Media regulator Ofcom has provisionally concluded that the BBC should be permitted to re-launch BBC Three as a broadcast television channel. It is now seeking views on the decision from interested or affected organisations and individuals. Ofcom initially concluded that the proposed relaunch would constitute a material change to the Corporation’s UK public service activities, […]
Nadine Dorries, MP for Mid Bedfordshire, has been appointed Secretary of State at the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) following a wider than expected reshuffle by Prime Minister Boris Johnson of his Cabinet. She replaces Oliver Dowden, who has been named Minister without Portfolio within the Cabinet Office, effectively a demotion. Dorries […]
Julian Knight, Chair of the UK parliament’s DCMS Committee has called for the government to rule out candidates previously deemed to be unappointable from applying again for the post of Chair of Ofcom, a clear reference to the potential renewed candidacy of former Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre. The re-running of the recruitment process to […]
Around one in four UK homes can now get faster full-fibre Internet, as broadband companies have extended their networks at rapid pace during the pandemic, according to findings from comms regulator Ofcom. New figures published in Ofcom’s Connected Nations summer update show that just under seven million (24 per cent) of all UK homes can […]
Ofcom has published the latest data on the complaints it receives about the UK’s major home phone, broadband, mobile and pay-TV firms. The quarterly report reveals the number of complaints made to Ofcom between January and March this year about telecoms and pay-TV providers with a market share over 1.5 per cent. It therefore covers […]
George Orwell’s dystopian future world of a sinister, mind-controlling dictatorship is often called upon as an analogy for political shenanigans in ‘the real world’. Usually, the comparison is overblown and inaccurate, and I’m not going to break with that tradition. However, the UK government’s manipulation of the ‘independent’ appointment of the chair of the media […]
UK media regulator Ofcom has fined Star China Media Limited a total of £200,000 (€233,0000) for serious breaches of its fairness and privacy rules on its CCTV and CGTN services. Following investigation, Ofcom upheld two complaints after it found the individuals concerned were unfairly treated and had their privacy unwarrantably infringed. Among other things, CGTN […]
Modelling data from digital connectivity consultancy FarrPoint has found that poor broadband connection in the UK will deny some £546 million (€641m) in revenue for streaming providers over the next 15 years. With the minimum requirement to stream video according to Ofcom being at least 10 Mbps, and ONS data estimating that there are currently […]
Young people are significantly more likely to keep up with news using the Internet, over TV and other sources, according to UK broadcast regulator Ofcom’s annual news consumption report. Nine in 10 younger people aged 16-24 (89 per cent) follow news stories online, compared with under two-thirds (61 per cent) who get their news from […]
UK comms regulator Ofcom has published proposals to change the way it licenses certain satellite systems. A number of new satellite broadband networks are currently being developed, which use Non-Geostationary Satellite Orbit (NGSO) systems to connect people to the Internet – particularly those in hard-to-reach areas. NGSO systems are more sophisticated than earlier satellite broadband […]