[opendtv] Ofcom delays decision on digital dividend

As one should expect, when push comes to shove, everyone feels the same
way.

People might not be interested in HDTV ... until they experience it.
And, of course, the telecom businesses feel spectrum is better assigned
to them than to TV.

I'd say, it's exactly the same story in France, Italy, the UK, and the
US.

Bert

----------------------------------------------
http://www.dtg.org.uk/news/news.php?id=2458

Ofcom delays decision on digital dividend

Ofcom has confirmed it is delaying a policy decision on the outcome of
its digital dividend consultation after receiving 750 responses. Ofcom
had been expected to publish its decision early this summer after
consulting on controversial proposals to auction the entire 128 MHz of
spectrum due to be librated by digital switchover. An alliance of public
service broadcasters, consumer electronics manufacturers and retailers
has been lobbying Ofcom and the Government to reserve some spectrum for
high-definition channels on the UK's digital terrestrial platform,
Freeview.

Ofcom said its market-based, technology-neutral stance had prompted "an
important public debate about the future use of the digital dividend".
The digital dividend was "one of the most valuable spectrum bands likely
to be available in the foreseeable future", and decisions on how it
would be awarded and for what uses were among the "most important issues
that Ofcom faces".

Summarising the key themes emerging from the consultation Ofcom said
mobile telecommunications operators had argued for the spectrum auction
to be brought forward. Telecommunications groups and IT firms broadly
favoured Ofcom's market-led approach, while broadcasters "and a large
number of individuals (and other organisations)" had argued for
intervention.

Ofcom said the HD-DTT issue had prompted a "range of strongly felt
views" with public service broadcasters and the HD for All lobby group
arguing that spectrum be reserved for HD on the DTT platform. "In
particular, they claimed that HD would be the new broadcasting standard
and therefore HD must be available on the DTT platform with a minimum,
critical-mass offering of five channels," said Ofcom's summary of
responses statement.

"There was also a significant number of responses from individuals
supporting HD for All and gifting spectrum to PSBs for HD on the DTT
platform. Those critical of our proposals in this area often raised
questions about our market research," said Ofcom, with some respondents
saying its research was "now out of date, especially given how many HD
television sets have been sold in the interim", and others saying it was
"not acceptable that the research did not demonstrate technologies
(especially HD) to respondents".

Announcing a delay to the digital dividend review timetable, Ofcom said
it would now update its market research. "We will conduct further
analysis of a wide range of issues including points raised about public
value, the timing of the award, competition issues and further economic
and technical modeling," said Ofcom. Its updated market research would
be completed in the late summer, and a policy statement would then
follow in "late 2007" after which a further consultation would take
place. Next summer a statutory consultation on draft regulations would
then be held, followed by the auction in the winter, and the issuing of
licences in the first half of 2009.

Lovelace Consulting 30.05.2007
 
 
----------------------------------------------------------------------
You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways:

- Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at 
FreeLists.org 

- By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word 
unsubscribe in the subject line.

Other related posts: