Brussels, 24/01/2006 (Agence Europe) - After broadband and telephony, TV distribution is the next market being hit by the digital revolution and being challenged by new competitors such as telecommunications operators. On Monday, the consulting firm, Booz Allen Hamilton, and the broadband cable operator, Liberty Global, presented the results of a joint survey that analyses how this (r)evolution will affect European households by 2010 and what the economic stakes will be for cable operators. The growing development of digital television (DTV) will be one of the most important drivers of innovation and growth in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector, the report says. In terms of penetration of European households, DTV will, by 2010, have exceeded the level reached by PCs (even outgrowing broadband internet access, Booz Allen Hamilton states), offering the whole range of interactive services to certain sectors of society which would otherwise not had access to the digital world. Consumers will benefit from the evolution with increased quality and choice of programmes, better control and enhanced interactivity. The report notes that the competitive landscape for the Digital Home market has also evolved. Services proposed will change, as well as the way they are marketed. Consumers, for their part, will tend to only use one service provider for both video and televisual services, broadband internet and telephone services. All operators of telecom networks, including the traditional operators, will thus make massive investment in order to be better placed on the market. On this battlefield, cable operators will, in the medium term, remain the only credible rivals of telco operators, and are expected to generate the most jobs with over one third of all employment created by network operators, the report states. Despite these positive developments, Europe is still significantly lagging behind the United States and some Asian countries and should step up the pace. “Delaying the digital home market bears significant downside risks - cumulated investments of EUR 39 billion and close to 90,000 jobs could be lost or delayed”, the report reads, stressing the crucial importance of an adequate and flexible regulatory framework. Liberty Global and Booz Allen Hamilton cite four key themes on which the national and EU regulatory authorities should focus during review of the regulatory framework on electronic communications and the Television without Borders Directive. These themes are: - refocus attention from broadband to convergence/Digital TV, given the importance of DTV in terms of household penetration; - ensure a balanced market structure and competition in a convergent digital world; - balance consumer protection (e.g. low prices) with long-term investment and employment objectives; - and rebalance regulation in favour of infrastructure-based competition. (Information: http: //http://www.boozallen.de )