National Assembly for Wales Communities
Communities, Equality and Local Government Committee CELG(4)-10-14 Paper 3 National Assembly for Wales Communities, Equality & Local Government Committee Written Evidence March 2014 1 Section 1 1 Introduction 2 Ofcom welcomes this opportunity to submit evidence to the National Assembly for Wales‟ Communities, Equality & Local Government Committee on our activities and regulatory duties. Ofcom is the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries, with responsibilities across broadcasting, telecommunications, postal services and the airwaves over which wireless devices operate. Ofcom operates under a number of Acts of Parliament and other legislation. These include the Communications Act 2003, the Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006, the Broadcasting Acts 1990 and 1996, the Digital Economy Act 2010 and the Postal Services Act 2011. The Communications Act states that Ofcom‟s general duties should be to further the interests of citizens and of consumers. Meeting these two duties is at the heart of everything we do. As a converged regulator, Ofcom publishes high quality data and evidence about the broadcasting and communications sectors in Wales, through, among others, its annual Communications Market Report, UK Infrastructure Report1 and Public Service Broadcasting Annual Report. The data in much of this submission is based on the latest iterations of these reports, published in 2013. Data for the 2014 reports is currently being collated. The Communications Sector In recent years, consumers in Wales have benefited from significant changes in the way communications services are delivered. As a result, consumer expectations have changed considerably. In the past decade since Ofcom was established, the UK‟s communications market has experienced rapid change: In 2004, most connections to the internet were through a dial up connection and broadband was in its infancy with a maximum speed of 1 or 2 megabits per second.
[Show full text]