Archive for January, 2005

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By ChrisMarsden on January 31st, 2005

David Currie on future strategic reviews: the 3 year process

As Stephen Carter spoke to the eForum, so David Currie was at ISPA (good to see speeches put online so quickly):
“We want to look to the future so that we can anticipate and respond to the changing market. This programme of work will cover three areas:
1. digital multi-media platforms
2. second generation broadband
3. broadcast content production
Each [...]

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By ChrisMarsden on January 31st, 2005

Stephen Carter’s exact words to the Westminster eForum

Speech of Wednesday 26th:
“…by the time we have digested what we expect to be an extensive set of comments on 3rd February and developed our final proposals, it will be in the immediate run up to a May election and, though we are an independent regulator, that is never the best time to be announcing [...]

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By ChrisMarsden on January 31st, 2005

Carter threatens PM with the Competition Commission – or does he?

Robert Peston in yesterday’s Sunday Telegraph is intriguing:
“Carter’s tantalising reply was that Ofcom’s recommendations could actually be delayed by the timing of the general election – which didn’t compute. How could there be any connection between the electoral cycle and Ofcom’s adjudication of whether BT is allowing its rivals to obtain access to its network [...]

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By ChrisMarsden on January 31st, 2005

Competition Commission timetables

Now this doesn’t include any attempts at futile but time-wasting (say, 6 months) judicial review that might be attempted to stave off the inevitable, but expect 2 years from a summer referral if the fixed telecoms market is to go to the CC. Add on a JR and it’s January 2008 before BT begins to [...]

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By ChrisMarsden on January 30th, 2005

United Nations releases the drafts of its issue papers on Internet governance

Tomorrow (31st January) is the deadline for the release of drafts by the Working Group on Internet Governance. They can then be commented on until 16 February (which is the end of a two-day physical meeting) before being finalised the following 2 days for PrepCom 2 on 19 February, the preparatory meeting for the second [...]

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By Luke on January 28th, 2005

Burns Panel recommends Public Service Broadcasting Commission to oversee BBC

The BBC needs radical governance and regulatory reform, including the creation of a Public Service Broadcasting Commission (PSBC), an independent panel told Culture, Media & Sport Secretary. Tessa Jowell today.
The group was appointed by Jowell to assist in her review of the BBC’s royal charter. The final report dealt with the question of how [...]

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By Russ on January 28th, 2005

Reminder: Prof. Martin Cave to speak at Oxford on Tuesday

Professor Martin Cave of the Warwick Business School will be speaking here at Oxford on Tuesday February 1st, continuing Oxfordï¿½s Programme in Comparative Media Law and Policyï¿½s (PCMLP) current seminar series ï¿½Whatï¿½s wrong with competition policy in the media sector?ï¿½
Details: Tuesday, February 1st, 3pm, Manor Road Building, University of Oxford
See you thereï¿½

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By Russ on January 27th, 2005

Ofcom starts the spectrum liberalisation process

Yesterday Ofcom published its statement on spectrum liberalisation. Here is what you need to know:
* First, what is liberalisation? Many of our friends might be confused by this term at first glance. ‘Liberalisation’ historically meant (in the EC context) the introduction of competition into a monopolistic sector, but the term is [...]

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By Paul on January 27th, 2005

The Jerry Springer Opera controversy rumbles on

It would seem that Christian groups are still grumbling about the showing of Jerry Springer the Opera on BBC 2 earlier in the month. With Christian voice claiming that they will take the BBC to court on grounds of blasphemy.
Director General Mark Thompson gave a personal guarantee to Michael Grade before transmission that the show [...]

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By Russ on January 25th, 2005

Steve Bowbrick and PWC on cable technology issues

Great post over at bowblog, describing the inability of UK cable to harness PVR technology, and criticising the industry for its VOD efforts.
You should also check out PWCï¿½s recent cable industry review entitled – ï¿½Big Bets for the U.S. Cable Industryï¿½. (Colourful, full of tables, and loaded with predictions – It looks like something [...]

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By ChrisMarsden on January 25th, 2005

Those non-Irish regulators in the joint working group in full…

OfCom’s been doing a lot of international work and keeping quiet on much of it – which is understandable as it’s background briefings, information sharing etc. But they have revealed the team involved in their joint working group with ComReg – the Irish equivalent who just released that joint dominance decision.
The working group is mainly [...]

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By ChrisH on January 24th, 2005

Local and Community Television in the United Kingdom: A New Beginning?

A summary of my my forthcoming report can be found here.
All comments (etc) welcome. The aim of the research is to generate a discussion around ‘media localisation’ analagous to that currently being played out in the United States… to begin a debate, rather than to define its terms of reference.
Publications details for the full report [...]

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By monica on January 24th, 2005

Ofcom withdraws EC tranmission notifications

Today Ofcom has withdrawn its notifications to the European Commission in respect of the identification of markets for national managed transmission services; and for local, regional and metropolitan managed transmission services. It is also withdrawing its notification of the finding of significant market power in the market for national managed transmission services.
Under the EU regulatory [...]

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By Amit on January 24th, 2005

EU Commission approves of Irish regulatorï¿½s Collective Dominance finding and MVNO plans

The Irish telecommunications regulator, ComReg, has recently announced that the EU Commission endorsed its finding that Vodafone and O2 had Collective Dominance of the Irish mobile market. It is the first decision the EU Commission has taken on Collective Dominance in a European mobile market and may encourage other NRAs to decide on the existence [...]

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By ChrisMarsden on January 24th, 2005

Powell, Verwaayen and Ungerer on ’stakeholders’

1. So Powell resigns having lost his battles with Kevin Martin – is Martin the Brutus and Kathleen Abernathy the Anthony? Certainly Martin pulled no punches in isolating Powell on the FCC – in a five-person Commission, usually the President’s pick for Chair (Powell) gets his way, but fellow-Republican Martin ‘defected’ on key issues, producing [...]

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By Russ on January 24th, 2005

Changes in U.S. Telecoms / Media Policy

As Luke noted in his earlier post, Michael Powell is out. Everyone is saying that current FCC commissioner Kevin Martin is the favourite candidate for the job. I have no knowledge one way or the other, just what I read in the trade press. Martin’s wife, Catherine, is a top aide to [...]

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By Luke on January 24th, 2005

Powell quits as FCC Chairman after four years

Michael Powell, Chairman of the FCC, resigned on Friday.
FT Comments – “Under Mr Powell, the FCC applied light regulation to the cable industry as well as telephone companies. But his efforts to liberalise media ownership rules proved unsuccessful. The 41-year old son of Colin Powell, outgoing secretary of state, successfully pushed through rules to deregulate [...]

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By Luke on January 23rd, 2005

BT say Ofcom is taking the wrong approach on LLU

The Sunday Times reports:
“The chief executive of BT Group has warned that 60% of British homes and businesses will be denied the benefits of the broadband revolution unless Ofcom, the industry regulator, changes its approach.
BTï¿½s Ben Verwaayen said Ofcomï¿½s method of encouraging more competition in high-speed internet services ï¿½ known as local loop unbundling [...]

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By Luke on January 22nd, 2005

Ofcom to cost 133 million in 2005/06

Ofcom’s 2005/06 Annual Plan states,
“…We are now committed to being an ï¿½RPI minus Xï¿½ regulator and to achieving a five per cent saving during the 2004/05 financial year, with a further five per cent to be saved in 2005/06.
For 2005/06 Ofcom will cost ï¿½133m (excluding spend on SES – Spectrum Efficiency Scheme funded by [...]

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By monica on January 21st, 2005

From Ofcom to Europe?

The inaugural lecture of the Competition and Communications Seminar Series at PCMLP last Wednesday featured Herbert Ungerer, head of DG Competition media branch. In an excellent presentation, Mr. Ungerer stressed the importance of new media services and open markets in Europe and mentioned France and Italy as success examples. The question, he said, is [...]

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