While reviewing all currently available FTA Sky channels this afternoon (Saturday 6th January) I by chance came across Ch181 Information Tv showing the Ofcom International Conference of all things.

Currently speaking is someone making a very long speech for whom the identity has not yet been shown (I started watching part way through their speech) but I have a feeling it may turn out to be new Ofcom CEO, Ed Richards.

Whoever it is has stated that one of Ofcom's primary roles is to provide consumers with "more keenly priced services".  Assuming this person was was Ed Richards then how can he make such statements while he allows almost every business number in the land to move to 084/7 and for consumers to be persistently misled that these are Local/National Rate.

Also how does Mr Richards claim that Ofcom is allowing "keener prices" while de-regulating BT prices to allow them allegedly to compete more effectively only for BT to increase line rental by 5% and the minimum call charge by 20%?

It seems to me that Mr Richards and his colleagues live in cloud cuckoo land and make fine sounding statements while the reality is something quite different.

Now he is saying markets need to be driven by competition.  Where exactly does he believe competition comes in to 084/7 prices the cost of which is not announced to callers when they make them and which are persistently misdescribed as local/national rate.  And how does competition operate when I am forced to pay BT an ever higher line rental charge because they have a monopoly on being the only telephone line rental supplier where I am guaranteed the ability to route my calls with all PSTN suppliers in the marketplace?

Well Aaron Saaron has now gone on to say there was no need at all for the EU to intervene in incoming roaming call costs for mobile phone users of over £1 a minute...

And now James Murdoch is telling us that competition will solve everything for the consumer and presumably he really expects us to believe that his £15 to £51 per month tv service mainly purchased by ordinary and low income households actually reflects a free and fully competitive marketplace.

I think the fact that Ofcom let arch cartel merchants like Vodafone and Sky speak at their conference while presumably having no platform at all for the voice of the telecoms consumer groups tells us everything we need to know about the sickly and incestuous relationship between Ofcom senior personnel and senior personnel in the telcoms and broadcasting industries.

Now James Murdoch tells us that perhaps the entrance to Ofcom's Riverside House should be known as "Dante's Inferno".  Incredible when he is referring to a body that still lets him use 0870 for all calls to Sky while Sky still do not reveal that the calls are covert premium rate and involve a revenue share payment to Sky.

Some of the rest of you who have Sky really need to watch this stuff.  Hopefully there is a repeat showing some time.

An interesting post NGM, I do hope you send Ed Richards one of your usual acerbic emails.

You said:

“....  Also how does Mr Richards claim that Ofcom is allowing "keener prices" while de-regulating BT prices to allow them allegedly to compete more effectively only for BT to increase line rental by 5% and the minimum call charge by 20% ...”

And remember that call costs to 01/02 numbers have increased by 10% for an overage length call of 15 minutes, owing to the introduction by BT of “whole minute rounding up” of calls.