Date post: | 06-Apr-2017 |
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Opportuni)es in Convergence of Telecoms and Broadcas)ng
Presenta)on by Paris Mashile
Table of Content
1. The Convergence of the Telecoms, IT, Media and Entertainment (TIME) Industries.
2. The Changing Broadcast Marketplace. 3. Non-‐tradi)onal Business Lines. 4. Data Broadcas)ng. 5. Program Related Data. 6. Mul)media Content Over Broadcast
Network.
7. Webcas)ng 8. Broadcast and Telecommunica)ons Coopera)on. 9. Compe))on in the Digital Informa)on Age. 10. The Impact of Convergence on Policy Making and Regula)on. 11. Conclusion.
The Convergence of the Telecoms, IT, Media and Entertainment (TIME) Industries
• A new technology coming to the fore has shaken up the TIME industries.
• This has inexorably resulted in a new informa)on market economy.
• This shake up of our age is driven by three digital technologies viz:
– Signal processing which transforms analogue signals to digital ones. – IT which allows the processing of data in digital form. – Digital networks which allow the instantaneous transmission of digital data (ones and zeros) from anywhere to anywhere in the world.
• Content that is digital and reaches the end user is called e-‐content
• This has resulted in three separate ver)cal value added chains being collapsed to form six horizontal market segments i.e.
• Audio visuals, voice and data or mul)media into: – Content – Packaging – Transmission – Naviga)on – Value added services – Recep)ve appliances, -‐ TV, telephone and computers, etc.
The Changing Broadcast Marketplace
• The tradi)onal broadcast business is to provide different types of news, informa)on and entertainment with local, regional, and na)onal appeal.
• This is good sustainable business that generates huge adver)sing revenue to the broadcast service provider.
Non-‐tradi)onal Business lines
• Both the public and commercial broadcaster can use the Ver)cal Blanking Intervals (VBI) lines and ubiquitous distribu)on in local, regional and na)onal markets to enter quite compe))vely the data broadcas)ng, bandwidth and Internet market spaces.
• With the added benefit of being able to cover opera)ng costs with tradi)onal business lines.
Data Broadcas)ng
• There are 10 VBI lines from line 10 to 20 yield 150 kbps of data capacity in the analogue system.
• It is a very cost effec)ve means for providing data access to millions of homes, schools, offices, cars and mobile people.
• TV signals are among the country’s most ubiquitous data services available.
Program Related Data • These are data broadcas)ng services that are related to on-‐air programs.
• They are enhanced content relevant to the program and broadcast in the VBI simultaneously with the program itself.
• The display device is typically the TV receiver connected to a STB.
• Programme related background or in-‐depth informa)on can be accessed by clicking on an Icon shown on the the screen.
• This will in turn connect the viewer to a website.
• Adver)sers can use this technology for viewers to crossover between an on-‐air commercial directly to a web-‐site for addi)onal informa)on or to make a purchase.
• Or a viewer of a car advert could link to a dealer’s web-‐site and find what is inventory s)cker prices and even make an appointment with a sales rep.
• During sports broadcast an ‘I’ icon may offer the viewer to click to a web-‐site, where in-‐depth sta)s)cs informa)on is available.
Mul)media Content Over Broadcast Network
• The DVB-‐T has a huge transmission capacity of 10 Mbps to 20 Mbps per 8 MHz TV channel.
• When masses of people want mul)media services at the same )me the internet system cannot cope.
• But DVB-‐T with its huge bandwidth will provide reliable data delivery and mul)media services.
• It therefore takes just a few bits for the user to lick on the URL to trigger a tsunami of mul)media data downstream.
• This is called IP over DVB or datacas)ng.
• By using this one to many (PTMP) delivery system, the cost for popular content per receiver can be a frac)on of the two way Internet access.
• DVB-‐T supports mobile opera)ons such that massive audiences can be reached anywhere, any)me in a cost effec)ve way.
• This offers a new way for mul)media services, e-‐mail distribu)on, Web pages, sodware updates, database updates, catalog downloads, and contributes to universal access.
• DVB-‐T will typically provide online data into a PC at speeds higher than the speed of the fastest Internet.
• Marrying TV data bandwidth capacity to return links like cellular phones or PSTN can easily and affordably extend the commercial value and business u)lity of this service.
• One could marry the DTV bandwidth to enable huge mobile downstream data pipes at compe))ve prices.
• This creates a strategic inflec)on point for both the Internet business and broadcas)ng business.
• An electronic Service Guide (ESG) is needed so that users can easily find and filter content of interest.
• To make datacast a reality requires changes in regula)ons because broadcas)ng is )ed to radio and TV services.
• This restricts datacast services significantly limi)ng opportuni)es that digital broadcast technology can offer.
Webcas)ng
• Radio and TV transmission over the Internet or Internet radio or the so-‐called webcas)ng uses media streaming technology i.e. via the Internet.
• Instead of using the electromagne)c wave receiver, a PC can download a radio or TV programme from a server i.e. a webcaster.
• This allows the user to listen and watch without being limited by spectrum availability
• Webcas)ng has many advantages such as: – Access to sta)ons from any loca)on, even listening to your local radio in foreign countries.
– audio streams of local radio sta)ons targe)ng various ethnic, or demographic groups.
– Archiving and later access at arbitrary )mes. – Easy copying. – User Interface as for other services.
• So we will have two entry points to the content. • With the TV set equipped with a STB.
• Broadcas)ng sta)ons can therefore transmit over the Internet, either solely or simultaneously with their regular over-‐the-‐air (OTA) programmes as well as audio on demand services.
• The ques)ons for regulators are: – Is webcas)ng also seen broadcas)ng? – What about IPR protec)on when everybody can download and copy everything?
Broadcast and Telecommunica)ons Coopera)on
• This refers to the joint usage of these two complementary technologies in order to provide new features that each technology cannot provide in a sa)sfactory manner.
• Such coopera)on can improve the efficiency of exis)ng services through beher u)liza)on of spectrum and/or higher performances.
• A broadcas)ng system combined with an interac)ve channel from a telecommunica)on system proves to be the cheapest and most efficient solu)on for services that many users share.
• The coopera)on of UMTS and DVB-‐T has the ability to deliver beher performance compared with either of the networks.
Examples
• Entertainment – TV, radio programs – Games and Interac)ve TV
• General Informa)on – News, weather, travel traffic maps – Financial and commercial informa)on.
• Personal informa)on – Web browsing, file transfer, – Individual traffic informa)on – Naviga)on – Emergency services and – Loca)on based services (LBS)
• Business and commerce – e-‐commerce, e-‐banking e-‐mail – Remote access, mobile access
Compe))on in the Digital Informa)on Age
• The plurality of means of digital transmission suggest that market structures will be more compe))on oriented.
• However, the diversifica)on of digital delivery systems does not guarantee that compe))on will thrive.
• More so because customers will have more choice and this fragments the market.
• Companies will therefore ahempt to integrate ver)cally or horizontally in search of the benefits of the economies of scale and scope.
• This can easily lead to monopoly or oligopoly with one or few dominant firms.
• Therefore the exis)ng legal and ins)tu)onal arrangements will be inappropriate and ineffec)ve as technological advances change the market structures and the conduct of players in the newly converged market.
The Impact of Convergence on Policy Making and Regula)on
• We note that the currently separated markets have morphed into a comprehensive informa)on market.
• It is therefore incumbent for policy makers to crad a new policy paradigm in the digital age.
• As it were it will be fu)le to put new wine in old bohles.
• Mul)media communica)ons is without doubt becoming the mainstream applica)on.
• The horizontal separa)on of media and message is most suitable for the age of mul)media.
• This is so because there is no difference between broadcas)ng, telecommunica)ons the Internet communica)on networks, services and applica)ons.
• Accordingly a new mul)media law is needed to establish a horizontal separa)on of:
• The Right of Way Law • The Media/Conduit Law • The Message/ Content Law • Note that the consumers want content and are willing to pay for it.
• So policy makers and regulators should be circumspect.
• Don’t kill the goose that lays the golden egg. • Or don’t use a hammer to swat a fly.
• As far as media/conduit is concerned, regula)on should include privacy, copyright and no undue preference or causing undue discrimina)on against any other licensee.
• Where technically and economically feasible companies much be obligated to interconnect their networks.
• Guard against an)compe))ve behaviour of – dominant companies, – those controlling essen)al facili)es, – Ver)cally integrated companies. – Companies with economies of scale and scope.
• The right of way regula)on includes spectrum assignment to compe)ng industries on a fair compe))ve basis.
• The alloca)on of land-‐lines right of way is about who will allocate that right, who should dig up the roads and how much it will cost.
Conclusion • The foregoing discussion does, to a certain extent, indicate
that the simplified bahle as to which technology is the best, is naive.
• Different technologies have their op)mal usage in different environments.
• We now have a digital informa)on ecosystem of integrated bit ways providing integrated services and applica)ons.
• Business Web is a typical strategy of the New Economy where a network of companies produce independently of each other value-‐ adding par)al services which complement one another.
• The companies’ market success is interdependent, since only the system product resul)ngfrom the value added network as a whole offers the buyer an integral solu)on to the problem
• Policy makers, legislators, regulators and market players can no longer confine themselves to sector specific approaches.
• The challenges of convergence are responded to by relying on technology neutrality and market based approaches.
• Regula)on that is based on a specific technology is des)ned to be obsolete.
• It will lead to inefficient investment and uneven playing field.