The Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) may well have opened a can of worms with its latest discussion document on Internet Protocol Television (IPTV).
The regulator's interest has been piqued by the possibility of the service and it is looking for input from the industry to find a model to regulate the service.
IPTV is essentially broadcasting services transmitted via an Internet Protocol network, a service which many local operators and broadcasters will be keen to sell to customers. Video-on-demand services also fall loosely into the IPTV space.
There are currently no regulations around which types of companies have the right to broadcast IPTV, and organisations like MultiChoice already have a relatively new service in place. Newcomers, like On Digital Media and Super5Media, are also looking at providing IPTV options.
Who gets what?
The trouble is that IPTV falls squarely in the middle of the convergence game, where network and telecoms providers and broadcasters meet in terms of technology. Globally, hundreds of companies are looking at providing triple play services, which includes the broadcasting of video across data networks.
In SA, companies that follow the convergence game will either fall under the communications licence regime, or the ECNS licence, while interested broadcasters will fall under their broadcasting licence.
Industry analyst with Absa Investments Chris Gilmour says the regulator is touching on a grey area. “They are going to open a minefield with regulations around the topic,” he explains.
With hundreds of TV shows and movies available for purchase and download via the Internet, and many video services like YouTube, or its local counterpart, Zoopy, free to the consumer, the regulator will have a million problems to skirt.
Have your say
Despite a daunting task ahead, the regulator is calling on the industry to make its mark on the possible regulations.
The discussion document asks several key questions of the industry, which ICASA hopes will guide it in the possible regulation of IPTV. The primary question the regulator is asking is where the broadcast of IPTV should fall, specifically in terms of the ECNS or broadcasting licence-holders.
The regulator also wants to know how to separate broadcast IPTV services from Internet services, like Zoopy, which currently fall outside the regulator's mandate. However, it will be a tough call, specifically if services pop up from movie rental stores and other likely providers of video-on-demand.
Industry stir
If the regulator chooses ECNS licence-holders as the primary providers, it means local broadcasters will suddenly have 300 or more potential competitors in the broadcasting space. However, if ICASA decides to build it into broadcasting licences, content offerings from local telcos or Internet providers will be limited.
Most of the broadcasters already hold an ECNS licence, either through a third party, as is the case with MultiChoice and its Orbicom subsidiary, or through direct holding, as both newcomers have. SABC, however, does not have an ECNS licence, since its broadcast network is provisioned through state-owned Sentech.
Gilmour says the regulator's interest could be an attempt to protect the licensing structure of the national broadcaster, SABC. “As far as I know, the SABC has a unique model globally. Few, if any, international public broadcasters rely both on subscription and advertising for revenue. The regulator may be looking at how to ensure IP services offered by the SABC are still covered under consumer TV licences.”
ICASA's document seems to have created some concern in the broadcasting industry, and none of SA's broadcasters, old or new, would comment on it. Free to air broadcaster, etv, says it is studying the document at the moment and will not be able to comment yet.
Share