Convergence Bill comment

Ron

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• Publié par: Astlio
• Nombre de lectures: 8
• Langue: English

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Aware Campaign Submission

Convergence Bill [B9-2005]   8 April 2005

Who is Aware?   Aware was launched last December to invoke discussion regarding ICT issues particularly in the SMME sector. Many SMME’s are completely oblivious of legislative, regulatory and policy issues. Our aim is to create awareness and encourage participation. Since the initiative was started we have made three written submissions to ICASA, participated in the oral hearings regarding the VANS regulatory framework and have given an oral presentation to the Portfolio Committee on Communications. The need to become involved was particularly motivated by the apparent lack of participation in regulatory matters by SMME©s. Even more concerning was the lack of technical input. The big players were providing input based solely on abstract legal analysis and failed to take into account the real world implications. Legal professionals, who did not necessarily have a technical background, were providing the input. The SMME players on the other hand are technical people who also run their own telecommunications and IT related businesses. They are knowledgeable in all aspects of the sector from protocols to human resources. These players were not participating in the regulatory process because they lacked legal abilities. Aware will attempt to provide input from; (i) the SMME point of view; and (ii) a technical point of view. All input to legislative, policy and regulatory matters will be done on a campaign basis. In our submission we have concentrated on the technical issues. Our lack of comment in other areas should not be considered as an endorsement. It merely means that we are confident that these issues will be raised in other submissions.

  

The Convergence Bill While the Convergence Bill does fix many outdated provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 several critical faults remain. The success of the new bill hinges on the technical correctness of the definitions found in chapter 1 of the bill. The four definitions that concern us are: 1. Applications   2. Content   3. Communications Service   4. Communications Network     New networking technologies, IP in particular, has resulted in a convergence in the way content is being delivered. Video, for example, can be delivered by means of DVD, Television or the Internet. Outdated legislation created relationships between content (i.e. video) and the method of delivery (i.e. broadcasting). There were also several pieces of legislation for different forms of content delivery. As content conveyance changes from analog to digital the method of conveyance is no longer bound to the type of content .   Crucial, we believe, to the success of the bill is the separation of applications  and content  from communication services  and communication networks . Content  and applications have nothing to do with the underlying delivery mechanisms. The incorrect technical relationships in current legislation is the very problem the bill is trying to address and this is where the current bill again fails. While the bill does indeed recognise the four components, it fails to correctly separate them and even creates relationships that are blatantly wrong. The definitions and the relationship between these definitions form the foundation on which the bill is built. With no proper foundation the bill is useless.   All is however not lost and with a few changes we could have a great piece of legislation.  

Conventions used in our submission. When words are used that is also definitions the word will be printed in bold if the use of the word refers to the context of the definition. Words in the Bill that has been added will be underlined. Words that are to be removed will be struck.      

Definition Errors   Telecommunications is a highly technical subject and in order to better explain convergence we need to simplify what telecommunications is all about. The easiest way to understand convergent telecommunications is by way of simple examples. Example 1   I have a factory (a pplication service ) that produces goods (c ontent ) that I want to transport using a train ( communications service ) which travels on railway tracks ( communications network ). Example 2   Apache web server ( application ) creates, retrieves, manages or changes web pages ( content ) which is conveyed across wires ( communications network ) by way of Diginet/TCP/IP ( communications service ). Example 3   A person speaks ( content ) into a telephone ( application ) and this conversation is conveyed from exchange to exchange ( communications service ) via copper wires ( communications network ). Example 4   A video machine ( application ) plays a movie ( content ) which is broadcast by SABC ( communications service ) using VHF frequencies ( communications network ). From the above examples it is clear that a pplications  manipulate c ontent  and that a pplications  and c ontent  have nothing to do with c ommunication services  and c ommunication networks . Communication Networks simply convey the content . Goods can be delivered by aircraft, web pages could be distributed on CD-Rom, a conversation can be taped and posted and movies can be distributed on DVD. Applications  and content  can and do exist outside of communications networks . All that communication networks do is provide a method for content delivery. In the context of the current definitions and example 1 my factory adds value to railway lines and my factory is also a train. This is obviously wrong. Let’s look at the suspect definitions:  

Application The definition ‘‘application’’ means any technological intervention by which value is added to a communications network service which includes the— (a) manipulation; (b) storage; (c) retrieval; (d) distribution; (e) creation; and (f) combination, of content, format or protocol for the purpose of making such content, format or protocol available to customers; should read ‘‘application’’ means any technological intervention by which value is added to content   which includes the— (a) manipulation; (b) storage; (c) retrieval; (d) distribution; (e) creation; and (f) combination, of content for the purpose of making such content available to customers;

Discussion Format is already covered in manipulation and protocol applies to communications  services not applications . A communications service may change the transport protocol as such communications service  conveys the content . A change in protocol will not change the content . Consider content  that has been encrypted. The underlying communications networks can do nothing with the content  other than convey it.

Application Service   The definition ‘‘application service’’ means a communications service provided by means of applications;   should read ‘‘application service’’ means an application accessible via a communications service; You have to remove communications service to avoid it being confused with the definition communications service . It is not the same thing. Applications have nothing to do with communications . Applications have to do with content . The conveyance of content is called communications .   Consider the following example:  

A customer walks into a cinema complex. The customer wants to purchases a movie ticket and queues up in the ticket line. At purchase time the teller uses her computer terminal to book and print the ticket. The customer gets the ticket. or A customer logs into the cinema’s online ticket system. The customer requests a movie ticket and provides credit card information in order to pay for the ticket. The ticket is purchased and the details are displayed on the customer’s computer screen and printed.

  The only distinction between the two ways in which the movie ticket was purchased is that in the first case the teller accessed the terminal ( application ) and in the second case the customer accessed the terminal ( application ) via a communications service . The communications service  knows nothing about the application  and only interacts with content (booking information) by way of conveyance. The communications service has no way of even knowing what the content  is because the content  in encrypted. The content is encrypted by the cinema’s computer and because of the way encryption works the content can only be decrypted by the customer. The above example clearly demonstrates that applications  and content  exist outside of the underlying communications systems and has nothing to do with communications . The cinema merely uses communications as a more effective way to provide services to its customers.

Do these services add value to the communications networks ? Yes, but only to the extent that the communications networks  would be useless if nobody was using them. This is precisely why applications and content must remain unlicenced.  You want as many services as possible to be accessible via communications networks  in order to drive down prices, and services must remain unregulated in order to ensure competition. Communication networks must be regulated because there are so few of them and they require limited resources. A toll road is only viable if many motorists are going to use the road. A toll road has no value if nobody is going to use the road. Motorists already pay a fee to use the toll road. The last thing you want to do is force the motorist to also have a special licence. A communications network is only viable if many companies are going to offer services which are accessible via such a network. Why discourage them by way of regulation and licensing? You cannot also decide to only licence selected application services . New application services  are being introduced all the time. How do you decide which services require licensing and why? How do you prevent a service offering when anybody can gain access to the network and provide such a service? The network does not need to be changed in any way to allow access to the service and does not even know about the service. A communications service may know that content is being conveyed but only to the extent that it is content .    

Communications   The definition ‘‘communications’’ means the— (a) emission; (b) transmission; or (c) reception by circuit-switched and packet-switched or other means, of voice, sound, data, text, video, visual images, signals or a combination thereof, including applications, by means of electricity, magnetism, radio or other electromagnetic waves, optical electromagnetic systems or any agency of a like nature, whether with or without the aid of tangible conductors, but does not include content services; should read ‘‘communications’’ means the— (a) emission; (b) transmission; or (c) reception by circuit-switched or packet-switched or other means, of content by means of electricity, magnetism, radio or other electromagnetic waves, optical electromagnetic systems or any agency of a like nature, whether with or without the aid of tangible conductors; Why redefine content ? Also remove applications . Applications  can never be content . Applications can never be conveyed via a communications network . Applications can only be accessed via a communications network . The process of accessing an application via a  communications service  results in the conveyance of content . A customer conveys an instruction (which in itself is content ) to an application which then creates or retrieves (see application ) content which is conveyed back to the customer.

Communications Network   The definition ‘‘communications network’’ means— (a) any transmission system and associated communications facilities; and (b) other equipment, interfaces, protocols and software (excluding end user equipment), used in connection with such transmission system, which permits conveyance of signals, whether switched or unswitched, by— (i) wire; (ii) radio; (iii) optical; or other electromagnetic means or similar technical systems, including— (aa) satellite systems; (bb) fixed systems (circuit-switched and packet-switched); (cc) mobile systems; (dd) fibre optic cables (undersea and land-based); (ee) electricity cable systems (to the extent used for communications services); and (ff) transmission systems, used for content services, including radio and television broadcasting, and cable television, irrespective of the type of information conveyed (to the extent such transmissions systems used for content services are also used for communications services); should read ‘‘communications network’’ means— (a) any transmission system and associated communications facilities; and (b) other equipment, interfaces, protocols and software (excluding end user equipment), used in connection with such transmission system, which permits conveyance of signals, whether switched or unswitched, by— (i) wire; (ii) radio; (iii) optical; or other electromagnetic means or similar technical systems, including— (aa) satellite systems; (bb) fixed systems (circuit-switched and packet-switched); (cc) mobile systems; (dd) fibre optic cables (undersea and land-based); (ee) electricity cable systems (to the extent used for communications services); and (ff) transmission systems, used for communications, including radio and television broadcasting, and cable television, irrespective of the type of information conveyed;

Simply put, a c ommunications network  conveys content   communications . When communications  is provided to the communications service .

and this is called public it is called a

Communications Network Service   The definition ‘‘communications network service’’ means a communications service whereby a communications network service licensee makes available a communications network or communications facilities, whether by sale, lease or otherwise— (a) for its own use for the provision of communications services or any other services contemplated by this Act or the related legislation; (b) to another communications network service licensee for that licensee’s use in providing communications services or any other service contemplated by this Act or the related legislation; or (c) for resale to a communications service licensee, or to any person providing content services or any other licenced service contemplated by this Act or the related legislation; should read ‘‘communications network service’’ means a service whereby a communications network service licensee makes available a communications network or communications facilities, whether by sale, lease or otherwise— (a) for its own use for the provision of communications services or any other services contemplated by this Act or the related legislation; (b) to another communications network service licensee for that licensee’s use in providing communications services or any other service contemplated by this Act or the related legislation; or (c) for resale to a communications service licensee, or to any person providing an application service, communication service or any other licensed service contemplated by this Act or the related legislation; A c ommunications network service  cannot also be a c ommunications service . A communications service  is provided on a communications network . Application services interact with content and so there is no such thing as a "content service".