Okay, I realise I�m quickly becoming the OfcomWatch resident-crank when it comes to market and consumer research pieces produced by Ofcom and the Ofcom Consumer Panel, but someone needs to complain about all this learning, right?

And, I�m a little untimely. The Consumer Panel�s report, Consumers and the communications market: where we are now, was published on May 10th. Click here for a copy. Better yet, just click here and read the summary and what the Panel regards as the resulting policy implications.

And here are my thoughts on the report:

Price Tag. As usual, these glossy and seemingly-exhaustive reports never come with an explicit price tag. Learning opportunities are not unequivocal goods: The key elements are (i) how much we learn and (ii) at what cost. Well, we know what has been learned and�as explained more fully below�I think the learning is marginal. So, how much did this research cost?

Findings. The report basically concludes that there are knowledge gaps in understanding our communications culture. The gaps are fairly predictable, with older and poorer people and smaller businesses purportedly not keeping pace with other parts of society. The report also highlights problems with certain consumers� experiences with communications technologies and products.

The Implications. The Panel takes aim at industry. We�re told industry needs to �raise its game� and that the Panel �fired a warning shot� at industry to �understand its consumers better�. I was surprised to see this overtly-confrontational tone. Keep reading � I think the Panel has it partially wrong in this case.

The Substance. The Panel claims that the report �[r]eveal[s] the most comprehensive UK research to date into how much consumers understand about the communications market�. That�s a very big claim. Does the Panel achieve this?

I don�t think so. The learning contained in the report is marginal. For example, do we learn much from the fact that 94% of SMEs are unfamiliar with the term �VoIP�? Not really. VoIP is a technical term that, frankly, I would think the average person would never need to know. I don�t know much about fruit and vegetable distribution techniques used by Tesco or Sainsburys (which I am sure also use technical terms), but I know a rotten banana from a ripe one. So, according to the Panel�s logic, there is not only a knowledge gap related to communications, but also to the groceries.

It seems like the authors of the report ignore or downplay the economic concept of �rational ignorance� innovated by Anthony Downs. In fact, the report seems to have no theoretical underpinnings to it whatsoever. We�re not told why it is important that the selected knowledge elements of the report were chosen, and why other elements were presumably discarded. See sections 3.1 and 7.1 � why were technical terms (such as VoIP) and not service providers (such as Vodafone) used? And why was VoIP considered more important to SMEs than, say, IM? No justification is provided.

This type of approach particularly shows its weakness in the Digital Switchover portion of the report (Section 6). Consumers were asked if they had heard of the term �digital switchover� and�unsurprisingly�the results show that only 29% of respondents were aware of the term. A rationally ignorant consumer would know about Freeview, Sky or cable, but not necessarily care to keep up-to-date on the regulatory term, �digital switchover�. Well, at least not now, in mid-2005.

In any case, concepts like rational ignorance and awareness of the market versus awareness of (i) regulatory terms like digital switchover or (ii) technical terms like VoIP are not really explored in the report. But these are important considerations and surely go to the heart of consumers� level of �knowledge regarding what is going on the communications market and the choices/alternatives they have now and will have in the future.� We�re told there is a knowledge gap, but I�m not necessarily convinced it is important knowledge.

Okay, I�m being overly-harsh on the Panel. Others are as well. The report has some useful learning in it, particularly those portions that document the experiences of people with disabilities. But, I think the Panel�s strident press release accompanying the report is somewhat overstated. There�s a mismatch between the report�s findings and the Panel�s statements. The report indicates, for example, that dissatisfaction with service providers among both residential and SME consumers is low. Isn�t that a good thing?

Conclusion. I�m afraid that, if any entity needs to raise its game, it�s the Panel. The report, while laudable in nature, really falls short in certain key respects. I generally support the work of the Panel, but I believe they can do much better than this.

That�s my view � share yours at blog@ofcomwatch.co.uk.

NB - The Ofcom Consumer Panel have a right of reply to this website.