Monthly Archives - March 2006

UK can learn from South Korea and Japan in broadband development…

A new report highlights lessons for the UK from these leading ICT markets

Intellect, the trade body for the UK high tech industry, co-ordinated a DTI Global Watch mission to South Korea and Japan in November and December 2005.

The Mission report: ‘Exploiting the Broadband Opportunity: Lessons from South Korea and Japan’ was launched at a Seminar on 29 March, held in London by the DTI in association with Intellect.

Through a series of presentations from the mission participants and a Q&A Panel Session, this event reported back the mission findings, highlighting the impact that the widespread deployment and take-up of advanced broadband services is having on the market for content, applications and services in Korea and Japan.

High population densities, ethnic homogeneity and distinct cultural characteristics have helped the rapid deployment and take up of broadband and broadband enabled services in Korea and Japan. However, while these factors make these markets distinct from the UK, there are many lessons that can usefully inform the UK, which faces similar challenges as broadband-enabled technologies drive convergence.

The report focuses on four key findings and concludes with recommendations so the UK can fully utilise on the continued growth of broadband services:

• Focused ICT policies drive progress towards convergence
• Ambitious network solutions are being developed to deliver policy aims
• Broadband is driving growth in the market for innovative rich content
• Next Generation Networks are leading to disruptive convergence

Commenting, Antony Walker, CEO of the Broadband Stakeholder Group, Director of Strategy at Intellect, and one of the Mission participants, said:

“ It is easy to dismiss Japan and Korea as irrelevant as both markets are very different to the UK. However, there is a lot that we can learn from their experience in terms of government policy, regulation, commercial experience and consumer trends.”

“ Both markets are more advanced than the UK, but perhaps not quite as advanced in terms of content and applications as some might have predicted. However, as the take-up of much faster fixed and mobile broadband services increases, the question is whether they are heading for the kind of tipping point that could see both markets accelerate away from the UK and other European markets. It is still too soon to know for sure, but both countries are continuing to invest in and priorities global leadership in ICT. The UK should keep a close eye on these markets over the next 9 to 18 months.”

DTI Global Watch Mission Report

Erratum: comments and corrections to the report

Presentions:

DTI Global Watch Overview – Philip White, DTI Global Watch Service

Introduction – Philip Graf, BSG

Policy, Regulation & Infrastructure – Mike Short, O2, and Prof. Rahim Tafazolli, University of Surrey

Consumer Trends – Stella Creasey, BBC

Applications Development – Bill Jones, Global Village Limited

Conclusions and Recommendations – Antony Walker, Intellect and BSG

Sophisticated broadband services – 28 November 2005

This document is the second report of the study commissioned to Analysys by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to examine the market for sophisticated broadband services across the G7,1 Australia, Ireland, South Korea and Sweden. This report summarises Analysys’s findings on the performance of these countries regarding both the availability (coverage) and usage of sophisticated broadband services. The availability (coverage) data is estimated at the end of the third quarter of 2005; the usage data is estimated mid-2005.

The coverage findings are based on a combined survey and desk research approach for fixed and mobile broadband infrastructure operators identified across the 11 countries under study. Coverage results are provided for downstream, upstream and mobile technologies.

The next iteration of this study will be published in April 2006.

Sophisticated broadband services report, 12 May 2006

Sophisticated broadband services report, 28 November 2005

UK Broadband Status Report – January 2006
Covering the period April 2005 – September 2005

Ovum has been commissioned by the DTI to provide a series of reports on the current state of the UK broadband market and its likely development over the next ten years. This report forms the main six monthly update on broadband coverage and take-up up to the end of September 2005. An interim quarterly report that focused on coverage developments was last produced for the quarter ending June 2005. The findings and analysis contained in the report are based on information provided by the major broadband infrastructure providers and additional research, analysis and forecasting carried out by Ovum, building on its comprehensive and continuous research programme.

Chapter 2 contains a summary of recent developments in the broadband market, focusing on the activities of key players.

Chapter 3 provides an analysis of the current state of broadband coverage in the UK, based on data provided by infrastructure players including BT, ntl, Telewest, Kingston, Pipex and UK Broadband.

Chapter 4 contains a summary of the current levels of broadband take-up and provides forecasts of future take-up by technology.

Chapter 5 summarises the key competition issues, building on recent developments outlined in Chapter 2.

Annex A contains a summary of the major current broadband technologies.

Co- and Self-Regulatory Forum

Background

The Co- and Self-Regulatory Forum was established in November 2005 in response to the European Commission’s references in their revised Television Without Frontiers (TVWF) Directive to the important role that co- and self-regulation has in delivering public policy objectives in the audiovisual media sector.

Membership

Advertising Association (representing the Committees of Advertising Practice)
ATVOD (Association for Television On-Demand)
ISPA (Internet Service Providers’ Association)
Mobile Broadband Group
Internet Watch Foundation (IWF)
Independent Mobile Classification Body (IMCB)
ICSTIS – the premium rate services regulator
Video Standards Council (VSC)

BSG provides the Chair and secretariat for the Forum;
Ofcom, DTI (Department of Trade and Industry) and DCMS (Department for Culture, Media and Sport) attend as observers;
the Forum also benefits from the input of the BBC and industry bodies including the Confederation of British Industry ~(CBI) and the Digital Content Focum (DCF).

Objectives

A major objective of the forum is to explain how co- and self-regulation are already working as a successful regulatory model in key areas of the UK’s audiovisual media industry.

Co- and self-regulation play a vital role in the effective regulation of communications services in the UK today. They work not just because they can directly and promptly respond to the industry to which they relate, but also because their members have a market incentive to ensure that the services that they provide are in conformity with social standards and public policy objectives.

In particular, co- and self-regulatory initiatives have proved key in the regulation of new media services and, in fact, they are already effectively addressing public policy concerns in a number of areas, including protection of minors and human dignity.

The forum believes that co- and self-regulatory solutions, supported by a strong focus on media literacy programmes, are a critical element of both European and national regulation in this area.

This report for the Department of Trade and Industry is the latest in a series commissioned from Ovum-Hedra plc, and covers the period April 2005-September 2005.

It continues the series of six monthly reports to benchmark the progress of the UK against certain key broadband enabled countries in support of the Government’s overarching objective for the UK to have the most extensive and competitive broadband market in the G7 by 2005.

International Broadband Market Comparisons, Update January 2006

22 March

‘Broadband for all’ : Commission mobilises all its policy instruments to bridge the broadband gap.

The European Commission considers wide broadband coverage in Europe as crucial for fostering growth and jobs in Europe. This is why EU telecoms legislation, structural and rural policy instruments need to be mobilised in full respect of state aid rules in a joint drive to bring high-speed “broadband??? internet access to all Europeans, in particular to the EU’s less-developed areas.

This is the conclusion of ‘Bridging the Broadband Gap’, a European Commission Communication presented today (21 March 2006) jointly by the European Commissioners for Information Society and Media, Competition, Regional Policy and Agriculture and Rural Development.