Entering New and Converging Media Markets: How to Take a Proactive Approach to Legal Issues in the Electronic Communications Sector

The vast technological developments in the information and communication sector are rapidly changing the media markets. The Internet, telecommunications and broadcasting media markets are converging, and new technologies, services and markets arise. A number of regulatory amendments have been passed on EU level recently in order to adjust the regulatory framework to the changing market conditions. However, regulation is still lacking behind the technological developments. Moreover, the delimitation and interpretation of the new rules are not always clear. This creates legal uncertainty for companies seeking to enter the new and promising media markets. Legal uncertainty makes it imperative to take a proactive approach in order to predict and solve legal issues before they arise. Otherwise, the companies’ investments will be endangered. So will the tremendous possibilities for economic growth and innovation that the information and communications sector represent. The purpose of the article is to present the main principles of the – relatively new – regulatory framework of the electronic communications sector, and highlight some of the typical legal questions and issues that providers of infrastructure and/or content services on the new media markets face.