CHINA will establish a state-level TV broadcasting and network firm to ensure that the "Three Network Convergence" policy will integrate broadcasting, telecommunications and Internet networks efficiently and launch cross-platform new services, the industry regulator said in a forum at the 16th Shanghai TV Festival.
According to the latest "Three Network Convergence" plan, the General Administration of Press and Publication will establish a national next-generation broadcasting network and start trial services in some cities, according to Wang Xiaojie, general director of GAPP's science and technology division.
"The TV set is the most popular and affordable device for new integrated services, compared with computers," said Wang during the Convergence of Three Networks - An Innovation Road forum held yesterday. "The biggest bottleneck of the current TV network is single-way transition but it will change on the NGB network."
The integrated services, like mobile TV, IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) and VOD (video on demand) will be popular in China with more than 300 million TV users, according to Zhang Dazhong, vice president of Shanghai Media Group.
Regional firms can apply for the "Three Network Convergence" testing by June 18 and GAPP will decide the final trial cities by June 25, Wang added.
China was originally going to test the "Three Network Convergence" from 2010 to 2012 and to adopt services between 2013 and 2015, according to a policy released at the start of this year.
But the detailed plans of the policy hadn't been decided until late Monday because both broadcasting and telecom firms were seeking to lead the network integration. The two regulators, including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, also differed on regulation.
"It (Three Network Convergence) has problems, not on technology but on the institutional problem of the regulation," said Wu Hequan, vice president of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
GAPP seems to have won the war.
The new national broadcasting firm will manage and regulate the integrated platform.