EC plans connected TV policy paper
March 9, 2012
The European Commission is to produce a policy paper on Connected TV as part of its efforts to get every European digital and stimulate a vibrant market in ultrafast broadband.
Delivering a keynote address at the Cable Congress in Brussels, Neelie Kroes Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for the Digital Agenda, said that broadband industry should also work to boost content, and feed the virtuous circle. “At the moment, three in five of those without home broadband say it’s because there’s nothing interesting for them online,” she observed.
“So I want to support new developments in content, like Connected TV. We know people are already happy to pay for high-quality TV services. What if they could combine their favourite TV programmes with the best of the Internet, or indeed special on-line services? With features that are interactive, on-demand, or social?” she asked
“Well, you won’t have to wait long to find out: within two to three years, ninety per cent of TVs sold in Europe will be Internet-connectable. 90 per cent. So later this year we’ll be producing a policy paper on Connected TV, to make sure we’re ready to let this market flourish,” she declared.
“And here’s another development we need to support: cloud computing. Not because it’s a new trendy buzzword. But because it’s where the future will be: and that change needs to happen not to us, but with us. With many other technologies we’ve seen problems getting in the way – fragmentation, lock-in, and public sector ineffectiveness. The cloud computing strategy I’m currently preparing will anticipate those problems so we can prevent them. But if we want to use the cloud effectively, that underlines all the more the need to have robust broadband networks in support,” she suggested.
“That’s the real answer to unblock investment. Not by suffocating competition. But by supporting a mix of technologies. By cutting risk and costs. And by stimulating a vibrant content market. So today I’m saying to you: let’s do these things, and let’s make that investment. Let’s unblock the broadband bottlenecks. And let’s watch the innovation and creativity pour out,” she concluded.