Information society : agenda for action in the UK : evidence received after 31 March 1996 / Select Committee on Science and Technology.
- Great Britain. Parliament. House of Lords. Science and Technology Committee.
- Date:
- 1996
Licence: Open Government Licence
Credit: Information society : agenda for action in the UK : evidence received after 31 March 1996 / Select Committee on Science and Technology. Source: Wellcome Collection.
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![23 April 1996 ] [ Continued The demand for on-line information is leading to the emergence of a new industry—content re-purposing— where existing information sources are converted from their original form into a form suitable for electronic storage and distribution. This could be from a paper-based form into on-line text or, in the case of video material, from video-tape into an appropriate on-line digital encoding (eg Motion Pictures Experts Group, MPEG). INTER-COMPANY RELATIONSHIPS Figure 1 shows how companies cover the four areas described above. Some companies will specialise and become part of an overall value chain, whilst others will vertically integrate (vertically-integrated companies are shaded in the Figure below). Figure 1 The Structure of the Market and some Current Players Content Creator Test Match Cellnet Peoples Phone BT’s PosITION BT is vertically integrated to a certain extent in the telephony market, whereas the cable and satellite companies, as well as Microsoft are vertically integrated in the broadcast and Internet markets. Within the area of telephony services BT is a network operator as well as offering customer equipment. BT is also moving into the provision of services for the Internet, but is far from a major player in broadband services. The broadband market is dominated by cable, satellite and terrestrial TV companies and software developers. These companies already have a major presence in more than one domain. BT’s market position in telephony does not extend into this area. SUPPLIER DEVELOPMENTS ; Some companies will specialise and become focused on one of the domains in Figure 1. For example, Reuters and Dun & Bradstreet are now beginning to divest peripheral activities to concentrate on on-line information production, leaving the supply of service and network operations to other players. Other companies may diversify. Content providers are becoming service providers, offering direct access to their content. A good example is The Times On-line, which only recently decided to offer content directly over the Internet. Vertical integration could prove to be valuable in developing new markets. Structural separation is not needed to achieve competition, Large and small companies should be encouraged for the innovation they can bring. f Regulation will be a key factor. it must be as light as possible, to encourage entrepreneurial spirit. Commercial freedom to operate will be vital. The current regulatory framework in the UK may help to bring](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b32218631_0052.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
