Welcome to the website of the Office of the Adjudicator, Broadcast Transmission Services. This website describes the function of the Adjudicator, the process to be followed when requesting an Adjudication, and Guidance documents on the setting of Reference Offers.

Latest Quarterly Report

Report for the Period 1 October 2024 – 31 December 2024

Latest consultation

Consultation 1/2025: Operating Budget for The Office of the Adjudicator – Broadcast Transmission Services (this consultation is now closed)

Consultation 2/2024: Consultation on Arqiva’s Regulatory Accounts (this consultation is now closed)

Purpose of the Office

On 11 March 2008, the Competition Commission announced its decision to allow the merger of transmission companies Arqiva and National Grid Wireless (NGW) subject to the agreement of a package of measures (the Undertakings) to protect the interests of their customers.

Arqiva and NGW overlapped in the provision of Managed Transmission Services and Network Access to transmitter sites and associated facilities for terrestrial television and radio broadcasters. In its final report, the Competition Commission found that Arqiva and NGW were the only active providers of Managed Transmission Services and Network Access to the UK television broadcasters. The companies were also the most significant providers of national Managed Transmission Services and Network Access to UK radio broadcasters with a combined market share of more than 85%. In both cases, prior to merger, the companies had exercised a competitive constraint on each other.

The Competition Commission concluded the merger of the two companies might be expected to result in a “substantial lessening” of competition in broadcast transmission services.

The Competition Commission found the loss of rivalry between Arqiva and NGW would lead to a worsening in the price and non-price factors on which the parties had competed in the provision of Managed Transmission Services and Network Access.

After formal and informal consultation by the Competition Commission with Arqiva, its customers and other stakeholders, the Commission accepted Undertakings from Arqiva on 1 September 2008.

At the time the Undertakings came into force, the UK competition authorities were the Competetion Commission and the Office of Fair Trading. In 2014 they were abolished and their responsibilties, for the Undertakings and other matters, were taken over by the Competition and Markets Authority.

The definitive document on the obligations placed on Arqiva and the responsibilities and powers of the Adjudicator is the Undertakings. On this website the general principles and processes that will be followed in resolving disputes are summarised.

In order to meet the aims of the Undertakings, the Adjudication regime is intended to be efficient, effective and sufficiently flexible to respond to changes in the market and/or customer requirements. Therefore several key objectives need to be considered, and at times potentially balanced against one another:

Providing certainty (as regards to the application of the Undertakings) and transparency for customers;
Encouraging the commercial negotiation of contracts on a bilateral basis;
Providing customers with an accessible and uncomplicated dispute resolution process where commercial negotiations fail;
A flexible approach to determining disputes in accordance with Fair Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory practices and cost oriented principles; and
Quality decision making in a timely manner.

The Adjudicator is responsible for:

Dispute resolution;
Issuing Guidance and directions to Arqiva, which are published for the benefit of customers on:
- The approach to setting charges for new transmission/Network Access agreements and the sale of Managed Transmission Services assets; and
- The application of the Undertakings and the Adjudication process;
Provision of periodic reports to Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority;
Requiring Arqiva to provide reference offers;
Ensuring that Arqiva maintains and enforces a Security Strategy to manage the flow of commercial information within the company;
Ensuring Arqiva provides appropriate transparency in the calculation of its charges and that these charges are cost-orientated.