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[FYI] "Clear and proportional regulations for multimedia"



CORDIS RTD-NEWS/c European Communities, 1999 

 Record Control Number : 12439 
                             Date : 1999-03-11 


Category : General policy

General Information : 

Regulations for multimedia need to be transparent, clear and
proportional and distinguish between transport and content, according
to the public. 

The European Commission has adopted a Communication, reporting on the
results of the public consultation on the Green Paper on the
convergence of the telecommunications, media and information
technology sector. 

The Green Paper, published in December 1997 on the initiative of
Commissioners Martin Bangemann and Marcelino Oreja, drew attention to
the significant implications of the convergence phenomenon in terms of
economic development, job creation, cultural identities and social
impact. Developing an appropriate regulatory framework for the sectors
concerned is therefore of the utmost importance. 

The public consultation was carried out in two stages. During the
first stage, which was carried out until May 1998, more than 270
written responses were received from Member States. The second stage
involved questions on what the Commission perceived as three key
areas: 

- Access to network and gateway facilities; 
- Investment, innovation and content production; 
- Balancing regulation between public interest and competition
considerations. 

The public demand for regulation to be transparent, clear and
proportional implies a more horizontal approach to regulation with a
homogenous treatment of all transport network infrastructure and
associated services, irrespective of the nature of the services
carried. 

The outcome of the consultation also concerned the nature of the
public service broadcasting. 

The Commission intends to draw on this process to develop proposals
for the following actions: 

- Reforms in the regulation of infrastructure and associated services
will be proposed as part of the 1999 Communications Regulatory Review;
- Content services will be covered either by adjustments to existing
legislation, or by the introduction of new measures. 

Data Source Provider : RAPID

Document Reference : Based on Rapid Text File no IP/99/164 of
10.03.1999.

Subject Index Codes : Telecommunications; Innovation, Technology
Transfer; Information, Media