THE Government will ratify the appointment of Stephen Carter this week as the first chief executive of Ofcom, Britain’s new “super-regulator” for communications.

Mr Carter, who was managing director of the cable group ntl until the end of last year, has been chosen by Lord Currie of Marylebone, the Ofcom chairman, and his board. His name will be submitted to Tessa Jowell, the Culture Secretary, and Patricia Hewitt, the Trade Secretary, today. An announcement is expected on Wednesday.

Mr Carter, 38, a lawyer and former chief executive of the advertising agency J. Walter Thompson, will be in charge of a staff of about 1,000.

Ofcom brings together five regulatory bodies: the Independent Television Commission (ITC), the Radio Authority, the Office of Telecommunications, the Broadcasting Standards Commission and the Radiocommunications Agency. The aim is to create a regulatory body reflecting the convergence between the media and telecommunications.

Mr Carter has seen off the challenge from Patricia Hodgson, the chief executive of the ITC, who was initially tipped for the top job. He has plainly been preferred because of his commercial sector experience. That he is a lawyer by training complements the skills of Lord Currie, an economist.

In recent weeks he has been on the shortlist for a number of senior appointments in the media — at the publishers Emap and Trinity Mirror. Before being offered the Ofcom job Mr Carter was on the shortlist for the chief executive’s job at Five, as Channel 5 is now known.

In addition to his legal qualifications, Mr Carter, married with two children, has a Harvard business degree. The Ofcom chief executive’s salary is believed to be about £350,000.

Ofcom is now looking for permanent premises. It will take on its powers to regulate the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the autumn after the passage of the Communications Bill.

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