stake in the satellite broadcasting company British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB). On 13 July former Prime Minister Gordon Brown urged Ofcom to launch an investigation. On 15 July the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg stated that the Government would launch a review of laws on what constituted a "fit and proper" owner for broadcasting companies in the United Kingdom, and that anyone found not to meet that standard can be forced to give up their current holdings in a company.
On 22 July 2011, it was reported that Ofcom had begun an investigation into whether the phone-hacking scandal may have changed BSkyB's status as the "fit and proper" holder of a UK broadcasting licence. On the same day Ed Richards, the then chief executive of Ofcom, replied to Simon Hughes MP, Don Foster MP and Tim Farron MP following a letter which they had written to him on 8 July concerning News Corporation's shareholding in BSkyB. In the letter Richards confirmed that Ofcom considers that News Corporation's current shareholding of 39.14% in BSkyB does give it a material influence over the company; that Ofcom is not precluded from acting by ongoing police investigations; and that Ofcom's process is not dependent upon a criminal conviction being secured.
In April 2012, Ofcom's probe moved from a monitoring phase to an "evidence gathering" phase.Katherine Rushton Ofcom steps up 'fit and proper' probe into BSkyB, The Daily Telegraph. 26 April 2012
Timeline of communications regulators +RegulatorsDatesTelevisionBritish Broadcasting Corporation(BBC)BBC Board of Governors 31 December 2006BBC Trust 2 April 2017BBC Board (governance) Office of Communications(Ofcom) (regulation) presentIndependent Television(ITV) Independent Television Authority ITA 11 July 1972 Independent Broadcasting Authority IBA 31 December 1990 Independent Television Commission ITC 28 December 2003 Office of Communications Ofcom presentChannel 4 Independent Broadcasting Authority IBA 31 December 1990 Independent Television Commission ITC 28 December 2003 Office of Communications Ofcom presentSianel Pedwar Cymru(S4C)S4C Authority 28 December 2003 S4C Authority(governance) Office of Communications(Ofcom)(regulation) 22 August 2024 S4C Board(governance) Office of Communications(Ofcom)(regulation) presentChannel 5 Independent Television Commission ITC 28 December 2003 Office of Communications Ofcom presentRadioIndependent Local Radio Independent Broadcasting Authority IBA 31 December 1990Radio Authority 28 December 2003 Office of Communications Ofcom presentSpectrum General Post Office GPO 1 October 1969 Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications MPT* 1974Home Office 1983 Department of Trade and Industry DTI 1990Radiocommunications Agency 2003 Office of Communications Ofcom presentDigital TelevisionCable TelevisionCable Authority 31 December 1990 Independent Television Commission ITC 28 December 2003 Office of Communications Ofcom presentSatellite Television Independent Broadcasting Authority IBA 31 December 1990 Independent Television Commission ITC 28 December 2003 Office of Communications Ofcom presentTelevision on Demand Authority for Television on Demand ATVOD 31 December 2015 Office of Communications Ofcom presentTaste, Decency and ComplaintsComplaintsBroadcasting Complaints Commission 1 June 1981 31 March 1997Broadcasting Standards Commission 1 April 1997 28 December 2003 Office of Communications Ofcom presentTaste and DecencyBroadcasting Standards Council 16 May 1988 31 March 1997Broadcasting Standards Commission 1 April 1997 28 December 2003 Office of Communications Ofcom presentTelecommunicationsTelecommunications Office of Telecommunications Oftel 28 December 2003 Office of Communications Ofcom presentControlled Premium Rate Services(CPRS) Independent Committee for the supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services ICSTIS April 2008 PhonepayPlus PPP October 2016 Phone-paid Services Authority PSA 31 January 2025 Office of Communications Ofcom presentPostal ServicesPost Postal Services Commission Postcomm 30 September 2011 Office of Communications Ofcom presentEngineeringTransmitters Independent Television Authority ITA 11 July 1972 Independent Broadcasting Authority IBA 31 December 1990 National Transcommunications Limited NTL 29 July 2005Arqiva present
* Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications
Activities
Television and radio
Ofcom licences all UK commercial television and radio services in the UK. Broadcasters must comply by the terms of their licence, or risk having it revoked. Ofcom also publishes the Broadcasting Code, a series of rules which all broadcast content on television and radio must follow. The Broadcasting Code requires that content inappropriate for children should not be broadcast between the hours of 5:30a.m. and 9:00p.m. Premium-rate film services may broadcast content equivalent to a BBFC 15 certificate at any time of day provided a PIN-protected system is in place to restrict access to those authorised to view it. The broadcasting of pornography with a BBFC R18 certificate is not permitted. In 2010 Ofcom revoked the licences of four free-to-air television channels for promoting adult chat services during daytime hours and transmitting content that was too sexually explicit. The companies involved were fined £157,250. Ofcom's jurisdiction does not cover television and radio channels which are broadcast in the UK but licensed abroad. In 2012 Ofcom lodged a complaint with the Dutch media regulator regarding the content of adult chat television channels which are broadcast in the UK but licensed in the Netherlands. Based on a survey of 200 British respondents, Ofcom published in 2016 a list of about 50 words classified in four grades of offensiveness, from "milder" to "strongest".
Telephone and broadband Ofcom regulates the UK telecoms sector, defining and enforcing the conditions by which all mobile and fixed-line phone and broadband companies must abide. These "general conditions" are wide-ranging rules relating to matters such as telephone numbering, emergency services, sales, marketing and interconnection standards. General condition 14.4 requires communications providers to maintain a complaints handling code approved by Ofcom, and general condition 14.7 requires an approved alternative dispute resolution (ADR) scheme to be in place.thinkbroadband, Ofcom review Alternative Dispute Resolution and Complaints Handling, published on 10 July 2008, accessed on 12 April 2025 Ofcom's investigation unit monitors compliance with the conditions and resolves disputes between providers.
Ofcom is also the competition authority for telecoms, enforcing remedies in markets where it believes dominant operators may have a potentially harmful influence on competition or consumers. One of its most high-profile interventions was to require BT to split its wholesale and retail arms into separate companies, bringing about the creation of Openreach which supplies wholesale services to both BT Retail and competing providers.
On 1 July 2015, Ofcom made a number of changes to the way phone calls to UK service numbers would be charged. Under the new legislation, which was promoted by an information campaign entitled UK Calling, call charges must be clearly stated on all materials that advertise a service number. The changes came after research found that callers are often confused about service call charges, and thus can avoid calling these numbers. The July 2015 changes also saw 'freephone numbers' 0800 and 0808 become free to call from both mobiles and landlines.