Clause 1 - Functions and general powers of OFCOM
Communications Bill
11:00 am
Mr John Whittingdale (Maldon and East Chelmsford, Conservative)
My hon. Friend is entirely right, and I stand corrected. That is an important distinction, which we will examine when we consider the first group of amendments. One reason why Oftel has been slightly less successful in achieving competition might be that that objective was not given sufficient priority. My hon. Friend the Member for Ryedale (Mr. Greenway) and I were involved in such matters in a previous life, and we might be able to draw on our experiences when we come to debate the subject.
Oftel has to some extent been overtaken in achieving competitive markets by one or two of the
regulators that have been set up since. I should like to focus on that.