Communications Regulatory Authority

It is interesting to note that the French regulatory body CSA has recently decided
to call a tender for the experimentation of high-definition digital terrestrial television.
The programmes involved in the experimentation will be those currently available on
the platform (both free of charge and for pay). For this purpose the CSA has made
available a frequency for each of the zones involved in the experiments (Paris, Lyon,
and Marseilles).
In early April of this year, the digital terrestrial television offering was launched
in Denmark, comprising free channels and some for-pay channels. In light of the
country’s structural and topographic characteristics, it is expected for the delay with
which the offering was launched will soon be compensated for, and that the transition
will take place in a fairly short period of time.
In Ireland, the Minister of Communications is developing a plan for digital
terrestrial television. Experiments should start towards the middle of the month of
August.
Lastly, in Finland the Ministry of Communications announced, in late March of
this year, the intention to assign new licences for DTT. One of the networks has been
reserved for DVB-H cell phone television (for which the operator Digita has already
obtained a licence).
Satellite television
During the past year, the competitive panorama of the satellite offering has been
further consolidated. It should, in fact, be remembered that in recent years numerous
amalgamation operations had been examined by the Community and national antitrust
Authorities; they had concerned, in particular, the German, Italian, and Spanish markets.
In 2005, the merger took place between the two French satellite platforms Canal+ and
TPS, after which this market, also, will be characterized by the presence of a sole
satellite provider. With regard to this, it is important to note that among the chief
European countries (United Kingdom, France, Spain, Germany, and Italy), France was
the only one in which two independent operators were still operating. Because of the
presence of just one satellite provider, the greatest competitive pressure on these
markets generally comes from the offerings of cable operators, as well as from Internet
and digital terrestrial television proposals.
The operators active on the satellite platform, like the companies providing cable
services, have enriched their package of services offered to users. The differentiation
and enlargement of the product range have not just followed the traditional channel of
satellite television, i.e. the simultaneous offering of premium content and thematic
channels, but have also been translated into new competitive strategies.
For example, some operators have focused on mobile telephony as an instrument
for enhancing their names and creating customer loyalty among their users. Part of this
strategy is the launch, by BSkyB, of “Sky by Mobile”, the service for SkyDigital
subscribers that enables them, thanks to a special application programme downloaded
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