Use of standards for the transmission of television signals (repeal. Directive 92/38/EEC)

The amendments to the common position tabled by the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs aimed to achieve an economic, commercial and political balance and represented the desire to find an acceptable solution that would permit the launch of digital television services within a flexible and progressive regulatory framework. The amendments related to the following aspects in particular: - the need to introduce efficient anti-piracy legislation at European level; - the inclusion of a reference to the conclusions of the G7 Conference on the Information Society, which highlighted the need for a regulatory framework ensuring open access networks and respect for competition rules; - clarifications of the definitions of a wide-screen television format and the 16:9 format so as to avoid a division of the markets; - the inclusion, among the elements forming programme signals, of a reference to teletext data or subtitling for the hearing-impaired; - clarifications with regard to the definition of fully digital transmission networks. Moreover, the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs tabled significant amendments with regard to conditional access, which aimed to: - ensure that conditional access was not limited to Pay-TV services; - introduce the requirement to display signals that had been transmitted in clear; - ensure that operators of conditional access services offered their services to broadcasters on a non-discriminatory basis. On the other hand, operators of conditional access services should be entitled to earn a return on their investments and for the provision of services to broadcasters; - clarify the requirements relating to licences; - ensure that the Member States established an appeals procedure; - establish the conditions under which the Commission should examine the development of the market for digital television services. �