Access to public broadcasting services across national digital delivery systems

Traditionally broadcasting and telecommunications have been regarded as completely separate sectors Broadcasting as a transmission system was inseparable from the broadcast content Alternatively, telecommunication networks were the sole providers of voice and basic data telephony services But as technology developed and both markets began to offer similar services, the regulatory dividing lines between Internet, broadcasting and telecommunications services have begun to blur Broadcasting as a transmission system is becoming detached from the broadcast content Even though these markets are technically converging the issue of access to content and the licensing of content providers over these new delivery platforms to carry their services remain unresolved The liberalisation of both markets may make a significant difference to the production o f content and the access of such programming content to pay-television and Free-to-Air viewers. The transmission of similar services over previously distinct delivery systems has been categonsed as convergence This term is generally considered as a suitable representation of the hazy combination of different broadcast and point-to-point services that were once considered the domain of the telecommunications incumbent Equally, the broadcast network was considered an indispensable part of the public broadcasting organisation in its provision of a single content service such as television programming Today, digital technology and the liberalisation of the cable and telecommunications networks have allowed multiple content service providers to offer many different services over several networks. Such technological convergence is delivering different services within each network In the past, the analogue broadcast relationship involved the content provider, network operator and customer Now, there are additional market players between the customer and the network operator called service providers who control different parts of the downstream and upstream dynamics This paper hopes to highlight the potential impact of telecommunication liberalisation on broadcasting as network operators begin to provide video and broadcast services while broadcast network operators transmit unicast and point-to-point services alongside their traditional broadcast service