Speaking at the opening of the PIKE International Conference and Exhibition in Lodz, former Solidarity leader and Polish president Lech Walesa said that the cable industry is moving ahead so quickly from a technology perspective it is difficult to keep up.
He also said that there was a need for some aspects of globalisation to be tidied up and that 95% of capitalism was essentially not questioned, with the problems associated with the remaining 5% fixable.
In the first panel discussion that followed, entitled In the world of globalisation of the media and telecommunication, contrasting views were voiced by Polish and international industry representatives.
Matthias Kurth, Cable Europe executive chairman, said that more choice and competition should now not be accompanied by more regulation. Indeed, it should probably be eased, with a view to creating a level playing field. On the other hand, the fact that copyright is fragmented remains a problem.
Jerzy Straszewski, the president of PIKE, meanwhile said that the basis of regulation has to be balance. Although the cable industry in Poland had developed in a free market, it would now be negatively impacted by calls for regulation. Witold Grabos, deputy head of the National Broadcasting Council (KRRiT), pointed to the fact that DTT has been a success in Poland and was proving to be a competitor to pay-TV services.
It has three multiplexes up and running, with DTT ad revenue growing by 50% in only a short time. On the other hand, it was still a suppliers’ rather than consumers’ market – something disputed by Kurth, who said that a la carte is more expensive than bundling, which can also offer high-speed internet access.
Straszewski also warned that in a few years time the internet of things would account for 80% of traffic.
