Expert think tank to consider the future of communications

156/07
21 December 2007

Joint DCMS/BERR Press Release

An expert think tank looking at the opportunities and challenges posed by the merging of broadcasting and communications services will begin work early in the new year, Culture Secretary James Purnell and Business Secretary John Hutton announced today.

The Convergence Think Tank (CTT) will examine the implications of technological development for the media and communications industries, and the consequences for both markets and consumers.

It will have a key role in helping to shape future policy development in relation to these sectors, which include TV, radio, mobile and fixed telecoms and online services.

James Purnell said:

“We are living in a period of unimagined technological possibility, with almost limitless potential for communication. While we can’t predict the future, we can be sure that it will look very different from what we see today.

“The convergence think tank will bring together expertise from the worlds of broadcasting, telecommunications and internet services to consider the opportunities and challenges we might face.

“The Government has three goals: we want our markets to be open, we want universal access to high quality content and we want empowered consumers and citizens. We need to make sure we have a system that can secure these goals in the face of uncertainty.”

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John Hutton said:

“The way we are choosing to access entertainment and news and communicate with each other is changing at a rapid pace. The traditional barriers between various communication technologies are disappearing.

“These changes could bring massive benefits to the UK economy which is why it is vital that we work together with business and consumers to make sure we all benefit.

”The Convergence Think Tank represents an unprecedented opportunity to bring together experts from broadcasting and communications to map a converged future. This will help the Government better understand what needs to be done to foster growth and innovation to benefit consumers and business.”

The main objectives of the CTT will be to:

  • consider the opportunities and challenges facing a converged market;
  • highlight areas where the Government can do more to promote the development of the market and innovation and growth, as well as empowering and protecting consumers;
  • consider the future form and provision of public service content, building on the outputs from the Ofcom review of public service broadcasting which is currently under way;
  • actively engage in debate with key stakeholders; and
  • draw conclusions with a view to informing Government decisions on future policy development, including the case for any future legislative changes.

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The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) are creating a joint steering group to guide the work of the Convergence Think Tank.  Ofcom, as the independent regulator for the communications sector, will provide input and advice to all aspects of the Think Tank’s work.  In addition the steering group will draw on the experience and knowledge of a number of leading experts with a wealth of experience of both the broadcasting and telecommunications sectors who will act as a sounding board in its deliberations. 


Robin Foster, John Willis, Chris Earnshaw and Tess Read have agreed to serve on the group. 

A series of seminars will be held during 2008 which will explore in detail how to: 

  • secure open markets, competition and plurality; 
  • empower and protect both users and consumers, ensuring that they can take full advantage of the opportunities convergence may bring; 
  • and secure universal access to  high quality, public service content.

Specialist staff are being recruited to join a strategy team from DCMS and BERR. The team will collect and analyse evidence and commission new research as necessary to inform the work of the CTT.

The aim is for the CTT to reach its conclusions early in 2009. Its findings will inform Government on the possible need for changes to the existing public policy and legislative framework which governs the sector.

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Notes to editors

  1. Plans for the convergence think tank were announced by James Purnell in his speech to the Royal Television Society Cambridge Convention on 13 September 2007. The speech is available within the reference library on the dcms website. 
  2. Convergence can be defined as the merging of the individual communications industries (IT, broadcasting, telecommunications etc) into a single converged market. The breaking down of the traditional barriers between technologies has the potential dramatically to alter the landscape of the relevant sectors and those who interrelate with them. In practice convergence covers a wide range of issues, as well as most of the regulatory and legislative regimes that are currently in place.  
  3. Throughout the CTT programme there will be a series of seminars to bring together key industry decision makers to discuss and debate specific questions, based on the three key themes. A wide range of industry executives and consumer representatives are being invited to attend the seminars, and the proceedings will be made public.

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The first three will look at open markets, particularly:

Seminar 1:    Why does convergence matter?
(7 Feb 2008)
This seminar will seek to set the scene for the Think Tank programme and establish the key challenges and goals.
Questions include:
What do we mean by convergence?
Why is it important for (a) consumers (b) citizens, (c) the economy as a whole?
How does the UK compare internationally?
What are the key challenges and opportunities convergence presents for the future?
What are the key policy implications which the Convergence Think Tank needs to address?

Seminar 2:   Competition and innovation:  content and services
 (18 March 2008)
This seminar will focus on how far we can rely on convergence to create open markets and break down barriers, and to what extent might intervention be needed to address competition challenges and/or enable a thriving creative economy?
Questions include:
What are the future opportunities and challenges for UK providers and producers?
Is there a case for action to ensure effective access to key networks and/or access to content for a) consumers, b) service providers?
What are the potential barriers to, and opportunities for, competition, growth, and innovation in content supply?
What are the implications for future public policy?

Seminar 3:  Competition and innovation:  networks
(22 April 2008)
This seminar will focus on prospects for the market to deliver investment in the development of high quality networks and on the importance of interaction between them. More detail to follow nearer the time.

4. In advance of each seminar, the CTT will call for submissions about the up-coming seminar topic area to help inform the participants and structure of the discussions. All submissions will be publicly available, unless requested otherwise, on a dedicated CTT website, which will go live in January.

5. Robin Foster is an independent adviser on economic, policy and strategic issues affecting communications, whose analysis of broadcasting regulation following digital switchover provides a starting point for the debate. He is also currently Associate Director of the Global Communications Consortium at the London Business School, and chief adviser to media strategy consultants, Human Capital.

Chris Earnshaw has over 35 years experience in the telecommunications and IT industry and held a number of senior executive roles at British Telecom until 2002, where he was responsible for engineering and technology. He is advisor to a number of international technology and private equity companies. He served from 2004 - 2007 as chairman of the UK Police Information Technology Organisation. He is currently Deputy President of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET).

John Willis is one of the best known figures in the television industry, having held a number of high profile roles including Director of Programmes at Channel 4, Managing Driector of LWT and Director of Factual and Learning at the BBC, before joining Mentorn and Tinopolis in 2006.

Tess Read is a business and strategy adviser to venture capital firms and other business organisations.  Her specialism is in new media. She is also the author of two books on the internet.

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