Ofcom is prolific & controversial

[ image courtesy of smagdali / Flickr ]

Ofcom, the UK's equivalent of the FCC, issuer of immense reports, and water branding mavens [?], has had a busy week.

First, they issued a statement that stopped just short of whacking the last coffin nail on AM & FM in the UK. They argue that the spectrum should be used elsewhere, such as mobile TV, digital radio, and other data services. This appears a bit more drastic to these US eyes, likely because the UK is about 10 years ahead of the US on the digital radio front. Red Herring details this in depth.

On a related note, Ofcom has released another massive report detailing the international communications market in 2006, aptly titled "The International Communications Market 2006." Sink your eyeballs into all 221 pages here: full report, in .pdf format. For radio fans, point your browser to the radio only section: 21 pages, .pdf. It details where some of the Western countries stand, relative to each other, in terms of penetration, sophistication, and obfuscation of communications.
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