Simon was previously at Ofcom where he acted as spokesman on matters as diverse as internet regulation, public service broadcasting, consumer telecoms and spectrum management. Before that, he ran the international communications programme for networking company 3Com. Simon began his career in PR agencies, working in the London and Sydney offices of Hill and Knowlton.

“Everyone in the UK has access to a phone and most people, therefore, are consumers of phone-paid services,” Simon Bates said.

“The work we do to protect consumers, and to help industry comply with our rules, is important and communications is at the very heart of it. I look forward to working closely with industry and consumer groups to build trust in these exciting, valuable services,” he continued.