Ofteln.
/ˈɒftɛl/, U.S. /ˈɔfˌtɛl/, /ˈɑfˌtɛl/ The Office of Telecommunications, a regulatory body set up in 1984 to supervise the operation of the British telecommunications industry, after the privatization of British Telecommunications plc.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > control > [noun] > regulation > specific regulatory bodies
Monopolies Commission1948
Oftel1982
Ofgas1985
Ofwat1986
Offer1989
Ofgem1999
1982 Financial Times 4 Nov. 11/4 A new body called the Office of Telecommunications (Oftel) is to be created, modelled on the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).
1990 Which? Nov. 604/3 OFTEL, the telephone watchdog, is investigating whether BT's credit-vetting scheme is fair.
2000 Investor Nov. 34/1 BT has been the object of European Union complaints to Oftel about the slowness of its moves to let rival companies into the prized ‘local loop’ wires that connect most households to the telephone network.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1982