QuickLinks - Convergence of telecommunications, media and information technology

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Issue no. 280 - 24 August 2003

• UK - New regulatory framework - FAQs by ISPs (OFTEL)
  Frequently asked questions (FAQs) by Internet service providers about the new regulatory framework. The new framework recognises two fundamental types of providers - providers of electronic communications networks (PECNs) and providers of electronic communications services (PECSs). An electronic communications network (ECN) is a transmission system for the conveyance of signals. This definition includes the networks used to carry dial-up and broadband Internet traffic and to provide end users with Internet access. An electronic communications service (ECS) is a service consisting in the conveyance of signals. This includes Internet access services provided by ISPs. Provision of an ECS does not extend to the provision of content services or most information society services, for example web hosting, parental controls and exclusive content. However, providing the underlying transmission over which a content or information society service is conveyed may well involve the provision of an ECS. Content provided over the Internet is specifically excluded by the Act from direct regulation. However Ofcom will have a statutory duty to promote public awareness that Internet content is unregulated, and how users can regulate and control access to it themselves. The Act requires Ofcom to establish a Content Board who will represent the interests of consumers in relation to Ofcom's work on the content of anything broadcast or transmitted by means of all electronic communications networks, including the Internet. Ofcom will have a function to promote broadcasting and Internet media literacy and to conduct and publish research into content regulation and to take account of findings in its work.

• UK - The Communications Act 2003 (Commencement No. 1) Order 2003 (HMSO)
  brings into force specified provisions of the Communications Act.

• US - FCC to Offer Media Ownership Initiative (AP)
  Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell announced a series of initiatives aimed at ensuring broadcasters serve the communities in which they operate. The move comes amid intense criticism of the FCC's decision in June to revamp media ownership rules, which opponents said would promote more mergers and limit local programming. see also FCC seeks to still media law critics (Guardian)

• US - New broadband rules draw criticism (CNET News.com)
  Federal regulators released details on controversial new rules that will help shape the future of the high-speed Internet and local telephone markets. The new regulations, a 576-page document, spell out the Federal Communications Commission's vision for competition between the big local phone companies and their rivals in the data and voice telephony markets. Analysts said competitors on both sides of several issues are likely to challenge many of the elements, and the commissioners themselves evidenced one of the most bitter splits in recent regulatory history over some of the key provisions.

Issue no. 279 - 17 August 2003

• FR - Projet de loi relatif aux communications électroniques et aux services de communication audiovisuelle (www.internet.gouv.fr)
  Adoption d'un projet de loi sur les communications électroniques et les services de communication audiovisuelle. Une nouvelle définition des réseaux de communications électroniques est introduite couvrant l'ensemble des réseaux : réseaux de télécommunications fixes ou mobiles, réseaux câblés, réseaux de diffusion hertzienne terrestre ou par satellite. L'Autorité de Régulation des Télécommunications (ART) sera en charge des questions de régulation économique, notamment pour la régulation des services commerciaux utilisant ces réseaux. Il n'interviendra pas cependant pour la régulation des contenus éditoriaux proprement dits. Le Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel reste l'autorité de régulation de la radio et de la télévision, quel que soit leur mode de diffusion (hertzien, câble, satellite, ADSL, Internet). voir aussi Dossier thématique (Direction du développement des médias).

Issue no. 278 - 10 August 2003

• UK - Communications Act passed by Parliament (out-law.com)
  The Communications Act 2003, a law that updates and simplifies the regulatory framework for the telecoms industry and reforms the rules for media ownership, was passed by Parliament. The passing of the Act ensures that the UK meets its responsibilities under a series of EU Directives, due to be implemented by Member States by 25th July. The Act's main provisions include the transferral of functions to a single powerful regulator - the Office of Communications (OFCOM) - replacing the existing five regulators (the Independent Television Commission, Radio Authority, Office of Telecommunications, Broadcasting Standards Commission, Radiocommunications Agency).

• US - Media Ownership Rules Facing Appeals (Washington Post)
  Legal challenges to a Federal Communications Commission overhaul of media ownership rules emerged, with the regulations under fire both for allowing too few and too many mergers. The filings with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia were triggered by the publication of the FCC's final rules in the Federal Register. The regulations will go into effect on Sept. 4.

Issue no. 277 - 30 July 2003

• EU - Open platforms in digital television and 3G (RAPID)
  The European Commission has adopted a Communication on interoperability of Information Society services. With the more general aim of detecting the barriers to a wide access to new technologies, this Communication addresses the issue of promoting open technological platforms for third-generation mobile communications (3G) and digital television. These technologies could play a key role in future in providing widespread access to the Internet and to interactive services. The Communication identifies follow-up measures for Member States. It also foresees in the long term a "multi-platform environment" emerging which will deliver advanced information society services in a complementary way. Communication on Barriers to widespread access to new services and applications of the information society through open platforms in digital television and third generation mobile communications COM(2003) 410.

Issue no. 274 - 9 June 2003

• US - FCC Votes to Ease Media Ownership Rules (Washington Post)
  An ideologically fractured Federal Communications Commission voted 3 to 2 along party lines to relax or eliminate some key media ownership rules, allowing a newspaper to own a television station in the same city and broadcast networks to buy more stations at the national and local levels. see FCC Press Release. See also US - Media regulators get a roasting (Guardian). The US regulators responsible for the relaxation of media ownership rules that could benefit media giants such as Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation were given a roasting by senators at a committee hearing in Washington.

Issue no. 273 - 1 June 2003

• US - FCC Plan to Alter Media Rules Spurs Growing Debate (Washington Post)
  Substantial grass-roots resistance to the Federal Communication Commission's plans to relax or eliminate several major media ownership rules has been building in recent weeks, turning a numbers-crunching bureaucratic process into a growing debate on free speech.

Issue no. 268 - 28 April 2003

• DE - Regulation of Broadcasting and Internet Services in Germany - A brief overview (Hans-Bredow-Institut)
  von Wolfgang Schulz / Uwe Jürgens / Thorsten Held / Stephan Dreyer. Oktober 2002 (Arbeitspapiere des Hans-Bredow-Instituts Nr. 13)

Issue no. 267 - 21 April 2003

• UK - BBC dealt online ultimatum (Guardian)
  Culture secretary Tessa Jowell has told the BBC that it has until June to prepare a submission justifying the £112m it spends each year on its online and interactive services ahead of an independent government review.

• UK - Good progress towards government switchover targets (ITC Press Release)
  The Government has published a joint report by the Independent Television Commission and the BBC on Progress Towards Digital Switchover. The BBC and the ITC are required to produce the report under Section 33 of the 1996 Broadcasting Act, and the Government requested it as part of their Digital Action Plan.

• US - The storm over broadband bundling (CNET News.com)
  by Randolph J. May . Cable companies do not have a monopoly in the multichannel marketplace. Technological advances and marketplace dynamics are driving what might be called a digital multichannel marketplace. Bundles promote more efficient utilization of capacity, reduce customer churn, and aid in cross-selling, all of which reduce costs.

Issue no. 265 - 29 March 2003

• Peers warn of 'fatal flaws' in media bill (FT)
  Peers have warned the government that its communications bill for overhauling the media industry goes too far in deregulating ownership laws. Lord Puttnam, the Labour peer who is leading a House of Lords rebellion against certain provisions of the bill, said the bill could lead to a concentration of power in commercial broadcasting - specifically in Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation empire. Speaking ahead of the bill's second reading in the upper house, Lord Puttnam said the bill threatened plurality, diversity and Britain's reputation for having "the best free broadcast media in the world" because it contained "possibly fatal flaws".

Issue no. 260 - 23 February 2003

• EU - Is Digital TV a priority for Europe? (RAPID)
  Mr Erkki Liikanen Member of the European Commission, responsible for Enterprise and the Information Society PuntoIt Workshop European Parliament, Strasbourg, 11 February 2003

• U.S. backs merging Net, phone numbers (CNET News.com)
  In an internal letter,the Commerce Department recommended that the United States participate in an emerging electronic numbering system, known as ENUM, that will allow people to use one identifier for many different purposes, including mobile phones, e-mail, instant messaging and faxes. see FCC Chairman Powell's Letter.

Issue no. 256 - 18 January 2003

• US - FCC Deregulation Plans Assailed (Washington Post)
  Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael K. Powell's deregulatory agenda received a cool reception from a Senate committee, as several members questioned his plans to rewrite telephone regulations and media ownership rules. see also US - Feds mull broadband market shake-up (CNET News.com), Hollings Blasts Proposed FCC Rule Changes (dc.internet.com) .

• US - Forum On Media Ownership (Columbia Law School)
  Video of Morning session Afternoon session. Remarks by FCC Commissioners Powell, Copps, Martin.

Issue no. 255 - 6 January 2003

• US - TV industry girds for deregulation showdown (Reuters)
  Key players in the entertainment industry declared war on each other, as Washington gets set to loosen media ownership rules and allow another tidal wave of media consolidation. After weeks of huddling in secret, opposing sides revealed their battle plans in thousands of pages of documents filed with the Federal Communications Commission, center of the action. see also Washington Post and FCC Should Retain, Strengthen Media Ownership Safeguards (Center for Digital Democracy).

Issue no. 254 - 15 December 2002

• EU - Commission launches Public Consultation on Open Platforms in Digital TV and 3G (RAPID)
  The European Commission has launched a public consultation on a report on remaining barriers to the achievement of widespread access to new services and applications of the Information Society through open platforms in digital television and 3G mobile communications, which was requested by the Barcelona Summit and the Seville Council. The consultation will run until 15 February 2003. A public hearing is currently scheduled for 4 February 2003.

Issue no. 251 - 24 November 2002

• Nokia v Microsoft - The fight for digital dominance (Economist)
  The convergence of mobile phones and computers is bringing the giants of the two industries into direct conflict. see also Computing's new shape - Smartphones and handheld computers (Economist).

Issue no. 247 - 19 October 2002

• Access to technical bottleneck facilities: the new European approach (IViR)
  by Natali Helberger. see also The Evolution of Access Bottlenecks in Europe: Re-Locating the Regulatory Issues (Communications & Strategies) by Martijn POEL & Richard HAWKINS TNO, Institute for Strategy, Technology and Policy, The Netherlands and Future Bottlenecks in the Information Society (IPTS) Report to the European Parliament, Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy (ITRE).

• Governments should not push flawed digital terrestrial TV - report (Europemedia.net)
  Europe's digital terrestrial TV (DTT) isn't quite dead, but it's barely surviving. Because its inherent limitations make it unprofitable, governments should give up their plans of forcing DTT rollouts and let market forces determine the analogue switch-off date, according to a new brief by Forrester Research.

• Italy proposes new media law (Zini & Associates)
  Italy’s Ministry Council approved the proposed new law which revamps the media structure in Italy. The main changes introduced by the new law are as follows: the cross-ownership of television, broadcast and print media is no longer prohibited; no single entity or individual can have more than 20% of the total revenue from the "integrated communications system", which comprises: TV and radio broadcasting, written publications, the film industry, photography and marketing, regardless of the communication channel used, with the exclusion of the voice telephony market and the three television channels owned by the state (RAI) will be progressively privatized starting in 2004. The state will maintain a controlling share and no private party will hold more than 1% of the company’s capital stock.

• DVB - MHP - Home (DVB)
  Welcome to the DVB-MHP website. We have centralised the work of the DVB Project (www.dvb.org) on the Multimedia Home Platform standard into a compact and informative site that will guide you through all aspects and needs for creation of MHP from the technical specifications, commercial requirements and on to development of content and applications.

• Texting the television (Economist)
  Interactive TV has taken off in Europe in an unexpected way: via mobile phones. Text messaging has recently overtaken Internet use in Europe. One of the fastest-growing uses of text messaging, moreover, is interacting with television. This is subtly changing the nature of television. Rather than presenting content to viewers, an increasing number of programmes involve content that reacts to the viewer's input. That was always the promise of interactive TV, of course. The success of TV-related texting is a reminder of how easily an elaborate technology can be unexpectedly overtaken by a simpler, lower-tech approach. It does not mean that the traditional approach to interactive TV is doomed: indeed, it demonstrates that there is strong demand for interactive services. [Ed: highly recommended].

Issue no. 246 - 29 September 2002

• Showdown Over Digital Show Guides (Wired)
  Forget the eternal battle for the remote control. The real power struggle over television starts with electronic programming guides. see also Who's Running the Digital Show? (Wired).

Issue no. 242 - 30 July 2002

• UK - Blair faces fight on TV controls (Guardian)
  Tony Blair's relationship with media baron Rupert Murdoch came under fresh scrutiny when the government rejected calls from an influential parliamentary committee not to let the newspaper mogul buy into parts of UK terrestrial television. The joint committee of MPs and peers, headed by Labour peer and film maker Lord Puttnam, will recommend that the government scraps plans to allow newspaper groups, or television companies allied to them, to buy into Channel 5. The move would effectively end the chances of the Murdoch-chaired BSkyB buying Channel 5.

Issue no. 241 - 24 July 2002

• UK - The forced break-up of BT is not on Oftel’s agenda (Oftel)
  Response to the Fourth Report from the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Session 2001-02, 17 July 2002.

Issue no. 235 - 20 May 2002

• UK - Joint Committee on the Draft Communications Bill (House of Commons)
  Call For Evidence: Public Hearings. The Joint Committee on the draft Communications Bill invites interested organisations and individuals to submit written evidence as part of its inquiry into the draft Communications Bill. Submissions, reflecting the guidance on written evidence given in this press notice, should reach the Committee as soon as possible and must be submitted at the latest by Monday 10 June.

• UK - speeches by Gavyn Davies and Tessa Jowell (BBC)
  Westminster Media Forum speech given by BBC Chairman Gavyn Davies on 12 March 2002. I shall start by commenting on the line-up of services which the BBC will need to play its central role in our digital future. Then I will comment on how the governance of the BBC needs to be modernised to dove-tail with the rest of the UK’s new regulatory regime after the creation of Ofcom. see also Speech by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Tessa Jowell at the Westminster Media Forum. The Government's views on Public Service Broadcasting.

Issue no. 234 - 11 May 2002

• UK - media changes open way for overseas owners (FT)
  Sweeping changes to UK media ownership rules are planned by the government, setting up one of the world's most liberal broadcasting regimes. The proposals would lift barriers to US or other non-European companies taking over television networks. They also open the way for large newspaper groups such as News Corporation to take control of free-to-air television and radio channels. Draft Bill, Policy Narrative and Supporting Documentation (DCMS). see also Special report - Communications white paper (Guardian), U.K. government publishes draft Communications Bill (Total Telecom), Overseas groups free to buy UK broadcasters, Dismay as BBC escapes full reach of Ofcom, Ofcom to seek middle way despite strong powers, Number 10 presents united front on media bill and Waiting for Murdoch (all FT).

Issue no. 233 - 4 May 2002

• UK - Culture, Media and Sport Committee warns on digital switchover (Guardian)
  The collapse of ITV Digital has "dealt a body blow" to the government's plans for digital switchover. In its Fourth Report the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee said the government will have to seriously consider giving away digital set-top boxes to achieve its goal of switching off the analogue TV signal by 2010. On cross-media ownership, the media select committee agreed with BSkyB's argument that all special rules governing the media sector were "out of date". see also MPs call on regulator to split BT (vnunet) and BT faces pressure to sell fixed-line network (FT).

• UK - Media law shake-up set to block Murdoch (FT)
  Rupert Murdoch is to be barred from expanding into free-to-air television stations in Britain under a shake-up of media law in the communications bill, which is to be published after this week's local elections. Currently, media organisations such as Mr Murdoch's News Corporation that control more than 20 per cent of the national newspaper market are prevented from buying more than 20 per cent of ITV, Channel 5 or a national or local radio service. Most of these cross-media restrictions are set to remain.

• USA - Cable Companies Commit to Speed Digital TV (Reuters)
  The top ten U.S. cable operators committed to take steps to accelerate the transition to digital television, including carrying several high-definition digital channels by January 2003.

Issue no. 232 - 28 April 2002

• Europe - Does the Existing Regulatory Framework for Television Apply to the New Media? (European Audiovisual Observatory)
  by Tarlach McGonagle, Instituut voor Informatierecht (Amsterdam).

• Europe - Media Supervision on the Threshold of the 21st Century (European Audiovisual Observatory)
  Alexander Scheuer, Peter Strothmann, Institut für Europäisches Medienrecht. What are the Requirements of Broadcasting, Telecommunications and Concentration Regulation?

Issue no. 231 - 14 April 2002

• Economist Survey on digital television. (Economist)
  Power in your hand. The digital era is supposed to revolutionise television. The way people use it will change, but television will remain mainly a vehicle for mass entertainment. [Ed: Recommended]

• Sweden - TV4 set to launch iTV service (Europemedia)
  Mediteve expects the new interactive service will combine television, computers and telephone, providing live SMS, chats and games.

• USA - Local TV Station Tackles On-Demand Web Video (Newsbytes)
  While it may not be unique on the Web, the local ABC affiliate in St. Paul, Minn., is offering an unusual news video-on-demand service its general manager hopes will lead his local TV station to the leading edge of Webcasting. KSTP-TV debuted its 5Cast service, which allows Web site users to select video segments from archived TV newscasts in any order they choose, giving them, in some sense, the keys to the editor's desk.

Issue no. 230 - 7 April 2002

• Deutschland - Regulierer legt Frequenzzuteilung für Digitalfernsehen fest (Heise)
  Die Regulierungsbehörde für Telekommunikation und Post (Reg TP) gab die Eckpunkte für die Vergabe von Sendefrequenzen für das terrestrische digitale Fernsehen (DVB-T) bekannt.

• USA - Consumer Groups Blast FCC Over Planned Open-Access Shift (Newsbytes)
  A quartet of consumer groups accused the Federal Communications Commission of attempting to eviscerate rules intended to spur competition in the high-speed Internet market. see also Consumer groups pan ISP proposal (CNET).

• USA - High-Tech Industry Split On Broadband Policy (Newsbytes)
  The rift among high-tech sector heavyweights over the proper regulatory treatment for high-speed Internet services grew even more pronounced with the launch of two divergent coalitions formed to lobby federal policymakers on broadband issues - the High Tech Broadband Coalition and the Competition Working Group.

• USA - Interactive TV Arrives, Sort of (New York Times)
  After decades of false starts, interactive television is creeping into millions of American living rooms.

Issue no. 229 - 23 March 2002

• UK - Murdoch steps up lobbying ahead of media reforms (FT)
  With only six weeks to go until the government publishes a sweeping shake-up of media laws, Rupert Murdoch has been making his presence felt in Westminster. A favoured option being pored over by ministers and officials would clear the way for big television and radio mergers, but would limit newspaper expansion into broadcasting.

Issue no. 228 - 17 March 2002

• UK - Communications bill to relax cross-media ownership (FT)
  The government has reaffirmed its plan to relax cross-media ownership rules in its communications bill to be published next month. The long-awaited draft bill has the potential to kick start consolidation of the commercial terrestrial television sector. The relaxation of limits on ownership of cross-media could spark a wave of mergers and acquisitions involving the ITV companies, Channel 5 and BSkyB.

• USA - Cable ISPs Not Required To Share Network - FCC (Newsbytes)
  The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said that cable companies providing high-speed Internet access do not have to open their networks to competing Internet service providers because they provide "information services," not "telecommunications services." see press release.

Issue no. 227 - 10 March 2002

• UK - BT gets its broadcasting licence (ZDNet UK)
  The Independent Television Commission (ITC) has awarded a broadcasting licence to BT, in a move that could eventually see the telco using its network to transmit television and video to large numbers of customers. The licence will allow the firm to provide a full range television and related services over telephone networks and broadband cable. BT insists, though, that it isn't planning to become a fully fledged broadcaster in the near future.

Issue no. 226 - 3 March 2002

• Deutschland - Neues einheitliches Mediengesetz im Saarland (dpa)
  Das Saarland erhält als erstes Bundesland ein einheitliches Mediengesetz für Presse, Rundfunk, Fernsehen und elektronische Medien. Es sieht mehr Selbstkontrolle und Selbstregulierung der Medien vor. Das Gegendarstellungsrecht bleibt unverändert.

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