SARFT: Convergence Trial Draft Plans Still Await Approval
Sohu IT, 3/23/11
Zou Feng, head of the Academy of Broadcasting Science at China's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT), recently disclosed that while China's twelve network convergence trial cities submitted draft plans in September 2010, they are still awaiting a response from the State Council's convergence leading group, which has both delayed implementation and postponed the announcement of the second batch of trial cities.
Zeng Huiming, CEO of Beijing-based online broadcasting industry news portal Sarft.net, said that the telecom and broadcasting industries' respective plans left a number of key issues unresolved as the two continue to jockey for power, with the telecom operators pushing for control over content and broadcasting, and the broadcasters wanting the operators to relinquish monopoly control over broadband resources such as internet data centers and international internet gateways.
At the China Content Broadcasting Network Exhibition (CCBN 2011) in Beijing yesterday, SARFT deputy bureau chief Tian Jin emphasized that network convergence does not mean creating a single, unified network or allowing the networks to replace one another, but enabling each network to develop a variety of services.
Editor's Note: For more background on this topic, please see "Rumor: Network Convergence Trials to Begin Soon" MD 8/17/10 issue.
Keywords: Zeng Huiming regulation government policy Tian Jin convergence television SARFT State Council Academy of Broadcasting Science CCBN Zou Feng