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| December 2014 | Issue: 25 |
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Hello , Are we in the third phase of convergence? What was clear from this year’s annual conference is that convergence continues to take on new dimensions. Some are calling this phase the ‘Uber Economy’ built on peer-to-peer sharing platforms and the 'internet of things'. This new phase of convergence is shaking up old industries and has the power to deliver higher rates of economic growth, higher living standards, more innovation and lower barriers to entry to entrepreneurship. The challenge for policy makers and regulators is how to harness the innovation and economic drive whilst protecting the vulnerable.
This was a key theme in Washington this month where we’ve just returned from our third and final TMF meeting of the year. Next year will bring more debate, discussion and exploration of all aspects of the communications policy agenda. We hope you will take part. In the meantime we wish you all greetings of the season.
Andrea Millwood Hargrave |
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Telecommunications & Media Forum, Washington, 2-3 December The meeting brought together members of the FCC, leaders of businesses and other regulatory bodies to discuss the policy roadmaps for America and the rest of the world. The United States Communications Act of 1934 has not been updated in 18 years. This event examined what a review of the Act might mean. This event attracted over 90 participants representing north and southern Americas and way beyond. The two days were, as ever, filled with intense debate and lively discussion. There was general consensus that the closing panel discussion on investment and financing of national broadband plans and universal service funds was an excellent discussion and many of the US participants commented that they enjoyed hearing about experiences outside North America. Feedback from delegates has given us plenty of food for thought on what to include in our 2015 programmes. For delegates and members |
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Best Practice Competition Regulation in Broadcasting, 2-6 November 2014 The IIC does not run a regular training schedule but with the level of expertise in our network we were delighted to create a bespoke development programme for members, NBTC Thailand. We brought together a group of experts for a week in London exploring best practice competition regulation in broadcasting. The programme included visits to BT and Ofcom and delegates enjoyed presentations and addresses from the European Commission, Watson Farley Williams, Vincent Porter, Emeritus Professor of Mass Communications, University of Westminster , Sky, Liberty Global, the BBC Trust, The Cedar Tree Advisory Service, and the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA). Punctuating the intense content packed agenda was some more light hearted networking opportunities in the form of wine tasting kindly hosted by Watson Farley Williams, lunch from the IIC and an awards ceremony recognising the contribution of individual delegates to the week’s success. Delegates were tested for understanding of some of the more complicated content through simple multiple choice tests and facilitated role plays. If this is something your organisation could benefit from and you would like to discuss a similar programme for 2015, please talk to Andrea Millwood Hargrave. |
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Annual Conference Report 2014 KPMG, IIC Members and sponsors of the IIC’s Annual Conference, have condensed the key discussion themes from the conference into a short but highly insightful report to which they have added an additional layer of industry analysis and data. The report is free to members. |
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Upcoming Events Telecommunications and Media Forum, Brussels, 17-18 March 2015 The policy and regulatory roadmap for Europe and beyond… Dates are now confirmed for the spring TMF which will take place as usual in Brussels. Once again we are delighted that BIPT the telecoms regulator in Belgium will host the meeting.
Key topics for discussion The full programme will be available online in January so watch the website for more details. |
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Event Calendar
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Intermedia Winter Edition Winter 2014 is on its way. This final edition for the year is a bumper edition bringing together themes from throughout the year. The edition is broken into two parts with part two focusing on regulatory issues and resources. Certain articles are made available on our website. This month we are featuring Brian Williamson’s article on the third convergence phase, Convergence and the Uber Economy. Members of the IIC receive hard copies of InterMedia in the post and can access all articles and back issues online. Find out more about member benefits |
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Regulatory Watch The IIC’s eye on the news. This bulletin is regularly updated with thumbnails of industry news. Follow the links for a round-up of latest industry stories. |
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Ofcom’s CEO exits ‘Is it too easy for companies to appeal against Ofcom’s decisions’ asks Ed Richards outgoing chief executive of Ofcom. Read the transcript of Ed Richards’ ‘exit interview’ at the House of Lords Select Committee on Communications and Ofcom’s new European broadband scorecard. Read more |
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Australian policy roadmap – the three principles of reform The Australian government has released a policy paper outlining a roadmap for telecoms regulatory and structural reform, including a response to recommendations of an independent cost-benefit analysis of broadband and review of regulation, led by Michael Vertigan. According to Telecom Paper, reform will be based on three principles. Read more |
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ACMA Communications Report for 2013-2014 Meanwhile the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has released its communications report for 2013/14, which provides an overview of Australian telecoms industry performance against a range of regulatory obligations. Read more |
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Pressure builds to end net neutrality Will capital spend in broadband networks be hurt if broadband classified under Title II? More than 60 members of the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) in the US have signed a letter to the Congress and the FCC in which they “express our strong opposition to proposals to classify broadband as a ‘Title II’ service. Read more |
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Nigeria counters illegal spectrum use The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has “clamped down” on four telecoms companies for engaging in illegal usage of spectrum frequency, and is on the trail of three more operators violating regulations in the industry reports All Africa. Read more |
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Stage set for EU digital reform The European Parliament has called on EU member states and the European Commission to break down barriers to the growth of the EU’s digital single market in a resolution voted on by MEPs, which also stressed the need to prevent online companies from abusing dominant positions. Organisations including the GSMA and European operators association, ETNO, have called for reform that better addresses investment and a level playing field for those competing with OTT players. Read more |
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Virtual taxi services evade intervention Attempts by India to ban the controversial taxi service, Uber, and other similar services until they get licences, seem to have failed, reports Quartz. These services are still available in the national capital. Read more
These and many other stories can be found at Regulatory Watch |
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Gabrielle Gauthey, Executive Vice President, in charge of Global Government and Public Affairs for Alcatel-Lucent.
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Alcatel-Lucent are long-time supporters, contributors and IIC sponsors. 1. Gabrielle, please briefly describe how you came to be in your present post at Alcatel-Lucent. 2. You spoke in the consolidation & competition plenary session at the recent IIC conference in Vienna and you spoke about the different broadband and regulatory trends. As someone in a trans-global industry, what are the greatest challenges for you, especially in terms of policy making? 3. And in terms of responding to national policies? Do you see more coherent or greater fragmentation of policy decisions globally? 4. What do you see as your main challenges in the near term – 2015-2017? 5. If you had to pick a trend or a technology that would most disrupt carriers in the medium term, what would it be? 6. How does the IIC help you in your work?
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The IIC has nine chapters and each is made up of dedicated professionals who work in a not for profit capacity to share knowledge, facilitate relationships and create long-term bonds between regulatory authorities and the businesses they regulate. |
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Italy Chapter The Future of the Electronics Communications Sector On the 11 November, IIC Italy in conjunction with AGCOM hosted a half day workshop entitled ‘The Future of the Electronics Communications Sector – Investment and Innovation in Italian Telecoms. This half day event brought together investors and telecoms operators to examine whether Italy is lagging behind the rest of the world in broadband penetration and next generation networks. Read more |
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Singapore Chapter On 27 November, IIC Singapore hosted a half day round-table discussion entitled ‘ASEAN e-Commerce and Payments Alignment’. The event explored the opportunities and challenges that are springing up for SMEs in the region and how this is being regulated. The session was divided in to two topics covering the Impact of digital payments and e-commerce on economic development and regulatory harmonisation around payments and e-Commerce. Read more |
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Thailand Chapter Does the era of Internet of Things and Big Data necessarily have to mean erosion of individual’s ability to manage privacy? On 15 December 2014, in Bangkok the Thai chapter hosted a roundtable which reviewed the opportunities and risks of Internet of Things and Big Data for businesses and consumers, shared policy trends in Europe and Asia and discussed what best practices there may be to strike the balance between innovation and privacy. Read more |
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UK Chapter The EU’s Policy Horizon November 26, the IIC UK chapter invited some of the more active participants in the EU telecom environment to share their views on what should be on the EU’s policy horizon… Representatives of the UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Channel 4, BSkyB and Vodafone took turns exchanging ideas in a highly interactive meeting. Elements of the themes discussed will be expanded in further meetings in 2015. Read more |
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Feedback We’d be interested to hear your views on any of these stories so email Laura Courbet with any comments and we’ll publish a selection of viewpoints. |
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A word from an IIC Member
Verizon is an IIC Sponsor and actively participate in IIC meetings, discussions and networking events.
The (conference) panel was energized and the audience genuinely interested in the investment and innovation dilemma facing Europe. I found the universal broadband access discussion interesting and timely. Overall, I found the dialog and interventions, as well as the presenters, to be of extremely high quality. Thomas M Dailey, Vice President and General Counsel International Operations and Regulatory, Verizon Corporation |
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Membership Options |
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We recently asked members what they find most valuable and useful about their membership of the IIC. This is how they ranked the benefits - “IIC membership allows us to…
1. Contribute to the debate and have a voice on the public policy agenda |
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IIC Sponsorship IIC Sponsorship is for organisations active in regulation or industry. These members work closely with the IIC, helping to shape the policy agenda, contributing to discussions from which the wider community benefits. |
Full Membership Full membership is for organisations active in the world of telecoms, media and technology and their regulation regardless of size. Members are drawn from regulators, telecoms operators, broadcasters, network providers, OTT players and smaller digital start-ups. |
Associate Membership Associate membership is for firms providing professional services and consultancy to the industry such as lawyers, consultants and analysts. The meetings give specialists in the TMT field the chance to keep up to date with new thinking and new players. |
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