Technological convergence

This article is about technology convergence including dependent.[4] Educational institutions and modern Uni-
convergence of media technology. For consolidation of versities have started developing courses leading to spe-
media ownership, see Concentration of media ownership. cialized degrees.[5]
For the company, see Digital Convergence Corporation.

Technological convergence is the tendency that as 1 Definitions

technology changes, different technological system
sometimes evolve toward performing similar tasks. Dig-
ital convergence refers to the convergence of four in-
dustries into one conglomerate, ITTCE (Information
Technologies, Telecommunication, Consumer Electron-
ics, and Entertainment). Previously separate technologies
such as voice (and telephony features), data (and produc-
tivity applications), and video can now share resources
and interact with each other synergistically. Telecom-
munications convergence (also called “network conver-
gence”) describes emerging telecommunications tech-
nologies, and network architecture used to migrate mul-
tiple communications services into a single network.[1]
Specifically this involves the converging of previously
distinct media such as telephony and data communica-
tions into common interfaces on single devices, such as
A converged mechanical tool, the multitool. Within one device, it
most smart phones can make phone calls and search the
provides many tools.
web.
Media convergence is the interlinking of computing and Siddhartha Menon defines convergence, in his Policy ini-
other information technologies, media content, media tiative Dilemmas on Media Covergence: A Cross National
companies and communication networks that have arisen Perspective, as integration and digitalization. Integration,
as the result of the evolution and popularization of the here, is defined as “a process of transformation measure
Internet as well as the activities, products and services by the degree to which diverse media such as phone, data
that have emerged in the digital media space. Many ex- broadcast and information technology infrastructures are
perts view this as simply being the tip of the iceberg, ascombined into a single seamless all purpose network ar-
all facets of institutional activity and social life such as
chitecture platform”.[6] Digitalization is not so much de-
business, government, art, journalism, health, and educa- fined by its physical infrastructure, but by the content or
tion are increasingly being carried out in these digital me-
the medium. Jan van Dijk suggests that “digitalization
dia spaces across a growing network of information and means breaking down signals into bytes consisting of ones
communication technology devices. Also included in this and zeros”.[7][8] Convergence is defined by Blackman,
topic is the basis of computer networks, wherein many 1998, as a trend in the evolution of technology services
different operating systems are able to communicate via and industry structures.[9] Convergence is later defined
different protocols. This could be a prelude to artificial more specifically as the coming together of telecommuni-
intelligence networks on the Internet eventually leading cations, computing and broadcasting into a single digital
to a powerful superintelligence[2] via a technological sin-
bit-stream.[10][11][12] Mueller stands against the statement
gularity. that convergence is really a takeover of all forms of media
[13][14]
Convergent services, such as VoIP, IPTV, Smart TV, and by one technology: digital computers.
others, tend to replace the older technologies and thus
can disrupt markets. IP-based convergence is inevitable
and will result in new service and new demand in the 2 History
market.[3] When the old technology converges into the
public-owned common, IP based services become access- Communication networks were designed to carry differ-
independent or less dependent. The old service is access- ent types of information independently. The older media,

1
2 3 TECHNOLOGY IMPLICATIONS

stroy it.
Media companies put Media Convergence back to their
agenda, after the dot-com bubble burst. Erstwhile
Knight Ridder promulgated concept of portable maga-
zines, newspaper, and books in 1994.[17] “Within news
corporations it became increasingly obvious that an ed-
itorial model based on mere replication in the inter-
net of contents that had previously been written for
print newspapers, radio, or television was no longer
sufficient.”[18] The rise of digital communication in the
late 20th century has made it possible for media orga-
nizations (or individuals) to deliver text, audio, and video
Example of convergent devices, 2010s-era smartphones, which material over the same wired, wireless, or fiber-optic con-
can be used for phone calls, text messages, email, surfing the In- nections. At the same time, it inspired some media or-
ternet, watching digital videos, paying bills online and so on. ganizations to explore multimedia delivery of informa-
tion. This digital convergence of news media, in partic-
ular, was called “Mediamorphosis” by researcher Roger
Fidler , in his 1997 book by that name. Today, we are sur-
such as television and radio, are broadcasting networks rounded by a multi-level convergent media world where
with passive audiences. Convergence of telecommunica- all modes of communication and information are continu-
tion technology permits the manipulation of all forms of ally reforming to adapt to the enduring demands of tech-
information, voice, data, and video. Telecommunication nologies, “changing the way we create, consume, learn
has changed from a world of scarcity to one of seemingly and interact with each other”.[19]
limitless capacity. Consequently, the possibility of au-
dience interactivity morphs the passive audience into an
engaged audience.[15] The historical roots of convergence
can be traced back to the emergence of mobile telephony 3 Technology implications
and the Internet, although the term properly applies only
from the point in marketing history when fixed and mo- Convergent solutions include both fixed-line and mobile
bile telephony began to be offered by operators as joined technologies. Recent examples of new, convergent ser-
products. Fixed and mobile operators were, for most of vices include:
the 1990s, independent companies. Even when the same
organization marketed both products, these were sold and • Using the Internet for voice and video telephony
serviced independently.
In the 1990s an implicit and often explicit assumption was • Video on demand
that new media was going to replace the old media and
Internet was going to replace broadcasting. In Nicholas • Fixed-mobile convergence
Negroponte’s Being Digital, Negroponte predicts the col-
• Mobile-to-mobile convergence
lapse of broadcast networks in favor of an era of narrow-
casting. He also suggests that no government regulation • Location-based services
can shatter the media conglomerate. “The monolithic em-
pires of mass media are dissolving into an array of cot- • Integrated products and bundles
tage industries... Media barons of today will be grasp-
ing to hold onto their centralized empires tomorrow....
Convergent technologies can integrate the fixed-line with
The combined forces of technology and human nature
mobile to deliver convergent solutions. Convergent tech-
will ultimately take a stronger hand in plurality than any
[16] nologies include:
laws Congress can invent.” The new media companies
claimed that the old media would be absorbed fully and
completely into the orbit of the emerging technologies. • IP Multimedia Subsystem
George Gilder dismisses such claims saying, “The com-
puter industry is converging with the television industry • Session Initiation Protocol
in the same sense that the automobile converged with the
• IPTV
horse, the TV converged with the nickelodeon, the word-
processing program converged with the typewriter, the • Voice over IP
CAD program converged with the drafting board, and
digital desktop publishing converged with the Linotype • Voice call continuity
machine and the letterpress.” Gilder believes that com-
puters had come not to transform mass culture but to de- • Digital video broadcasting - handheld
 3

4 Converging technological fields ation of “black boxes”, intended to perform all tasks, the
trend is to use devices that can suit the consumer’s phys-
NBIC, an acronym for Nanotechnology, Biotechnology, ical position.[27] Due to the variable utility of portable
Information technology and Cognitive science, was, in technology, convergence occurs in high end mobile de-
2014, the most popular term for converging technolo- vices. They incorporate multimedia services, GPS, In-
gies. It was introduced into public discourse through ternet access, and mobile telephony into a single device,
the publication of Converging Technologies for Improv- heralding the rise of what has been termed the “smart
ing Human Performance, a report sponsored in part by phone,” a device designed to remove the need to carry
the U.S. National Science Foundation.[20] Various other multiple devices. Convergence of media occurs when
acronyms have been offered for the same concept such multiple products come together to form one product with
as GNR (Genetics, Nanotechnology and Robotics) (Bill the advantages of all of them, also known as the black
Joy, 2000, Why the future doesn't need us[21] ). Jour- box. This idea of one technology, concocted by Henry
nalist Joel Garreau in Radical Evolution: The Promise Jenkins, has become known more as a fallacy because of
and Peril of Enhancing Our Minds, Our Bodies — the inability to actually put all technical pieces into one.
and What It Means to Be Human uses “GRIN”, for For example, while people can have e-mail and Internet
Genetic, Robotic, Information, and Nano processes,[22] on their phone, they still want full computers with Inter-
while science journalist Douglas Mulhall in Our Molec- net and e-mail in addition. Mobile phones are a good
ular Future: How Nanotechnology, Robotics, Genetics example, in that they incorporate digital cameras, mp3
and Artificial Intelligence Will Transform Our World uses players, voice recorders, and other devices. This type of
“GRAIN”, for Genetics, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, convergence is popular. For the consumer, it means more
and Nanotechnology.[23] Another acronym coined by features in less space; for media conglomerates it means
the appropriate technology organization ETC Group is remaining competitive.
“BANG” for "Bits, Atoms, Neurons, Genes".[24] However, convergence has a downside. Particularly in
initial forms, converged devices are frequently less func-
tional and reliable than their component parts (e.g., a
5 Appliances mobile phone’s web browser may not render some web
pages correctly, due to not supporting certain rendering
methods, such as the iPhone browser not supporting Flash
Some media obervers expect that we will eventually ac- content). As the number of functions in a single device
cess all media content through one device, or “black escalates, the ability of that device to serve its original
box”.[25] As such, media business practice has been to function decreases.[28] As Rheingold asserts, technolog-
identify the next “black box” to invest in and provide me- ical convergence holds immense potential for the “im-
dia for. This has caused a number of problems. Firstly, provement of life and liberty in some ways and (could)
as “black boxes” are invented and abandoned, the indi- degrade it in others”.[29] He believes the same technol-
vidual is left with numerous devices that can perform ogy has the potential to be “used as both a weapon of
the same task, rather than one dedicated for each task. social control and a means of resistance”.[29] Since tech-
For example, one may own both a computer and a video nology has evolved in the past ten years or so, compa-
games console, subsequently owning two DVD players. nies are beginning to converge technologies to create de-
This is contrary to the streamlined goal of the “black box” mand for new products. This includes phone companies
theory, and instead creates clutter.[26] Secondly, techno- integrating 3G and 4G on their phones. In the mid 20th
logical convergence tends to be experimental in nature. century, television converged the technologies of movies
This has led to consumers owning technologies with ad- and radio, and television is now being converged with
ditional functions that are harder, if not impractical, to the mobile phone industry and the Internet. Phone calls
use rather than one specific device. Many people would are also being made with the use of personal comput-
only watch the TV for the duration of the meal’s cooking ers. Converging technologies combine multiple technolo-
time, or whilst in the kitchen, but would not use the mi- gies into one. Newer mobile phones feature cameras, and
crowave as the household TV. These examples show that can hold images, videos, music, and other media. Manu-
in many cases technological convergence is unnecessary facturers now integrate more advanced features, such as
or unneeded. video recording, GPS receivers, data storage, and security
Furthermore, although consumers primarily use a spe- mechanisms into the traditional cellphone.
cialized media device for their needs, other “black box”
devices that perform the same task can be used to suit
their current situation. As a 2002 Cheskin Research re-
port explained: "...Your email needs and expectations are 6 Internet
different whether you're at home, work, school, commut-
ing, the airport, etc., and these different devices are de- The role of the internet has changed from its original use
signed to suit your needs for accessing content depending as a communication tool to easier and faster access to in-
on where you are- your situated context.” Despite the cre- formation and services, mainly through a broadband con-
4 9 MEDIA CONVERGENCE

nection. The television, radio and newspapers were the sumer device companies; search and advertising compa-
world’s media for accessing news and entertainment; now, nies become telecommunications companies (“telcos”);
all three media have converged into one, and people all media companies act like telcos and vice versa; retailers
over the world can read and hear news and other informa- act like financial services companies and vice versa; cos-
tion on the internet. The convergence of the internet and metics companies work with pharmaceutical companies;
conventional TV became popular in the 2010s, through and more. Mobile phone usage broadens dramatically,
Smart TV, also sometimes referred to as “Connected TV” enabling users to make payments online, watch videos, or
or “Hybrid TV”, (not to be confused with IPTV, Internet even adjusting their home thermostat while away at work.
TV, or with Web TV). Smart TV is used to describe the
current trend of integration of the Internet and Web 2.0
features into modern television sets and set-top boxes, 9 Media convergence
as well as the technological convergence between com-
puters and these television sets or set-top boxes. These
new devices most often also have a much higher focus on Generally, media convergence refers to the merging of
online interactive media, Internet TV, over-the-top con- both old and new media and can be seen as a product, a
tent, as well as on-demand streaming media, and less fo- system or a process. Jenkins states that convergence is,
cus on traditional broadcast media like previous gener- “the flow of content across multiple media platforms, the
ations of television sets and set-top boxes always have cooperation between multiple media industries, and the
had.[30] migratory behaviour of media audiences who would go
almost anywhere in search of the kinds of entertainment
experiences they wanted”[31] According to Jenkins, there
are five areas of convergence: technological, economic,
7 Digital convergence social or organic, cultural and global.[32] So media con-
vergence is not just a technological shift or a technolog-
According to Harry Strasser, former CTO of Siemens ical process, it also includes shifts within the industrial,
"[digital convergence will substantially impact people’s cultural, and social paradigms that encourage the con-
lifestyle and work style]". The next hot trend in dig- sumer to seek out new information. Convergence, simply
ital convergence is converged content, mixing personal put, is how individual consumers interact with others on
(user generated) content with professional (copyright a social level and use various media platforms to create
protected) content. An example are personal music new experiences, new forms of media and content that
videos that combine user generated photos with chart mu- connect us socially, and not just to other consumers, but
sic. The German startup Trivid GmbH has developed to the corporate producers of media in ways that have not
Clipgenerator that enables users to create personal mu- been as readily accessible in the past.
sic videos with popular chart music and to share them in Advances in technology bring the ability for technolog-
social communities such as facebook, myspace and Bebo. ical convergence that Rheingold believes can alter the
“social-side effects,” in that “the virtual, social and phys-
ical world are colliding, merging and coordinating.”[29]
8 In the marketplace It was predicted in the late 1980s,[33] around the time
that CD-ROM was becoming commonplace, that a digital
Convergence is a global marketplace dynamic in which revolution would take place, and that old media would be
different companies and sectors are being brought to- pushed to one side by new media. Broadcasting is increas-
gether, both as competitors and collaborators, across tra- ingly being replaced by the Internet, enabling consumers
ditional boundaries of industry and technology. In a all over the world the freedom to access their preferred
world dominated by convergence, many traditional prod- media content more easily and at a more available rate
ucts, services and types of companies will become less than ever before.
relevant, but a stunning array of new ones is possible. An However, when the dot-com bubble of the 1990s sud-
array of technology developments act as accelerators of denly popped, that poured cold water over the talk of such
convergence, including mobility, analytics, cloud, digital a digital revolution. In today’s society, the idea of media
and social networks. As a disruptive force, convergence convergence has once again emerged as a key point of ref-
is a threat to the unprepared, but a tremendous growth erence as newer as well as established media companies
opportunity for companies that can out-innovate and out- attempt to visualize the future of the entertainment indus-
execute their ever-expanding list of competitors under try. If this revolutionary digital paradigm shift presumed
dramatically new marketplace rules. With convergence, that old media would be increasingly replaced by new me-
lines are blurred as companies diversify outside of their dia, the convergence paradigm that is currently emerging
original markets. For instance, mobile services are in- suggests that new and old media would interact in more
creasingly an important part of the automobile; chemicals complex ways than previously predicted. The paradigm
companies work with agribusiness; device manufactur- shift that followed the digital revolution assumed that new
ers sell music, video and books; booksellers become con- media was going to change everything. When the dot
9.1 Convergence culture
com market crashed, there was a tendency to imagine
that nothing had changed. The real truth lay somewhere
in between as there were so many aspects of the current
media environment to take into consideration. Many in-
dustry leaders are increasingly reverting to media conver-
gence as a way of making sense in an era of disorientat-
ing change. In that respect, media convergence in theory
is essentially an old concept taking on a new meaning.
Media convergence, in reality, is more than just a shift
in technology. It alters relationships between industries,
technologies, audiences, genres and markets. Media con-
vergence changes the rationality media industries operate
in, and the way that media consumers process news and
entertainment. Media convergence is essentially a pro-
cess and not an outcome, so no single black box controls
the flow of media. With proliferation of different media
channels and increasing portability of new telecommuni-
cations and computing technologies, we have entered into
an era where media constantly surrounds us.[34]
Media convergence requires that media companies re-
think existing assumptions about media from the con-
sumer’s point of view, as these affect marketing and pro-
gramming decisions. Media producers must respond to
newly empowered consumers. Conversely, it would seem
that hardware is instead diverging whilst media content is
converging. Media has developed into brands that can of-
fer content in a number of forms. Two examples of this
are Star Wars and The Matrix. Both are films, but are also
books, video games, cartoons, and action figures. Brand-
ing encourages expansion of one concept, rather than the
creation of new ideas.[35] In contrast, hardware has di-
versified to accommodate media convergence. Hardware
must be specific to each function. While most schol-
ars argue that the flow of cross-media is accelerating,[36]
O'Donnell suggests, especially between films and video
game, the semblance of media convergence is misunder-
stood by people outside of the media production indus-
try. The conglomeration of media industry continues to
sell the same story line in different media. For example,
Batman is in comics, films, anime, and games. However,
the data to create the image of batman in each media is
created individually by different teams of creators. The
same character and the same visual effect repetitively ap-
pear in different media is because of the synergy of media
industry to make them similar as possible. In addition,
convergence does not happen when the game of two dif-
ferent consoles is produced. No flows between two con-
soles because it is faster to create game from scratch for
the industry.[37]
One of the more interesting new media journalism forms
is virtual reality. Reuters, a major international news ser-
vice, has created and staffed a news “island” in the popu-
lar online virtual reality environment Second Life (www.
secondlife.com, accessed January 3, 2008). Open to any-
one, Second Life has emerged as a compelling 3D virtual
reality for millions of citizens around the world who have
created avatars (virtual representations of themselves) to
5
populate and live in an altered state where personal flight
is a reality, altered egos can flourish, and real money
(US$1,296,257 were spent during the 24 hours conclud-
ing at 10:19 a.m. eastern time January 7, 2008) can be
made without ever setting foot into the real world. The
Reuters Island in Second Life is a virtual version of the
Reuters real-world news service but covering the domain
of Second Life for the citizens of Second Life (number-
ing 11,807,742 residents as of January 5, 2008).[38]
Media convergence in the digital era means the changes
that are taking place with older forms of media and media
companies. Media convergence has two roles, the first is
the technological merging of different media channels –
for example, magazines, radio programs, TV shows, and
movies, now are available on the Internet through laptops,
iPads, and smartphones. As discussed in Media Culture
(by Campbell), convergence of technology is not new.
It has been going on since the late 1920s. An example
is RCA, the Radio Corporation of America, which pur-
chased Victor Talking Machine Company and introduced
machines that could receive radio and play recorded mu-
sic. Next came the TV, and radio lost some of its ap-
peal as people started watching television, which has both
talking and music as well as visuals. As technology ad-
vances, convergence of media change to keep up. The
second definition of media convergence Campbell dis-
cusses is cross-platform by media companies. This usu-
ally involves consolidating various media holdings, such
as cable, phone, television (over the air, satellite, cable)
and Internet access under one corporate umbrella. This
is not for the consumer to have more media choices, this
is for the benefit of the company to cut down on costs
and maximize its profits.[39] As stated in the article, Con-
vergence Culture and Media Work, by Mark Deuze, “the
convergence of production and consumption of media
across companies, channels, genres, and technologies is
an expression of the convergence of all aspects of every-
day life: work and play, the local and the global, self and
social identity.”[40]
9.1 Convergence culture
Henry Jenkins determines convergence culture to be the
flow of content across multiple media platforms, the co-
operation between multiple media industries, and the mi-
gratory behavior of media audiences who will go almost
anywhere in search of the kinds of entertainment expe-
riences they want. The convergence culture is an im-
portant factor in transmedia storytelling. Convergence
culture introduces new stories and arguments from one
form of media into many. Transmedia storytelling is de-
fined by Jenkins as a process “where integral elements
of a fiction get dispersed systematically across multiple
delivery channels for the purpose of creating a unified
and coordinated entertainment experience. Ideally, each
medium makes its own unique contribution to the unfold-
ing of the story”.[41] For instance, The Matrix starts as a
6 10 REGULATION

film, which is followed by two other instalments, but in
a convergence culture it is not constrained to that form.
It becomes a story not only told in the movies but in
animated shorts, video games and comic books, three dif-
ferent media platforms. Online, a wiki is created to keep
track of the story’s expanding canon. Fan films, discus-
sion forums, and social media pages also form, expand-
ing The Matrix to different online platforms. Conver-
gence culture took what started as a film and expanded it
across almost every type of media.[42] Bert is Evil (im-
ages) Bert and Bin Laden appeared in CNN coverage of
anti-American protest following September 11. The as-
sociation of Bert and Bin Laden links back to the Igna-
cio’s Photoshop project for fun.[43]
Convergence culture is a part of participatory culture. Be-
cause average people can now access their interests on
many types of media they can also have more of a say.
Fans and consumers are able to participate in the cre-
ation and circulation of new content. Some companies
take advantage of this and search for feedback from their
customers through social media and sharing sites such as
YouTube. Besides marketing and entertainment, conver-
gence culture has also affected the way we interact with
news and information. We can access news on multiple
levels of media from the radio, TV, newspapers, and the
internet. The internet allows more people to be able to re-
port the news through independent broadcasts and there-
fore allows a multitude of perspectives to be put forward
and accessed by people in many different areas. Conver-
gence allows news to be gathered on a much larger scale.
For instance, photographs were taken of torture at Abu
Ghraib. These photos were shared and eventually posted
on the internet. This led to the breaking of a news story
in newspapers, on TV, and the internet.[42]
Media scholar Henry Jenkins has described the media
convergence with participatory culture as:
...a “catalyst” for amateur digital film-
making and what this case study suggests about
the future directions popular culture may take.
Star Wars fan films represent the intersection
of two significant cultural trends—the cor-
porate movement towards media convergence
and the unleashing of significant new tools,
which enable the grassroots archiving, annota-
tion, appropriation, and recirculation of media
content. These fan films build on long-standing
practices of the fan community but they also re-
flect the influence of this changed technological
environment that has dramatically lowered the
costs of film production and distribution.[44]
9.2 Cell phone convergence
The social function of the cell phone changes as the tech- growing and changing. In addition to its growth, FCC
nology converges. Because of technological advance- is tentative to set regulation on VoIP in order to promote
ment, cell phones function more than just as a phone. competition in the telecommunication industry.[51] There
They contain an internet connection, video players, Mp3
players, and a camera. Another example, Rok Sako
To Rok Lo (2004) was screened in Delhi, Bangalore,
Hyderabad, Mumbai, and other part of India through
EDGE-enabled mobile phones with live video streaming
facility.[43]
9.3 Social movements
The integration of social movements in cyberspace is
one of the potential strategies that social movements
can use in the age of media convergence. Because of
the neutrality of the internet and the end-to-end de-
sign, the power structure of the internet was designed
to avoid discrimination between applications. Mexico’s
Zapatistas campaign for land rights was one of the most
influential case in the information age; Manuel Castells
defines the Zapatistas as “the first informational guer-
rilla movement”.[45] The Zapatista uprising had been
marginalized by the popular press. The Zapatistas were
able to construct a grassroots, decentralized social move-
ment by using the internet. The Zapatistas Effect, ob-
served by Cleaver,[46] continues to organize social move-
ments on a global scale. A sophisticated webmetric anal-
ysis, which maps the links between different websites
and seeks to identify important nodal points in a net-
work, demonstrates that the Zapatistas cause binds to-
gether hundreds of global NGOs.[47] The majority of the
social movement organized by Zapatistas targets their
campaign especially against global neoliberalism.[48] A
successful social movement not only need online support
but also protest on the street. Papic wrote, “Social Me-
dia Alone Do Not Instigate Revolutions”, which discusses
how the use of social media in social movements needs
good organization both online and offline.[49] A study,
“Journalism in the age of media convergence: a survey
of undergraduates’ technology-related news habits”, con-
cluded that several focus group respondents reported they
generally did not actively engage in media convergence,
such as viewing slide shows or listening to podcast that
accompanied an online story, as part of their Web-based
news consumption, a significant number of students in-
dicated the interactive features often associated with on-
line news and media convergence were indeed appealing
to them.[50]
10 Regulation
10.1 VoIP
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
has not been able to decide how to regulate VoIP (Inter-
net Telephony) because the convergent technology is still
10.2 Emerging trends
is not a clear line between telecommunication service
and the information service because of the growth of the
new convergent media. Historically, telecommunication
is subject to state regulation. The state of California con-
cerned about the increasing popularity of internet tele-
phony will eventually obliterate funding for the Universal
Service Fund[52] Some states attempt to assert their tra-
ditional role of common carrier oversight onto this new
technology.[53] Meisel and Needles (2005) suggests that
the FCC, federal courts, and state regulatory bodies on
access line charges will directly impact the speed in which
Internet telephony market grows.[54] On one hand, the
FCC is hesitant to regulate convergent technology be-
cause VoIP with different feature from the old Telecom-
munication; no fixed model to build legislature yet. On
the other hand, the regulations is needed because Service
over the internet might be quickly replaced telecommu-
nication service, which will affect the entire economy.
Convergence has also raised several debates about classi-
fication of certain telecommunications services. As the
lines between data transmission, and voice and media
transmission are eroded, regulators are faced with the task
of how best to classify the converging segments of the
telecommunication sector. Traditionally, telecommuni-
cation regulation has focused on the operation of physi-
cal infrastructure, networks, and access to network. No
content is regulated in the telecommunication because the
content is considered private. In contrast, film and Tele-
vision are regulated by contents. The rating system reg-
ulates its distribution to the audience. Self-regulation is
promoted by the industry. Bogle senior persuaded the en-
tire industry to pay 0.1 percent levy on all advertising and
the money was used to give authority to the Advertising
Standards Authority, which keeps the government away
from setting legislature in the media industry.[55]
The premises to regulate the new media, two-ways com-
munications, concerns much about the change from old
media to new media. Each medium has different features
and characteristics. First, internet, the new medium, ma-
nipulates all form of information - voice, data and video.
Second, the old regulation on the old media, such as radio
and Television, emphasized its regulation on the scarcity
of the channels. Internet, on the other hand, has the
limitless capacity, due to the end-to-end design. Third,
Two-ways communication encourages interactivity be-
tween the content producers and the audiences. "...Fun-
damental basis for classification, therefore, is to consider
the need for regulation in terms of either market failure
or in the public interests"(Blackman).[56] The Electronic 11 Messaging
Frontier Foundation (EFF), founded in 1990, is a non
profit organization to defend free speech, privacy, innova-
tion and consumer rights.[57] DMCA, Digital Millennium Combination services include those that integrate SMS
Copyright Act regulates and protect the digital content with voice, such as voice SMS. Providers include Bub-
producers and consumers.
7
10.2 Emerging trends
Network neutrality has emerged as an issue. Wu and
Lessig (2004) set out two reasons to adapt neutral net-
work model for computer networks. First, “a neutral
network eliminates the risk of future discrimination,
providing more incentive to invest in broadband appli-
cation development.” Second, “neutral network facili-
tates fair competition among application, no bias be-
tween applications.”[58] The two reasons also coincide
with FCC’s interest to stimulate investment and enhance
innovation in broadband technology and services.[59][60]
Despite regulatory efforts of deregulation, privatization,
and liberalization, the infrastructure barrier has been a
negative factor in achieving effective competition. “Kim
et al. argues that IP dissociates the telephony applica-
tion from the infrastructure and Internet telephony is at
the forefront of such dissociation.”[61] The neutrality of
the network is very important for fair competition.[62] As
the former FCC Charman Michael Powell put it: “From
its inception, the Internet was designed, as those present
during the course of its creating will tell you, to prevent
government or a corporation or anyone else from control-
ling it. It was designed to defeat discrimination against
users, ideas and technologies”.[63] Because of these rea-
sons, Shin concludes that regulator should make sure to
regulate application and infrastructure separately.
The layered model was first proposed by Solum and Chug,
Sicker, and Nakahata. Sicker, Warbach and Witt have
supported using a layered model to regulate the telecom-
munications industry with the emergence of convergence
services. Many researchers have different layered ap-
proach, but they all agree that the emergence of conver-
gent technology will create challenges and ambiguities for
regulations.[3] The key point of the layered model is that
it reflects the reality of network architecture, and cur-
rent business model.[64] The layered Model consists of 1.
Access Layer - where the physical infrastructure resides:
copper wires, cable, or fiber optic. 2. transport layer - the
provider of service. 3. Application layer - the interface
between the data and the users. 4. content layer - the layer
which users see.[64] In Convergence Technologies and the
Layered Policy Model: Implication for Regulating Future
Communications, Shin combines the Layered Model and
Network Neutrality as the principle to regulate the future
convergent Media Industry.[65]
ble Motion, Jott, Kirusa, and SpinVox. Several operators
have launched services that combine SMS with mobile
instant messaging (MIM) and presence. Text-to-landline
services also exist, where subscribers can send text mes-
sages to any landline phone and are charged at standard
8 15
rates. The text messages are converted into spoken lan-
guage. This service has been popular in America, where
fixed and mobile numbers are similar. Inbound SMS has
been converging to enable reception of different formats
(SMS, voice, MMS, etc.). UK companies, including con-
sumer goods companies and media giants, should soon be
able to let consumers contact them via voice, SMS, MMS,
IVR, or video using one five-digit number or long num-
ber. In April 2008, O2 UK launched voice-enabled short-
codes, adding voice functionality to the five-digit codes
already used for SMS. This type of convergence is help-
ful for media companies, broadcasters, enterprises, call
centres and help desks who need to develop a consistent
contact strategy with the consumer. Because SMS is very
popular today, it became relevant to include text messag-
ing as a contact possibility for consumers. To avoid hav-
ing multiple numbers (one for voice calls, another one for
SMS), a simple way is to merge the reception of both for-
mats under one number. This means that a consumer can
text or call one number and be sure that the message will
be received.
12 Mobile
“Mobile service provisions” refers not only to the abil-
ity to purchase mobile phone services, but the ability to
wirelessly access everything: voice, Internet, audio, and
video. Advancements in WiMAX and other leading edge
technologies provide the ability to transfer information
over a wireless link at a variety of speeds, distances, and
non-line-of-sight conditions.
13 Multi-play
Multi-play is a marketing term describing the provision
of different telecommunication services, such as Internet
access, television, telephone, and mobile phone service,
by organisations that traditionally only offered one or two
of these services. Multi-play is a catch-all phrase; usually,
the terms triple play (voice, video and data) or quadruple
play (voice, video, data and wireless) are used to describe
a more specific meaning. A dual play service is a market-
ing term for the provisioning of the two services: it can
be high-speed Internet (digital subscriber line) and tele-
phone service over a single broadband connection in the
case of phone companies, or high-speed Internet (cable
modem) and TV service over a single broadband con-
nection in the case of cable TV companies. The con-
vergence can also concern the underlying communication
infrastructure. An example of this is a triple play ser-
vice, where communication services are packaged allow-
ing consumers to purchase TV, Internet, and telephony in
one subscription. The broadband cable market is trans-
forming as pay-TV providers move aggressively into what
was once considered the telco space. Meanwhile, cus-
SEE ALSO
tomer expectations have risen as consumer and business
customers alike seek rich content, multi-use devices, net-
worked products and converged services including on-
demand video, digital TV, high speed Internet, VoIP, and
wireless applications. It is uncharted territory for most
broadband companies.
A quadruple play service combines the triple play service
of broadband Internet access, television, and telephone
with wireless service provisions.[66] This service set is
also sometimes humorously referred to as “The Fantastic
Four" or “Grand Slam”.[67] A fundamental aspect of the
quadruple play is not only the long-awaited broadband
convergence but also the players involved. Many of them,
from the largest global service providers to whom we con-
nect today via wires and cables to the smallest of startup
service providers are interested. Opportunities are at-
tractive: the big three telecom services – telephony, ca-
ble television, and wireless—could combine their indus-
tries. In the UK, the merger of NTL:Telewest and Virgin
Mobile resulted in a company offering a quadruple play
of cable television, broadband Internet, home telephone,
and mobile telephone services.
14 Home network
Early in the 21st century, home LAN convergence so
rapidly integrated home routers, wireless access points,
and DSL modems that users were hard put to identify the
resulting box they used to connect their computers to their
Internet service. A general term for such a combined de-
vice is a residential gateway.
15 See also
• Computer multitasking (the software equivalent of
a converged device)
• Convergence (telecommunications)
• Dongle, can facilitate inclusion of non-converged
devices.
• Digital rhetoric
• Generic Access Network
• UMA Today
• IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS)
• Mobile VoIP
• Next Generation Networks
• Next generation network services
• Post-convergent
• Second screen

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17 EXTERNAL LINKS
[56] Blackman, Colin. Convergence between Telecommu-
nications and Other Media: How Should Regulation
Adapt?. Telecommunication Policy, Vol. 22, No.3
PP.163-170, 1998. Great Britain. Print.
[57] “About Eff.” Electronic Frontier Foundation, Web. 26
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[58] Wu, T., Lessig, L. EX Parte Submission in CS Docket No.
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[65] Shin, D. , Kim, W. and Lee, D. , 2006-06-16 “Conver-
gence Technologies and the Layered Policy Model: Im-
plication for Regulating Future Communications” Paper
presented at the annual meeting of the International Com-
munication Association, Dresden International Congress
Centre, Dresden, Germany Online <PDF>. 2011-
03-14 from http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p91470_
index.html
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17 External links
• Amdocs MultiPlay Strategy WhitePaper
• Technology Convergence Update with Bob Brown –
Video
 11

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