Highlights and Activities for Weeks 33 & 34

International News

1. Telecommunications

a) Telecoms.com. The European Commission is once again pushing its agenda to transform the EU’s 28 telecoms markets into one single market. Read more…

b) Total Telecom. Survey finds smartphones become dumb-phones when users travel abroad. Read more…

c) Europa. Europeans are increasingly eager for new technologies as shown by the latest EU-wide survey. Read more…

d) Telecoms.com. OTT messaging application WhatsApp is to launch an internet-based voice messaging service for users. Read more…

e) The Guardian. Only two years ago, the BlackBerry was a communication device so powerful it was credited with enabling a revolution in Egypt. But today, users are pulling the plug. Read more…

f) Total Telecom. Increasing smartphone adoption in emerging markets will require simple mobile broadband tariff plans from operators and localised services from content providers. Read more…

 

2. Spectrum Management

a)      Policy Tracker. The European Commission is due to present a set of proposals known as the Telecoms Single Market Package in September this year.  (subscription is required)

 

3. TV & Radio Broadcasting

a)      Advanced Television. Based on forecasts for 97 countries, on-demand TV revenues from movies and TV programs (and excluding revenues from other sources such as sports and adult and also excluding SVOD packages and online TV & video (OTT)) will reach $6.0 billion in 2018, up by 44 per cent from $4.2 billion in 2012. Read more…

b)      Advanced Television. The number of pay satellite TV (DBS or DTH) homes will reach 251 million by 2018, up from 178 million at end-2012 and 103 million at end-2008, according to a new report from Digital TV Research covering 97 countries. Read more…

c)       Advanced Television. Focus on TV advertising has hit a three-year low as the gap between TV and digital narrowed to its closest point ever, according to a survey compiled by STRATA. Read more…

 

4. NGA / Broadband

a)      Advanced Television. Most of Europe will still be getting its broadband over copper telephone lines by 2020, according to a report by Point Topic. Read more…

b)      Total Telecom. Air passengers in the U.K. could soon have access to high-speed in-flight broadband after Ofcom proposed allocating more spectrum for satellite earth stations mounted on moving vehicles. Read more…

 

5. Internet

a)      Europa. Following the successful collaboration between EU Member States, industry, national administrations, academia, the private sector and local communities on a series of projects to make living, working, travelling, studying and doing business across borders easier, the European Commission is making a €13.7 million investment to further develop cross-border digital public services. Read more…

b)BBC News. An initiative to bring internet access to the "next five billion" people has been launched by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Read more…

 

6. E-Commerce

a)      Europa. US e-commerce is increasingly turning mobile, while the online and offline retail worlds are converging so that “brick and click” retailers will most likely be the real success stories. Read More…

 

International Meetings

No meetings were attended during the period under review.

 

Publications

1. TENDER: Advertising and Communications Services for the ‘Networked’ project (3071/3013):  This tender has been published by the Department of Contracts on behalf of the MCA. Closing date for submissions is Thursday, 10^th October 2013. Interested bidders are invited to refer to the following link. https://www.etenders.gov.mt/epps/cft/listContractDocuments.do?resourceId=96801
2. TENDER: Provision of services for the development of two digital literacy curricul, trainer’s manual and train-the-trainerss session to the MCA. Interested bidders are invited to submit their interest by no later than Monday, 30^th September 2013. See here for more information http://www.mca.org.mt/content/provision-services-development-two-digital-literacy-curricula-trainers-manual-and-train
3. CONSULTATION: MCA’S Bottom-Up-Cost-Model (BUCM) for mobile networks and proposed mobile interconnection pricing: This consultation proposes the details of the BUCM used, as well as the resulting mobile termination rate - calculated at 0.4 € cent per minute.  The consultation period will run until 6 September at 12:00 pm Click here for access to the consultation. http://www.mca.org.mt/consultations/mcas-bottom-cost-model-mobile-networks-and-proposed-mobile-interconnection-pricing

 

Events

Relaunch of the MCA Free Wi-Fi locator App: The MCA free Wi-Fi locator App has reached the top 10 free Apps in Google Play. Users with Android based devices can today locate over 185 free Wi-Fi hotspots, which the MCA operates across the Maltese Islands in collaboration with various local councils, NGOs and other Government institutions. If the users’ location is available via GPS, the application is able to detect the closest 10 hotspots and provide real-time updates of the distance and direction to each hotspot. Users also have the facility to change the map view according to individual preferences and report faults via email if necessary. Click here for more information. http://www.mca.org.mt/notices-and-announcements/mca-free-wi-fi-locator-app-ranks-amongst-top-10-free-apps-google-play