Why does convergence matter? February 7, 2008

The first of a series of seminars organised by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), considering the issues of the merging of the IT, broadcasting and telecommunications industries into a single converged market.

Questions will 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?

The series will, in particular, examine the regulatory and legislative regimes that are currently in place and how they will be applied in future, exploring 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;
- secure universal access to high quality, public service content.

Official Website: http://www.culture.gov.uk/what_we_do/Broadcasting/ctt.htm