The draft final report was presented to the second Open meeting of 16 December. The comments received have been integrated in the report. Than on 28 January this report has been presented to the JTC Broadcast and received the final approval. In consequence, this final report has been sent to the European Commission and published.
Final Report
The European Commission’s eEurope 2005 Action Plan for the further development of the Information Society includes among its priorities extending the role of digital television based on a multi-platform approach. The objective is to provide widespread access to advanced communications and information services for all European citizens, with increased broadband access. If widely implemented, digital interactive television may complement PC/Internet based access to Information Society services in the EU. However, at present, the lack of commonly agreed standards in support of the interoperability of interactive television services is considered as a barrier to their further deployment in Europe. The objective of Mandate M/331 is to stimulate further standardization work in this field.
In this context and in conjunction with ETSI, CENELEC organized a series of 2 Open Meetings aiming to accommodate input from stakeholders into the process of defining further standardization in interactive digital television.
The ojective of these two Open Meetings hosted on November 7th and December 16th, 2003 was to discuss a standardization Work Programme in support of digital TV and interactive services as prepared by the joint CENELEC/ETSI Specialist Task Force 255.
News Release - Sophia Antipolis, France – 19 September 2003
Open meetings:
The Second Open meeting was held on 16 December 2003 in Brussels
Following the First Open meeting and with respect to the first draft of the Work Program, STF255 received some contributions from different stakeholders which were discussed during the Second Open meeting
The First Open Meeting was held on 7 November 2003 in Brussels
The Open meeting (Phase I) was held in March 2003 in Brussels
The process of further standardization responds to EU/EFTA Mandate M/331 in support of digital TV and interactive services, and follows the CENELEC Report (Phase I - March 2003) on standardization in digital interactive television that was concluded in April 2003.
For the Executive Summary of the report, click here
Further information on CENELEC's current activities in digital TV
Further to the Directive 2002/21/EC, the ESOs were asked by the European Commission to identify existing standardization initiatives at international, European and national level, both formal and informal, and to specify still existing standardization gaps. On the basis of these findings, the ESOs were invited to present recommendations for future standardization work.
Within the broader framework of the Accessibility of digital TV services for All, CENELEC evaluated standardization in digital interactive TV in Europe. The aim of this activity was to determine the level and type of standardization required to support the effective implementation of the legal framework laid down in the European Directive 2002/21/EC, "A common regulatory framework for electronic communication networks (Framework Directive)".
The work was carried out on behalf of the European Commission in the context of order voucher CENELEC/ENTE/e-Europe/2002-0497, and resulted in a report evaluating how standardization can support the implementation of the legal framework. This report focuses in particular on Article 18 of the Framework Directive and on the required level of interoperability in digital interactive television services. It identified already existing standardization and consensus building work at national, regional and international level, in formal standardization organisations, industry consortia and fora, as well as identifying gaps requiring further standardization work.
In order for the report to present a balanced view, CENELEC organised an Open Meeting on the 12th of March 2003, at which all stakeholders were invited to present their views on the draft version of the report.
The draft report, together with the agenda for the meeting was made available on the CENELEC web site one week prior to the Open Meeting. A CENELEC forum was set up to give the possibility to comment the draft report.
Following the Open Meeting a final version of the report, taking into account all relevant points of view put forward during the Open Meeting, has been made available. This final version was sent to the European Commission at the end of April 2003 and includes recommendations for a strategy and a standardization work program addressing digital interactive TV services. The Final Report was approved by the CENELEC/ETSI/EBU Joint technical Committee Broadcast.
Based on the recommendations of the report "Standardization in digital interactive television", the European Standardization Organizations, CEN, CENELEC and ETSI, are invited to prepare a coherent set of standards, specifications and guidelines in support of the requirements set by article 18 of Directive 2002/21/EC.
The objective is to complete the standardization work in support of Directive 2002/21/EC as soon as possible. The ESOs are invited to establish adequate and efficient co-operation mechanisms in view of achieving widest possible consensus amongst all parties concerned. In addition, arrangements shall be made to establish relevant international co-operation. In this respect, the following principles shall be followed: