Ofcom chairman to step down

The chairman of the Ofcom board will step down next year, the regulator announced on Wednesday.

Lord David Currie became the inaugural chairman of Ofcom's board in 2002, after the super-regulator was formed out of the ashes of Oftel, the Broadcasting Standards Commission, the Independent Television Commission, the Radio Authority and the Radiocommunications Agency.

Currie's appointment was not without controversy — when he took the job, Currie had to fend off allegations of cronyism relating to past donations to the Labour Party.

"I look forward to working with Ofcom well into 2009 on such crucial matters as the development of policy on public-service broadcasting, [next-generation access] and consumer protection," Currie said in a Wednesday statement. "I continue to enjoy working with such distinguished colleagues and I am delighted that we have been able to arrange an orderly succession process."

Ofcom will start advertising for Currie's successor in September, and that person will take over after Easter 2009.