Pay TV phase three document - Stakeholders - Ofcom

Pay TV phase three document – non-confidential version
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� Mobile broadband emerged in 2008 as an increasingly popular means of
accessing the internet. The five mobile network operators have all begun to target
their mobile broadband offers at residential consumers, and while the subscriber
base is relatively low, it is growing fast. There were over 500k new connections in
the five months from February 2008, with 133k connections in June 2008.
However, there is still not much evidence of demand for mobile TV 450 .
� Four in ten households took a bundled communications service in 2007 (the
same proportion as in 2006), but Ofcom’s research suggests that more complex
bundles are becoming increasingly popular, with a shift during 2007 in favour of
the triple-play of fixed / broadband / TV. The proportion taking this option rose by
78%, to account for 32% of all bundles taken in Q1 2008, mainly from fixed line
and broadband double-play bundles 451 .
7.14 It is of course impossible to predict with any precision the future benefits for
consumers of innovation, and come up with a precise factual and counter-factual for
the development of the market, depending on whether or not we intervene.
Nevertheless, it is clear that the interaction between networks, content and devices is
at the heart of how consumers will consume content services in the future.
7.15 Some possible future scenarios were set out in a piece of research carried out by
Deloitte as part of our preparation for Ofcom’s new strategic framework, as
summarised in the table below.
450 O+O report: TV Enters The On Demand Age, January 2009 -
http://www.oando.co.uk/publications.php.
451 http://www.ofcom.org.uk/research/cm/cmr08/converge/converge.pdf, figure 2.90.