Public issues arising from telecommunications and audiovisual convergence
The European Commission' s Information Society Project Office (ISPO) has published a summary report on "Public issues arising from telecommunications and audiovisual convergence. The report finds that technological developments are blurring the boundaries between the telecommunications and audiovisual services industries, and that the current regulatory distinctions between the two are a barrier to the development of the Information Society. The report calls for a fresh approach to public policy relating to this converged environment, to avoid stifling innovation, discouraging investment, choking new enterprise and undermining established market players. A number of recommendations are made for the development of public policy, principally: - The EU should define a regulatory vision for the future that supports market-led developments; - The application of this vision should be based primarily on competition law and should minimise regulatory intervention and avoid market distortions; - This vision should be applied to new services from their outset; - The EU should develop practical transition arrangements that progressively migrate current inconsistent regimes to the new vision.