Home > About Ofcom > Corporate Structure and Governance > Advisory Committees for the Nations > Advisory Committee for N Ireland > Notes of meetings > 16

11|03|08

Minutes of the sixteenth meeting of the Ofcom Advisory Committee for Northern Ireland - Friday 7 December 2007

Members present:

Wallace Ewart (Chairman)

Leslie Orr

David Elliott

Maire Killoran

Sally Montgomery

Isolde Goggin

Billy McClean

Libby Kinney

Apologies:

Jim Dougal

Glynn Roberts

Kevin McLaughlin

Paul Moore

In attendance:

Denis Wolinski Ofcom Northern Ireland

Graham Howell Ofcom London

Alan Pridmore Ofcom London

Stephanie Peat Ofcom London (via video conference)

Soo Williams Ofcom London (via video conference)

Neil Stock Ofcom London (via video conference)

Martin Campbell Ofcom London (via video conference)

Matthew Conway Ofcom London (via telephone)

Jonathan Rose Ofcom Northern Ireland

Joanne McMullan Ofcom Northern Ireland

Philip Morgan Ofcom Northern Ireland

Deirdre Melly Ofcom Northern Ireland

1. Welcome

1.1 The Chairman welcomed all present to the sixteenth meeting of the Ofcom Advisory Committee for Northern Ireland .

1.2 Congratulations were extended to Sally Montgomery on her recent award as Businesswoman of the Year.

1.3 It was confirmed that Libby Kinney would shortly be taking up a six month secondment with the BBC and as a result would be temporarily stepping down from the Committee during this time.

2. Minutes of the last meeting

2.1 The minutes of the last meeting were agreed and signed.

3. Matters arising

3.1 It was confirmed that the following documents had now been circulated to members:

Participation TV document

List of Committee subgroups

List of meeting dates for 2008

4. Director's Report

4.1 The Director presented his report

4.2 Members agreed to work on a response to the Children's Television consultation by the December 20 deadline.

Action: Sally Montgomery to initiate draft response to consultation; Wallace Ewart and Maire Killoran to complete

5. Spectrum Update

5.1 Philip Morgan gave an update on spectrum issues.

6. Wholesale Broadband Access

6.1 Jonathan Rose gave an update on Ofcom's consultation on the Wholesale Broadband Access Consultation. The Committee were encouraged to respond to the consultation which closes on 7 February 2008.

7. Strategy Away Day

7.1 Wallace Ewart and Libby Kinney updated the Committee on the recent Strategy Away day held in London . The event included presentations from the Board, the Content Board, the National Advisory Committees and the Advisory Committee on Older and Disabled people. 11 key priorities had been established, including PSB, Media Literacy, Radio, DDR, content regulation. Members noted that it would be useful to have access to copies of the presentations.

Action: Ofcom NI to circulate away day presentations to members.

8. Consumer Experience update

8.1 Billy McClean updated the Committee on the launch of the Consumer Experience Report in London . Key points of note with regard to Northern Ireland were that the availability of mobile services was higher than average here but that levels of PC ownership were still the lowest in the UK . It was also reported that around 100,000 homes in the UK were unable to get ADSL broadband, of which approximately 80,000 were in Wales .

9. DDR update

9.1 Matthew Conway confirmed that the next DDR statement was due on December 13, with a view to beginning the award process by Q2 2008.

9.2 Members expressed concern about the possibility of spectrum hoarding or non-use of spectrum adversely affecting Northern Ireland and enquired as to the possibility of either a NI opt-out or 'use it or lose it' clause.

Matthew reported that although no final decision had been made on award packaging there was a presumption in favour of UK-wide packaging; there was also the possibility of regulatory intervention to deal with anti-competitive hoarding. However, it was unlikely that a 'use it or lose it' clause would be implemented. Potential for co-ordination with the Republic of Ireland was also being investigated.

9.3 Members asked for clarification on the idea of an 'innovation reserve'. Matthew confirmed that Ofcom already had a licensing regime in place for Test and Development licences and that setting aside more cleared spectrum for any period of time would have an associated opportunity cost that would make this an unattractive option.

9.4 It was agreed that more work needed to be done in the area of educating industry and consumers about the possibilities presented by spectrum in general, and the DDR spectrum specifically.

10. Inclusion and Access

10.1 Alan Pridmore updated the Committee on the Access and Inclusion project.

10.2 Members expressed concern about the high cost of calls to internet service providers; the disparity between actual and advertised broadband speeds; the need for greater speeds in Northern Ireland in general.

11. Future of Radio

11.1 Neil Stock , Soo Williams and Martin Campbell updated the Committee on the Future of Radio consultation.

11.2 There was discussion about the relationships between commercial radio stations and community stations.

11.3 Members asked if there were any plans to make stations from the Republic of Ireland available in Northern Ireland . It was confirmed that there were no such plans at this time.

12. PSB Update

12.1 Stephanie Peat updated the Committee on the PSB Review at a UK level; Joanne McMullan gave an update on the Northern Ireland element of the Review.

13. Any Other Business

13.1 None

Date of next meeting: Wednesday 20 February 2007.

Documents tabled:

OCC Report

Content Board Update

Consumer Panel Update

Consumer Panel to Ed Richards