Posted: 20th Nov, 2007 By: MarkJ
Not to be confused with
Ofcom itself, the independent
Ofcom Consumer Panel (OCP) has called on the regulators Chief Executive, Ed Richards, to concentrate on three top consumer priorities for 2008:
- Children & Media Literacy
- Advertised Broadband Speeds
- Making the Internet beneficial and accessible to all.
Following the Consumers Panels research into children and the internet, Colette Bowe said that the Panels top priority for
Ofcom is media literacy. The Panel Chairman explained that the increased focus on children is important because of their vulnerability as users of communications technologies and services.
We believe that Ofcom should create a Childrens Panel to provide a strategic overview of all of Ofcoms work that is currently undertaken in relation to childrens issues, which relate to access, protection and parental responsibility.
She said that advertising of broadband speeds is the Panels second concern, with consumers often not getting the advertised broadband speeds they think they are buying.
We hope that Ofcom will closely monitor this to see whether the industry adequately addresses these issues; and if this does not happen, to consider how Ofcom and others should respond in order to ensure the provision of clear information for consumers of broadband services.
The Panel Chairman explained that the third priority is getting the significant benefits of the internet to everyone because
being connected is becoming central to how we work as a society. She welcomed
Ofcoms move to consider the definition and implications of a Universal Service Obligation for broadband, but suggested that the regulator should go further than mandating minimum speeds.
Ofcom should
.be identifying how we can ensure significantly higher internet speeds are delivered to all so the internets economic and social benefits are maximised.
Colette Bowe highlighted the Panels concern that the roll out of the next generation of broadband could exacerbate the digital divide by focusing on urban centres.
We think there is an opportunity to reduce significantly disparities between rural and urban areas. There is a good case for saying that this new generation of faster internet access should be provided first to the rural communities that currently receive the sparsest and slowest coverage, because these are parts of the country where the public value of such a network is greatest.
The Panels Chairman has also asked
Ofcom to consider its regulatory response to the high levels of consumer complaints about communications service providers, highlighting the need for stronger monetary sanctions against those that misbehave.