The UK's communications regulator, which looks after broadband, mobile, post, TV, radio and online safety, with its headquarters in London and offices across the UK.
Ofcom is the independent regulator for the UK's communications services. Its work covers broadband and mobile networks, post, television, radio, the radio spectrum (the invisible airwaves used for everything from phones to emergency services) and, more recently, online safety. It sets rules, checks companies follow them, publishes research and acts for people across the UK. Its careers pages list business groups including Infrastructure and Connectivity, Spectrum, Broadcasting and Media, Online Safety, Strategy and Research, Economics and Analytics, Legal and Corporate.
The pages we read do not set out a one-line mission, and we will not invent one. They do say Ofcom acts for people across the UK and must consider the views and interests of people in different parts of the country. Each of the four nations has an advisory committee giving expert insight into local issues for citizens and consumers. Members of the Content Board and the Communications Consumer Panel also represent national interests. Ofcom's national and regional offices do not deal with consumer complaints, which go through its website.
Ofcom's headquarters is Riverside House on Southwark Bridge Road in London. It has offices in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, each led by a senior director, and a growing Manchester office at Circle Square on the Oxford Road corridor, which its careers page describes as over 70 strong with plans to roughly double. Its careers page also lists other English sites in Warrington, Birmingham and Baldock. Because it works on behalf of the whole country, it makes sense that it is spread across the nations and regions.
On culture, Ofcom says it has a culture that "puts wellbeing at the heart of everything we do", with further pages on values, diversity and inclusion and benefits that we did not read in full. The Manchester office is described as home to technologists, data experts, economists, lawyers, online safety policy experts, and operations and people professionals. That gives a flavour of the mix of people involved. The regulator is a public body, not a profit-making company, so its people are focused on rules, evidence and outcomes for consumers.
Roles at Ofcom are therefore very varied. Engineers and spectrum specialists work out how to share the airwaves fairly. Economists and data analysts study how markets for broadband and mobile are working. Lawyers and policy advisers write and enforce rules. Technologists and researchers look at online safety and emerging technology, while people, finance and operations teams keep the organisation running. If you enjoy economics, law, maths, computing or public policy and want a view of how telecoms really works, Ofcom is worth exploring.
Website: www.ofcom.org.uk
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