The Office of the Telecommunications Ombudsman (Otelo) was set up in 2002 following the work of an implementation working group under the chairmanship of Sir Edward Osmotherly. Their work and the support of the then Director of Telecommunications, David Edmunds, provided the foundations on which the service has been built.

From the appointment of the independent council members, who were also the founder members of the company, independence from the regulator and from the industry has been an important reality.

Otelo is funded by its industry members, and approved as a dispute resolution service by the regulator (Ofcom), but its governance structure has been carefully designed to protect the independence of the ombudsman. This was recognised early in 2003 when the service was admitted to membership of the British and Irish Ombudsman Association.