Ofcom announced today:

‘Ofcom announced today the appointment of Anna Bradley as Chairman of its independent Consumer Panel. The Panel advises Ofcom on the consumer interest in telecommunications, broadcasting and spectrum markets.

Ms Bradley was Consumer Affairs Director of the Financial Services Authority (2002-5) having been Chief Executive of the National Consumer Council (1999-2002). She has an MBA and BA from the University of Warwick.

Ms Bradley is currently Non-Executive Chairman of the Soil Association’s Organic Standards Board, a member of the board of Addaction, Britain’s largest drug and alcohol treatment agency and a consultant to Aegon UK, part of one of the world’s largest life insurance and pension companies.’

The consumer panel’s website is here. Although the panel is nominally independent from Ofcom, it relies on the regulator for funding, office space, etc. Also, the media often confuse the panel for Ofcom itself…

Bradley says she looks forward to seeing that Ofcom act on the panel’s advice. That’s a good emphasis — late in 2007 the consumer panel pressured Ofcom to start looking at the consumer experience in broadband services. Hopefully Ms. Bradley can continue that work, this time with a strong ally on the Ofcom Board (Colette Bowe).

Are the days of misleading broadband claims and wretchedly poor service finally coming to an end?

AND FINALLY — be sure to vote in our new poll ———–>