Ofcom has commissioned the voluntary sector coalition, Public Voice (of which I have been until now the co-ordinator) to run the voluntary sector part of its forthcoming consultation on the allocation of the digital dividend. The commission is a recognition of the potential interest that civil society and voluntary sector groups may have in ensuring that the maximum citizen as well as consumer benefits result from the release of the spectrum currently used by analogue TV.

Public Voice will produce a bespoke leaflet and Web information and will contact over 4,000 voluntary organisations, helping them to understand what the issues are and how to engage with them. There will be a conference, with Ofcom representation, in January.

Public Voice has played a similar role in government consultations on the communications white paper and the future of the BBC (the latter achieving the highest resposne for any dcms consultation).

Public Voice has appointed a project manager, Rebecca Fulton, to drive this work, contactable at rfulton@csv.org.uk