OFCOM has not done enough to fix the persistent problems of silent calls, limited competition among landline providers and the difficulties surrounding consumer switching, according to a report.
Margaret Hodge, the Labour MP who chairs the Public Accounts Committee, also said the communications regulator must do more to allow taxpayers and companies that fund it to judge its performance, adding that it was currently impossible to assess if it was providing value for money.
A report by the public accounts committee found an “overall positive picture” of a competitive communications market, which was functioning well and providing customers with choice and low prices.
But there was scope for Ofcom to “do more” to tackle the volume of silent calls, relatively low levels of switching between telecoms providers and limited competition in fixed-line telephony.
Ofcom’s operating expenditure in 2009-10 was £122m.
