Today’s Guardian celebrates Ofcom’s 1st birthday with a review of the regulator’s first year, and makes the following comment:

“Although it seems Ofcom is engaged in an ever-growing number of reviews and consultations, its modus operandi resembles the creative processes of Rolf Harris. Like the antipodean artist, Ofcom has been working on different parts of the canvas with the intention of eventually pulling the composition together.”

Not sure if this is a compliment or an insult. The creative process of Rolf Harris - he always seemed to slap paint around with little strategy whilst saying - “Can you guess what it is yet?”

Obviously some in the industry are unesay with the direction, with Stephen Dyer, director of industry body the UK Internet Forum, quoted as saying: “Ofcom is doing marginally better than Oftel in that it has brought in some good people from other areas. Overall the jury is hopeful but so far disappointed.”

There’s a lot riding on 2005 - particularly around the strategic review of telecoms and finding a workable defintiion of ‘equivalence’. BT’s Director of Regulatory Affairs Anne Heal is quoted as saying, “[e]quivalence means as many things to as many people as you ask about it…we know what we think and we’d like, so the challenge will be getting some of those details buttoned down.”

Indeed.