The 2013 edition of ITU’s flagship regulatory report ‘Trends in Telecommunication Reform’, released today, highlights the increasingly global nature of information and communication technology (ICT) regulation and the crucial link between effective regulation of the ICT sector and the range, quality and affordability of ICT services available to consumers and business users alike.

Companies like Netflix, Hulu, Apple, and Amazon helped drive the over-the-top (OTT) video market past $8 billion in 2012. The three largest markets—North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific—experienced YoY growth in excess of 50% in 2012. The continued spread of connected CE and increasingly mobile devices, like tablets, are expected to push the market past $20 billion by 2015, according to ABI Research.

Consumers are increasingly taking control of their entertainment experience, multitasking while watching television, integrating second screen devices into their viewing experience, and viewing more Internet-based content, according to a new survey released today at the NAB show in Las Vegas by Accenture.

New Technologies and Solutions Will Drive Strong Growth and Increase Competition

At Satellite 2013 in Washington, D.C., Satellite Markets and Research Editor-in-Chief Virgil Labrador spoke with Steve Collar, CEO, O3B Networks who provided an update on their upcoming launch of their new satellites in the second half of 2013 and their future prospects.

As 3D TV continues to grow, competition between the main two 3D technologies is heating up. Film patterned retarder is finally catching up to the more established shutter glass approach. According to the NPD DisplaySearch  demand for 3D patterned retarder (3D PR) film is forecast to grow 104% Y/Y in Q4’12 and reach 34 million units in 2013.

Pay TV revenues in Asia Pacific will be $12 billion higher in 2018 ($43.9 billion total) than in 2012, according to a new report from Digital TV Research. In fact,  the Digital TV Asia Pacific report estimates that pay TV revenues (subscriptions  and on-demand) will grow by $2.1 billion in 2013 to $33.9 billion. 

Netbiscuits, the global leader in software solutions for adaptive Web development, today revealed further evidence that the Web is changing so rapidly that many organizations are still unprepared for the future of consumer access. The increasing number of devices hitting the market and the unrelenting fragmentation of various operating systems and profiles means it is harder than ever for brands to build consistent Web experiences designed to meet the growing expectations of consumers across all devices.

The digital entertainment market is poised to reach a new stage in its evolution with the coming pipeline of next generation applications and solutions. The increased usage of CDN, DRM, and RCS in the digital media and entertainment markets has led to a revolution of content consumption among consumers. Higher bandwidth, low cost digital devices, most notably smartphones and tablet devices, have rendered long-standing issues such as connectivity, user interface, and data-speed problems of the past, according to a new report by Research and Markets.

Global IPTV subscriptions are expected to pass the 100 million mark in 2013 and grow to 181.1 million in 2017, according to the newest report in the Research in Focus: IPTV series.