by Kate Henderson, Compliance Manager

2007 was a bad year for TV phone-ins. Scandal after scandal chipped away at audience trust. Several operators and broadcasters were hit with big fines.

Audits and processes

Following the fines, there was a need to restore trust in phone-ins. Ofcom and Phone Pay Plus strengthened their hands. Audits were imposed on broadcasters and service providers.

As part of that, Telecom Express has been thoroughly audited by the internal teams of many media clients. Without exception, these have produced positive reports on our technologies and in- house procedures. This means our clients can be confident that the services we provide comply with the rules.

Ensuring compliance

But compliance doesn't stop there. At Telecom Express we are committed to ensuring that all our services are in line with the regulations.

We have a full time Compliance Manager and a strategy which includes management sign off, risk assessments and contingency plans.

We have documented our broadcast processes in detail so our staff know what to do. And what not to do.

We include routines that mean we keep an eye on our clients to make sure they keep within best practice. And of course our rigorous processes keep us on the straight and narrow as well.

All this means that our clients can deliver engaging programme elements such as voting safe in the knowledge that these are ethical, legal, effective and fun.

It's what consumer want

Despite the scandals, audiences continue to have a huge appetite for voting.

BBC programmes such as Maestro and Strictly Come Dancing have been very successful at getting people to vote.

We'll make certain that interaction continues to be an important part of broadcasting, providing audiences with a chance they really value: getting involved in their favourite programmes.