Free, open or closed – approaches to the information ecology

Abstract

PurposeThe paper aims to analyze the key structural changes required for an effective competitive new media market via digital transmission. It also aims to explain the institutional obstacles to achievement of broadband deployment in Western nations by reference to East Asia's success.Design/methodology/approachThe paper identifies major trends and demonstrates evolving competition principles in the European Union media sector by discussing cases and literature in the deployment of broadband content and carriage.FindingsThe paper finds primarily that institutional barriers to reform of competition in both broadband and copyright fields create bottlenecks in any policy reform process. It goes on to consider models that have succeeded, in peer‐to‐peer content, cable and satellite television content, mobile telecommunications and East Asia, concluding that reform in fixed broadband is unlikely in the near‐term.Originality/valuePolicy discussion in copyright and telecommunications needs to be broadened to consider structural flaws in the institutions that govern these regimes. The paper takes a broad Northian view of institutions to encompass governance via markets, state and society in order to provide this view.