Back to the future: New media, same principles? Convergence regulation re-visited

This chapter reviews European regulatory models and principles upon which initial responses to the challenges posed by convergence were constructed. It provides an overview of the initial visions of convergence and the great expectations surrounding it, as well as the hard times that followed. The chapter looks at Europe's regulatory response to such changes and challenges, as initially outlined in the Green Paper on Convergence in 1997, through the development of a minimal, technologically neutral and horizontal framework, for electronic communications and services. It illustrates most of these attempts met with little success, if not complete failure, and the various marriages between inherently different operators collapsed, as an amicable departure. The media and communications industries remain inherently cyclical and regularly undergo phases and processes of profound change, affecting technologies used to make and distribute content and services, business models, audience behaviour and regulatory responses. This puts pressure on the need for greater transparency, representation and accountability in regulatory activity.