Innovation and Regulation of Information and Communication Essay

Innovation and Regulation of Information and Communication Technologies - Essay Example Economic and Regulatory Factors responsible for the Success of Digital Terrestrial TV after 2001 According to a new global report on Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) published together by Digital Technology Consulting and Screen Digest, long-term success of the DTT depended on whether broadcasters were successful in developing specific revenue streams from the DTT broadcasts and also how they adapted their business models to local market conditions. If the business models of DTT are studied in the different European countries, three distinct business models can be noticed. The first model includes the Pay – TV Platform where the DTT services were offered as the premium content in direct competition to cable and direct-to-home (DTH) satellite services. UK, Spain and Sweden adopted this as the original business model of DTT. The second model consists of the FTA Platform where DTT was offered as a variety of free-to-air (FTA) channels. Italy, France and Germany adopted this a s their business model. This also happens to be the business model of UK since 2002. The third model comprises of the Hybrid Platform where the DTT service combines a number of FTA channels within a limited payment. UK, Sweden, France and Finland have migrated to a hybrid DTT model (Oberst, Obradors & Garcia 2005, p 5; Starks 2007 p 168-172). Further analyses help to infer that the FTA Platform has contributed mainly towards expansion of the DTT services among the major European countries. The United Kingdom first operated on the Pay-TV Platform from which it switched to the FTA Platform. It now operates on a hybrid of Pay-TV and FTA Platform. Germany previously operated on the FTA Platform from which it now operates on a Pay TV using DVB-H trials. France used to operate on the FTA Platform from which it has now switched to combination of the FTA Platform and Pay-TV. Previously, Finland operated on the FTA Platform and now it operates in the FTA Platform and the Pay Channels. Sweden was on the Pay-TV Platform from which it has switched to a combination of Pay-TV Platform and FTA Channels. Italy used to operate on the FTA Platform from which it migrated to a combination of FTA and PPV (Oberst, Obradors & Garcia 2005, p 6). A Successful DTT Launch There have been four factors identified as necessary to a successful DTT launch: Firstly, there should be the availability of low Cost Set Top Boxes. These are widely available over an attractive range. Secondly, there must be co-operation between the various key and DTT stakeholders. Development of the DTT service requires the amalgamation of the interests of a range of stakeholders which includes policy makers, regulators, content owners and also multiples and network owners. Thirdly, there must be strong communication of DTT offerings and benefits to the potential customers. It has been found that consumers are not aware of the value of DTT. So a successful implementation of a DTT service requires a strong campaign of market communication informing the potential buyers about the presence and content of the DTT offering, the subscriber benefits, the technical issues including coverage, set top boxes etc. and exact switch-over dates of the service. Fourthly, there has to be an attractive offering of tangible and affordable benefits to the subscribers (Oberst Obradors & Garcia