I would like to thank you Rosie and thank you to the All-Party Parliamentary Media Group for the invitation and for organising the APPG Media Group Annual Reception. 2020 is going to be a very busy year for Ofcom and today, I would like to discuss our strategic priority to support the UK’s vibrant broadcasting sectors with to deliver continued benefits to all UK audiences.
One of Ofcom’s priorities for this year is a thorough review of public service broadcasting. With this in mind, we have launched “Small Screen: Big Debate” - a national forum to discuss the future of public service broadcasting on TV and online. Furthermore, we’ve been speaking to people up and down the country, and we want Parliament, regulators, broadcasters and viewers to be involved in developing a new framework for public service media in future. We will also continue our important work on improving diversity in broadcasting, which I feel personally strongly about as Ofcom’s senior sponsor for our work to increase ethnic diversity.
Along with public service broadcasting, regulation represents another pivotal segment of Ofcom’s strategy for the year ahead. Government and Parliament will be making some important decisions this year about how to protect people from harm when they go online, whether that’s on social media or video sharing platforms. One of the most notable decisions made so far is that the area will be formally regulated by us Ofcom. We are pleased that Ofcom has been informing the debate with its research in this area, as seen in our latest Making Sense of Media report which tells us that more parents than ever feel children’s online use now carries more risks than benefits. Ofcom shares these widespread concerns about online harms and is ready to play any part in this new system.
Finally, much of this year will be focused on the role we have to ensure that infrastructure can support the growing rates of content being increasingly consumed on an array of devices. People are using more and more data at home and on the move, and Ofcom is responding to this. Over our broadband connections, we are now using an average of 315GB per month (which is about a 30% increase on the previous year). This is why in January we set out major proposals to help supercharge investment in fibre broadband, and we are working closely with Government and industry with the shared aim of bringing faster and more reliable broadband to homes and businesses up and down the country.
Amidst the current ongoing Covid-19 crisis, which ensued following the APPG Media Annual Reception, public service broadcasting and broadband speed have become an even more vital aspect of the lives of us all. With the majority of the country in complete lockdown, Ofcom is working to ensure that public service broadcasting is doing all it can to support and inform the general public. We are also working hard to guarantee our broadband infrastructure is strong enough to support the nation as it works and schools from home. I, along with everyone else at Ofcom, would like to thank all NHS and key workers working hard to protect our nation during this crisis.
Jonathan Oxley, Group Director