Digital Media in Italia Proposal and progress report

1
Digital Media in ItaliaProposal and progress
report

• Leonardo Chiariglione
• 2007/07/08

2
What is dmin.it, digital media and the
dmin.it proposal?

• dmin.it is an interdisciplinary, open, non-profit
  group, with the goal to define and propose areas
  where Italy can gain a leading role in the
  exploitation of digital media
• Digital media is any digitally represented
  content which can be transported over digital
  networks and processed by programmable devices
• The dmin.it proposal concerns actions designed to
  maximise the flow of digital media

3
The context

• Digital media offer a range of advantages
• Digital techniques substantially modify the
  traditional roles in and operational modalities
  of value chains
• So far all attempts at innovating media value
  chains have failed
• Today most digital value chains look like old
  analogue value chains thanks to control
  techniques based on proprietary technologies
• The size of the open market is dwarfed by the
  size of the black market
• The problem cannot solved by just putting people
  in jail

4
The idea

• Find the good equilibrium point between
• The right of operators to provide services using
  the technologies that best support their business
• The right of consumers to access services with a
  minimum level of interoperability if they so wish
• Design the equilibrium point
• For the national territory
• Respecting international treaties
• Achieving the equilibrium point will
• Create a homogeneous market of 60 million people
• Provide lifeblood to the national culture
  industry
• Stimulate innovation in the digital media market

5
The gist of the proposal

• The dmin.it proposal requires actions in three
  different areas
• Digital media rights management
• Network access
• Online payment systems
• An operator may utilise both interoperable and
  proprietary forms of content, network and payment
  services
• All other users (creators and consumers) may
  access proprietary or interoperable services at
  their discretion

6
Interoperable DRM (iDRM) system

• An iDRM specification is adopted at the national
  level
• A service provider releasing content using a
  proprietary technology must
• Release it also using the iDRM technology
• At conditions that are not discriminatory
  compared to the proprietary technology
• Anybody may realise devices and services, request
  and obtain conformance certification for them and
  offer them to interested parties
• The iDRM specifications are
• Public
• Implemented as Open Source Software (OSS)
• Not prescriptive of a particular business model
• The governance of the iDRM ecosystem is managed
  by representatives of the affected parties

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iDRM how it works
pDRM
Distribution Channels Type 1
pDRM device
iDRM
iDRM device
Content of operator A
Distribution Channels Type 2
pDRM
pDRM device
iDRM
iDRM device
pDRM proprietary DRM iDRM interoperable DRM
8
Open network

• Two-way broadband operators can offer bundled
  and/or unbundled access to their networks with
  technical characteristics of their choice
• A user of the network (content provider,
  intermediary or end user) may request and obtain
  from a two-way broadband operator
• The pure two-way service-agnostic access to the
  "big Internet"
• With technical features already offered by the
  operator
• At conditions that are not discriminatory
  compared to other offers of the operator
• Two-way broadband operators
• Guarantee network service interoperability
• Agree and provide specific QoS levels at peering
  points so as to provide users end to end QoS
  levels

9
Open access to broadband networks according to
dmin.it
Proprietary Access
Proprietary Access
Proprietary Network Of Operator A
Proprietary Network Of Operator B
Network of Operator C
Open Network Of Operator A
Open Network Of Operator B
Peering Point
Peering Point
dmin.it Access
dmin.it Access
10
Open payment systems

• Anybody can open a virtual account based on
  guaranteed real payment systems, e.g.
• Bank accounts
• Credit cards
• Prepaid card
• Utility bill (gas, phone etc.)
• etc.
• Synchronisations between virtual and real
  circuits performed at regular times or on demand
• Transaction costs only apply at synchronisation
  time

11
The dmin.it market economy
Value Chain User 1 (e.g. Retailer
Value Chain User 1 (e.g. End user)
Negotiation of content with payment data
Negotiation of ntwk resources with payment data
Acct11
Acct21
Payment with units
Virtual Account Service Provider 1
Virtual Account Service Provider 2
Acct12
Acct22
Acct1n
Acct2m
Shared Services
Bank account
Credit card
Prepaid card
Bank account
Credit card
Utility bill
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Advantages of the dmin.it proposal

• A large homogeneous broadband market can be
  created
• Content creators have a low barrier to access
  value chains
• Provide more value to self-generated content
• A more pluralistic market
• New intermediation forms can be created by
  combining
• Network access
• iDRM
• Flexible payment systems supporting micropayments
• End users can access content from
• Their network operators (bundled)
• Outside their operators offer (unbundled)
• Abundance of properly priced legal content
  discourages piracy

13
Where we are/will be

• At its 11th meeting dmin.it issued a call for
  technologies for the 3 area
• At its 12th meeting dmin.it selected technologies
  for iDRM and iPay
• At its 13th meeting dmin.it will issue the first
  draft of
• The iDRM and iPay specification
• The first iDRM governance rules
• The first draft of the iDRM legislation
  initiative
• The development and experimentation subgroup of
  dmin.it is developing the dmin.it reference
  software
• Based on Chillout for iDRM
• Based on the specific solution proposed for iPay
• Dmin.it will publish technical specification,
  governance rules and the necessary legislation
  initiatives on 2007/12/15