Oxford Media Convention 2004: Stephen Carter

Stephen Carter, Chief Executive, Ofcom 'Ofcom Markets for Society'

Spoke about the move "from [an] economy of command in spectrum to an economy of demand" where Ofcom would be "acting as a steward to prevent us losing the things that citizens value". Considers Ofcom to be pro-market and light-touch, avoiding the 'something must be done' approach (for instance in broadband access) which tends to lead to heavy-handed government intervention. (Ofcom approval of light-tough regulated rural WiFi is interesting.)

Discussing broadband noted that coverage and take-up are often confused. Argued that we need to see "liquid bandwidth as seen in Far East". His colleague Adam Singer talks about disposable broadband that will enable networked households and innovation. He is keen to see more 'upstream' competition for ISPs so they can create additive margin through product innovation and marketing (as has happened with DTV), rather than moving around the margin at the level of infrastructure. This is very encouraging, though ISPs don't show much stomach or head for innovation. He considers broadband, always-on, and VoIP to be "a suite of convenience products" that mirror what we do already. Rather he wants to create a framework that creates a likelihood of continually innovative investment.

Argues that the digital switchover should sit alongside the Olympics as a grand project. His other comments and broadcast weren't of great interest but he ended on an interesting question: are we at the inflection point for content creation, as we were with content delivery? and talked about dealing with content in the context of many devices including the iPod, DVD, and Playstation. He also asked if in television commissioning was too centralised and relied on same talent, and looked at the role of independent producers in this sector.

He concluded by stating the Ofcom was independent, non-political, and unashamedly technocratic. It also seems to be pretty tech-savvy, which is good.

[This posting is not checked against a record of the talk. The discussion is not included.]

Comments

[Mike Butcher]

Ofcom should be tech savvy - it's costing more than the five other regulators it replaced! Great reporting from the Convention BTW.