International Journal of Communications Law & Policy

TO PROTECT AND TO SERVE PLURALISM AND THE PUBLIC SERVICE MISSION
Comments on the European Commission's Communications Review 1999
By Michael Libertus

Download the Paper in PDF Format: IJCLP Web-Doc 8-5-2000

Abstract

The Communications Review 1999 and the associated Communications from Commis-sion on radio spectrum policy, the development of the market for digital television in the Euro-pean Union and the implementation of the reform package for the telecommunications sector deal with subjects which are of prime importance to the digital future of Europe and thus also to the broadcasting companies as content providers and radio transmission network operators. The European Commission accurately describes the dynamic development of markets in the communications sector. Driven to a large extent by technological convergence, this devel-opment is leading to the emergence not only of new sectors of commercial activity such as e-commerce and e-business but also new public interest services that will contribute to building an information society. This development poses a number of challenges to the regulatory regime. Growing technological convergence leads to new and novel digital gateways, which raises the issue of securing access to information and thus control over the "gatekeepers". This results in the need to concentrate and co-ordinate the previously rudimentary and selective regulatory approach on a European level. ARD and ZDF react to the aspects addressed in the Communications Review as described in this article.