BSG submit response to European Commission Green Paper on Convergence

Last week the Broadband Stakeholder Group (BSG) welcomed the opportunity to submit our response to the European Commission Green Paper ‘Preparing for a Fully Converged Audiovisual World: Growth, Creation and Values’.

Our response voices that further clarity is required on the scope of this policy investigation. Whilst some issues raised are central to the core consideration of whether policy and regulation remain fit for purpose in light of the current and future audiovisual media landscape, some issues do seem to be broader. Whilst such issues are important and can have an impact on audiovisual services, they are being examined through other policy and regulatory frameworks at national, European, and in some instances at an international level. As such we believe it important for the Commission to be clear on which policy considerations will be directly impacted by the process that this Green Paper is commencing and which are relevant but will be affected by policy decisions elsewhere.

In our response we highlight that it is too early to fully understand the impact of the current framework and whilst consumer and market trends are developing, for example through the availability and take-up of connected TV services, these services are still at a nascent stage. Our view is that the regulatory structure needs to remain flexible to changes in the market and consumer behaviour and that seeking to amend the regulatory structure in advance of these trends taking hold could result in negative and disruptive consequences.

Click here for the BSG response to the European Commission Green Paper on Convergence