Exploring digital convergence: issues for policy and legislation

Introduction The aim of this paper is to spark public debate on the implications of convergence in the telecommunications, information technology, media and entertainment (TIME) sectors, and the New Zealand Government’s proposed response. Convergence is a term used to describe the common delivery of previously discrete service functions such as broadcasting and telecommunications over shared digital infrastructure, and the consequent reduction of the boundaries between previously separate industries. Continuous improvement in digitisation, data processing and compression technology, combined with the proliferation of broadband internet, mean it is now possible to offer traditional communications and broadcasting services in new ways, for example radio and television delivered over the internet