International news
1. Telecommunications
a) telecoms.com. European operators are looking at the development of a coherent strategy to prepare for the arrival of roaming MVNOs in 2014. Read more…
b) telecoms.com. Operator group Vodafone has seen a 90 per cent year on year drop in profit for the full year ended March 2013. Read more…
c) telecoms.com. Swedish infrastructure vendor Ericsson has announced it will close down its telecom cable manufacturing business. Read more…
d) Total Telecom. Growth in the uptake of prepaid mobile services will tail off over the next five years as customers worldwide increasingly opt for contract price plans, claimed Wireless Intelligence. Read more…
e) ZDNet. The European Commission's digital agenda chief has promised to break down the barriers between cellular firms across the 27 EU member states before she leaves office in just under two years. Read more…
f) EurActiv.com. Commissioner calls for end to roaming charges in EU. Read more…
g) GSMA Report. The European telecoms sector is falling far behind the US in next-generation wireless services after years of investment shortfall, a development likely to hamper the continent’s competitiveness for years to come. Read more…
h) telecoms.com. Following the launch of Skype, group messaging platforms WhatsApp and Viber have risen in popularity. Read more…
i) Total Telecom. The global telecom services market generated revenue of €1.12 trillion in 2012, although at 2.7% growth was slower than in the previous year, according to the 2013 DigiWorld Yearbook published by IDATE. Read more…
j) telecoms.com. Overall mobile data traffic is expected to grow twelve-fold by the end of 2018, with video traffic growing 60 per cent annually, according to a report released today by Ericsson. Read more…
k) Analysys Mason. New connected device segments such as tablets are driving demand for apps and connectivity. Read more…
2. Spectrum Management
a) telecoms.com. Two of Tunisia’s mobile operators have signed a deal with backbone operator and cloud services provider Interoute for the deployment of a submarine cable connecting Tunisia to Europe. Read more…
b) Policy Tracker. In the race to find 1200 MHz of spectrum for wireless data traffic by 2015, “there are merits” in developing a pan-EU strategy for the entire 470-790 MHz UHF band, says the Radio Spectrum Policy Group. Read more… (subscription is required)
c) Eureka. Just like analogue radio which has been regulated for years, digital radio will face the same conditions without any dramatic changes likely to be implemented. Read more…
d) Analysys Mason. FTTH take-up will depend to some extent on competition levels, content and pricing, but it is becoming clear that targeting roll-out to particular geographical regions and segments of the population on the basis of demand should be a major consideration. Read more…
3. TV & Radio Broadcasting
a) Advanced Television. Despite a huge desire to receive content and services through television, Smart TVs trail laptops, desktops and set-top boxes when it comes to consumers deciding how to connect to the internet through their sets, new research from YouGov shows. Read more…
b) Broadband TV News. Following a year of solid 8% growth, the worldwide pay-TV subscriber market has reached 804 million worldwide pay-TV subscriber households. Read more…
4. NGA / Broadband
a) Advanced Television. Providing super-fast broadband to the whole of the European Union could be much less expensive than previously thought, according to UK research firm Point Topic. Read more…
b) Total Telecom. The number of fixed broadband subscribers worldwide will reach 940 million by 2018, predicted Point Topic, compared to 643.8 million at the end of 2012. Read more…
5. Internet / E-Commerce
a) European Commission. An EU funded project that paves the way to an innovative Internet architecture meeting current traffic and growing security demands has just been awarded a prize at the Future Internet Assembly (FIA) in Dublin. Read more...
b) Europa. eGovernment improving but citizens ask for more. Read more…
6. Postal Services
a) Post & Parcel. The cooperative association of 24 of the biggest national postal operators in the world held its annual conference last week in Oslo, where members discussed the “clear window of opportunity” that Internet retail provides the postal industry. Read more…
International Meetings
The following is a list of meetings which the MCA participated in during the given period.
1. Our acting Chief Executive Officer attended the ERGP Plenary meeting in Rome, whilst our Chief of External Relations attended a meeting in Brussels on the single telecoms market.
Publications
1. Annual Report and Financial Statements 2012: The Authority published its Annual Report and Financial Statements for 2012, which give a comprehensive overview of the communications markets and the work of the Authority in the given period. The report can be accessed here. http://www.mca.org.mt/annualreports/
2. MCA Corporate Profile: Complementing the Annual Report, the MCA corporate profile highlights key milestones in the the communications sector and provides a graphical snapshot of the Authority’s remit and mandate as well as key links with other Authorities and public entities. Click here to view this publication http://www.mca.org.mt/sites/default/files/attachments/notices/2013/MCA%20Corporate%20Profile%202013%20Spreads.pdf
3. Vacancies: The MCA has published two vacancies. The first for the post of Project Administrator – Networked http://www.mca.org.mt/careers/post-project-administrator-networked and the second for the post of Awareness & Training Coordinator, Networked http://www.mca.org.mt/careers/post-awareness-training-coordinator-networked. Both vacancies are currently open for ETC, Part 1 candidates only.
Legal Update
1. On the 18th June 2013 the Court gave a preliminary ruling in the case Vodafone (Malta) Ltd etc vs MCA et, where Vodafone (Malta) are contesting an MCA Directive on legal intercept funding. In this ruling the Court did not uphold a preliminary plea raised by MCA. The case will continue to be heard on its merits in October.
2. On the 21st June 2013 a Legal notice was published amending the 2nd Schedule to the Administrative Justice Act designating the Court of Appeal [Inferior Jurisdiction] as the competent appellate forum in case of appeals from decisions given by the Administrative Review Tribunal.
3. A Ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in the case by Vodafone Malta Ltd et vs Attorney General, MCA et re a contestation of an excise tax on mobile telephony services made by Government alleging that this tax is in breach of the Authorisation Directive was issued on the 27th June. This ruling was given following a request by the Maltese Constitutional Court made on an application by Vodafone. The ECJ determined that the excise tax is not in breach of Article 12 of the Authorisation Directive.
4. The case filed by the Lija Local Council and various residents against Melita and MCA continued on the 27th June. The Local Council and Melita advised that they are still discussing a possible settlement.