KISDI Broadcasting & Telecommunications Conference 2008 Opens the Venue for the New Paradigm in the convergence era

The Korea Information Society Development Institute (KISDI) held the KISDI Broadcasting & Telecommunications Conference 2008 at the Sheraton Grande Walkerhill Seoul, November 13.

Sponsored by SK Telecom, the Maeil Business Newspaper, and the Electronic Times, the Conference, titled “Meet the Digital Convergence,” brought together leading scholars, policy-makers, and entrepreneurs from around the world including Suk-Ho Bang, President of KISDI, Byeong Gi Lee, Commissioner of the Korea Communications Commission (KCC), Jim Dator, Director of the Hawaii Research Center for Futures Studies, Paul E. Jacobs, CEO of Qualcomm Incorporated, Patrick Raude, Commissioner of ARCEP, Gloria Calvo Díaz, Commissioner of CMT, and Gerald R. Faulhaber, Professor Emeritus of Wharton School.

In his keynote speech, Jim Dator, director of the Hawaii Research Center for Futures Studies, ambitiously suggested that the convergence between physics and biology beyond the broadcasting & telecommunications convergence would bring the evolution from the homo sapiens to the post homo sapiens. Another keynote speaker, Commissioner Patrick Raude introduced France’s telecommunications market as well as its regulatory framework. In addition, he presented the ideal future of the communications regulatory body as the convergence era emerges, citing the challenges faced by EU as examples.

Despite unable to attend, Paul E. Jacobs, CEO of Qualcomm Incorporated, praised the remarkable development of Korea’s broadcasting & telecommunications market in his video message. He underscored the key challenge in the convergence era is to create effective means to deliver contents. For this purpose, he suggested, it is necessary to make effective use of the telecommunications devices that are being developed rapidly. In addition, he said, the strengthened cooperation between companies is prerequisite for leading the global convergence market, enabling consumers enjoy the real convergence services.

The first session, titled “Without Boundaries: The Future of Broadcasting & Telecommunications,” is to figure out the status quo of the rapidly changing broadcasting & telecommunications convergence. Professor Gerald R. Faulhaber focused on the mobile communications, covering the positive and negative effects as well as the potentials. Given developing countries are actively using mobile communications, the professor expected the mobiles could play a key role in bridging the digital divide. Another speaker, Michael Rogers, a columnist of MSNBC/The New York Times, shared the analysis on the content distribution, one of the key themes in the emerging convergence era. Then, Soohyeok Lee, senior Vice President of SK Telecom, introduced Korea’s broadcasting & telecommunications industry with impressive examples, and, moreover, suggested the future vision for broadcasters and telecommunications companies.

In the second session, titled “Global Leaders of Digital Convergence,” participants discussed how to boost the growth of enterprises in the newly emerging convergence era. In the session, in particular, participants enjoyed the opportunity of sharing invaluable examples provided by the speakers from global media conglomerates like Time Warner Inc. and the Bloomberg. Alvin Lee, executive director of Time Warner Inc., highlighted the importance of contents, pointing out the need for companies to figure out the ever-changing consumer taste and, furthermore, to develop contents they would like to buy. Then, Dean Brenner, Vice President of Qualcomm Incorporated, presented the great potential of the mobile television which provides customized information from the perspective of the mobile industry. Jimmy Kim, head of Asia-Pacific Bloomberg Television, introduced the media companies in Singapore and Hong Kong, noting the need for Korea and Japan to learn a number of the incentives from those Asian counterparts. Marc Berejka, senior director of Microsoft, introduced the current status of Microsoft, emphasizing the need of flexible public policies.

The last session, titled “New Opportunities, New Rules: Policy Issues of Globalizing Broadcasting & Telecommunications,” reviewed convergence policies around the globe, providing the venue for the participants to exchange opinions about the challenges. Commissioner Gloria Calvo from Spain’s CMT said, there is a need for IPTV and mobile service providers to develop enough contents. She added, we are able to enjoy the full-blown digital convergence era, only when both broadcasting and telecommunications are under the consistent regulatory framework. Jakub Brzeczkowski, director of the France Telecom, provided the in-depth analysis on the company’s subscriber basis, sharing its future plan of becoming the innovative leader in the broadcasting & telecommunications sector by horizontally expanding the partnership with content providers.

Introducing France’s communications regulation policy, Commissioner Patrick Raude emphasized the need of policies encouraging convergence services in the mobile market. Then, Jae-Young Lee, director of KISDI, proposed, the newly embarked KCC is required to implement deregulation measures and promote competition, in order to prompt the growth of the industry, as the digital convergence era emerges.

Held at the year KCC is born, the Conference provided a global venue for participants around the world to identify the status quo of the broadcasting & telecommunications business, to come up with ways for the enterprises to develop and lead the world market amid the rapidly changing environment, and to discuss effective regulation policies that can cover newly created businesses and services.