REGULATIONS
Policy & Regulations
Regulations News
Media convergence should be a wake-up call for regulators. Technological change has already changed market conditions profoundly for traditional media and communications, and regulation is lagging behind. Sector-specific legislation and regulation is threatening to stifle development and create unfair market conditions. Several factors are creating a new media market, and media convergence allows several different services to be offered over one network and one device.
Media convergence should be a wake-up call for regulators. Technological change has already changed market conditions profoundly for traditional media and communications, and regulation is lagging behind. Sector-specific legislation and regulation is threatening to stifle development and create unfair market conditions. Several factors are creating a new media market: digitization of information and communication (including IP) in combination with widespread availability of high-capacity access networks; increased processing and storage capacity; and high-resolution screens and other advances in consumer electronics. A tremendous evolution in communication and information systems has fundamentally changed the way we access and consume media services. Previously, they were distributed using different, vertically separated networks and specialized devices. Today, media convergence allows several different services – such as movies, TV, radio and internet – to be offered over one network and one device. As conditions have changed profoundly, policymakers need to reassess policy goals so they do not distort competition in any relevant sector of the market. Secondly, policymakers need to ensure that policy goals are implemented effectively and purposefully in regulatory regimes for converging markets. Sector-specific regulation is fragmented and does not consider implications of regulation and hence is associated with risk such as:
- Weakening of regulatory effectiveness if alternative providers in unregulated sectors cannot be regulated
- Distortion of competition
- Reduced supply or increased cost of bundled goods and services benefiting from internal subsidiesRegulatory flight - companies moving or being taken over by those outside the regulatory jurisdiction
- Convergence creating competition among regulators with overlapping remits
Net Neutrality Not so Neutral
Net neutrality, as it turns out, is not so neutral after all. In Ericsson’s view, the central consideration should be how to balance the needs of the internet with the needs of the participating networks so that both can adapt and grow to meet the increasing demands of consumers.
Converged Regulation
As the nature of television changes, how will regulation change? Rene Summer, director of government and industry relations at Ericsson, explains the importance of a converged perspective.
Consultation on the deployment of services associated with digital terrestrial television (DTT) and digital terrestrial radio (NTR) and the regulation of audiovisual media services on demand.
Ericsson thanks the CSA for this consultation and the opportunity offered to express the company’s opinion. As a supplier of solutions and services, Ericsson has chosen to answer a selection of questions specifically tailored to their field of expertise. (The document is available only in French.)
European Commission Online Commerce Roundtable Consultation
Ericsson’s official response to the European Commission’s conclusions on the online commerce roundtable on the online distribution of music. The response includes information about the importance of boosting the fledgling EU online market.
The new MediaCom World
This media trend update was presented at the Stockholm Stopover of the Volvo Ocean Race, in June 2009.
