UK communications regulator Ofcom will be merged with postal services regulator Postcomm as part of the UK government's cost-cutting plans. In addition, a number of Ofcom's duties are to be changed or removed.
Ofcom's telecoms duties appear to be largely unchanged. However, its reviews into public service broadcasting and media ownership will no longer take place regularly; instead the culture secretary will decide when these need to take place and how thorough they need to be.
In a joint statement, Ofcom and Postcomm said they had "agreed to work together as far as practicable to maintain regulatory stability for both postal users and operators, with a view to providing as much confidence and certainty as possible for the future direction of regulation and to ensure a smooth transition."
[Further information: Postal Services Bill 2010; guardian.co.uk; PCPro.co.uk; Telegraph.co.uk]