Apples iPod and Other MP3 Players Get New EU Rules.

Volume Control In MP3 Players!
EU has put forward a set of rules or safty standards for MP3 players, like iPod and Zen to limit hearing loss among users. I have wondered about this when a person sitting next to you plays music so loud using ear phones, I could clearly hear it clearly from about a foot away. I ask the same question when group of young people pull right along with me in their car, and my car begins to vibrate to the tune they play!
I think the rules by EU is to be commended otherwise, I will not be able to preach, in a few years.
"EU Consumer Affairs Commissioner Meglena Kuneva, said, "It's easy to push up the sound levels on your MP3 player to damagingly loud levels, especially on busy streets or public transport. And the evidence is that particularly y oung people - who are listening to music at high volumes sometimes for hours each week- have no idea they can be putting their hearing at risk. It can take years for the hearing damage to show, and then it is simply too late. These standards make small technical changes to players so that by default, normal use is safe. If consumers chose to override the default settings they can, but there will be clear warnings so they know the risks they are taking.""

The current rules

Existing EU standards currently prescribe no maximum sound limit nor require any specific labelling in respect of volume levels but require that a statement be put in the instruction manual to warn of the adverse effects of exposure to excessive sound level.

The new proposals – the mandate for new safety standards

The mandate, proposed by the European Commission with 27 Member States, covers all personal music players and mobile phones with a music playing function. It provides that:

• Safe exposure levels shall be the "default" settings on products. The mandate does not prescribe specific technical solutions in order not to stifle the capacity of industry to innovate. Instead it requires manufactures to provide that the default settings for normal usage meet safety requirements.

The mandate makes it clear that safe use depends on exposure time and volume levels. At 80 dB(A), exposure should be limited to 40 hours/week. At 89 dB(A) exposure should not exceed 5 hours/week.

The safe exposure levels defined above shall be the default settings on products. Higher exposure levels can be permitted, provided that they have been intentionally selected by the user and the product incorporates a reliable means to inform the user of the risks.

• A dequate warnings for consumers on the risks involved, and on ways to avoid them, including the situation when the original set of earphones is replaced with another type and this causes higher unsafe sound levels. The mandate is not prescriptive in terms of how this is done. Industry solutions could include for example – labels or digital information on the screen.

What happens next?

EU standards are drawn up by CENELEC (European standard setting body) in a process, involving scientists, industry and consumer groups as well as other stake holders, it can take up to 24 months. EU standards are not mandatory, however if the new standard is approved by the European Commission and published in the Official Journal of the European Union, it "de facto" becomes the industry norm. Products meeting those standards are presumed safe – otherwise manufacturers have to go through costly independent testing for products. The new safety standards will apply only to future products.

What can consumers do?

Personal music player users can already take certain very practical precautions, such as checking their device to see if a maximum volume can be set so as to keep the volume lower, or they can lower the volume manually, and they can take care not to use the personal music player for prolonged periods in the interest of their hearing.

Background:

In recent years sales of personal music players have soared, in particular those of MP3 players. Overall, in the EU, it is estimated that roughly 50 to 100 million people may be listening to portable music players on a daily basis. In the last four years, estimated units sales range between 184-246 million for all portable audio devices and range between 124-165 million for MP3 players. Across the EU, many millions of people use personal music players daily and, if they use them inappropriately, they put themselves at risk of hearing damage.

More information

European Broadband Consumer Expectations

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
International research agency Synovate commissioned by Google, Yahoo! and Skype has released a report on European Broadband Consumer Expectations under;
European Consumer Expectations of Internet Services.
The report (PDF link) examines the consumer choices of broadband and their intended usage of the connections. It also touches on traffic management by ISPs.
I was not surprised by the general usage of the internet by consumers but the lack of ISP communications to customers did surprise me.
But one thing the survey revealed is that consumers expect ISP to provide unrestricted access to the Internet.
But this report is the tip of the iceberg, as Jean-Jacques Sahel, who leads Skype’s Government Relations team in the EU explains that EU governments and Members of the European Parliament are finalizing a review of the telecoms regulations in Europe and the legislation has elements that defines the Internet usage.
You can read full report by Sahel which covers the subject in much broader sense.

Tags: Broadband Consumer Expectations, EU Commission, telecoms regulations, skype, VoIP

Single Telecoms Market Report: Eight EU Member States Are Ahead Of The United States In Broadband Deployment

Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden are world leaders in broadband deployment with penetration rates over 30% at the end of 2007, says the European Commission’s 13th Progress Report on the Single Telecoms Market issued today. These EU countries, together with the United Kingdom, Belgium, Luxembourg and France, all had broadband penetration rates higher than the US (22.1%) in July 2007. 19 million broadband lines were added in the EU in 2007, the equivalent of more than 50,000 households every day. The broadband sector generated estimated revenues of € 62 billion and Europe’s overall penetration reached 20%. However, there is considerable scope for further consumer benefits from a reinforced single market, strengthened competition and reduced regulatory burden for market players.

"The European regulatory model is designed to increase competition in the telecoms market and this certainly is starting to pay off,” said Viviane Reding, the EU's Telecoms Commissioner. "However, the job is not yet done. Competition is limited for access to the fixed network which is still provided to 86.5% of customers over the incumbent's infrastructure. In addition, though telecoms technologies know no borders, only 30% of major operators' EU business is outside their home market. This shows that we still lack an attractive single market for businesses and services of European dimensions, so we must intensify our efforts to reduce the regulatory borders in Europe. Only by opening up the single market for business will Europe become competitive and will consumers benefit from a wide choice of rich and affordable services.”

Today's Progress Report presents a snapshot of Europe’s Single Telecoms Market as of December 2007, based on facts and figures from national telecoms regulators and market players.

The Telecoms sector is worth nearly € 300 billion (2% of EU GDP) and grew by 1.9% last year. 2007 was also the fifth consecutive year of increased investment in this sector, exceeding € 50 billion (similar to the US and higher than China and Japan put together).

A Growing Sector

The mobile sector continues to be the largest in the Telecoms market, with mobile revenues up by 3.8% to € 137 billion. Mobile penetration rose further, to 112% compared to 103% in 2006. 3^rd Generation (3G) mobile penetration doubled to 20% in 2007, now representing over 88 million subscriptions. As 3G took off, mobile data services grew by around 40%.

Fixed voice telephony revenues declined 5% compared to 2006, with customers switching to mobile and IP services. However, fixed operators were compensated by strong growth in their broadband services, generating revenues of € 62 billion.

12 million customers changed operator in 2007

Falling mobile voice prices of up to 14% reflect reductions in Mobile Termination Rates charged by one operator to another to connect calls between their networks, as a result of intervention by national telecoms regulators. Consumers also benefited from more bundled offerings. 13% of Europeans now subscribe to a bundled offer with a single bill, 12% include TV in their bundled package, 23% voice telephony, 6% mobile telephony and 24% Internet access.

Number portability – switching operator without changing number – is now possible for fixed and mobile users everywhere except Bulgaria and Romania. 12 million consumers switched operator in 2007.

The Single Telecoms Market: ...a lot still to do

The Commission's report also identifies areas where the Single Telecoms Market is incomplete:

• Incumbent operators hold more than 46% of broadband lines and in 7 Member States control more than 60% of broadband connections. In Cyprus, Luxembourg and Finland, the incumbent’s broadband market share is higher than 70%. Moreover, access to fixed telephony is still provided to 86.5% of customers over the incumbent's infrastructure, and to more than 95% in the case of 12 Member States, either because regulatory changes have yet to be made or to take effect.
• Mobile Termination Rates (MTR) have gone down in 2007 but vary widely across the EU. The EU's highest MTR is more than 10 times higher than its lowest: 1.9 Euro cent/min in Cyprus, 22.4 in Estonia. This can cause uncertainty for pan-European operators.
• Number portability is applied inconsistently across the EU. It takes one day in Ireland and Malta to change mobile operator, but up to 20 days in Italy and Slovakia.

Proposals for a reform of telecoms regulation in Europe were adopted by the Commission in November 2007 (see IP/07/1677, IP/07/1678 and MEMO/07/458). These proposals are currently being discussed in the European Parliament and Council.

For more information:

MEMO/08/167

See IP/07/435 for the 12^th Implementation Report 2006.

Press pack with the whole text of the Single Market Telecoms Progress Report 2007 and Country Fact Sheets on all 27 EU Member States:
http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/newsroom/cf/itemlongdetail.cfm?item_id=3963

tag: Single Telecoms Market, European Commission, broadband, Telecoms market, Mobile Termination Rates, Number portability, telecoms regulation,

EU Telecom Council Will Convene In, Brussels, 29 November 2007

Telecom Council, Brussels, 29 November 2007
The EU Council of 27 Telecom Ministers will meet tomorrow in Brussels. For Telecoms issues, the Commission will be represented by Viviane Reding, EU Telecoms Commissioner.
The main subject to be discussed will be the Commission proposal of 13 November on reforming the EU Telecoms Rules.
The Council is also expected to adopt conclusions on Mobile TV, to make progress towards quickly repealing the GSM Directive and towards a better system for mobile satellite services.
Main agenda items at this Telecom Council:
EU Telecoms Reform: Outlining the proposals to reform the EU's current Telecoms Rules.(see IP/07/1677; IP/07/1678)
Mobile TV: Strengthening the single market for mobile TV and promoting DVB-H as European standard.(see IP/07/340)
GSM Directive: Making it easier to offer and develop innovative Europe-wide mobile communications.(see IP/07/1170)
Mobile Satellite Services: Towards a better process for European Mobile Satellite Services. (see IP/07/1243)
E-Inclusion: Ageing well in the Information Society and the Commission's initiative for an all-inclusive digital society.(see IP/07/831)

Also at this Telecoms Council:
The Commission will present information about:

• the results of the recent World Radiocommunication Conference 2007 (see IP/07/987 for the EU's position prior to the Conference);
• the status of the '116 numbers', the single European freephone numbers for harmonised services of social value: on the implementation progress of the first number, 116000 for hotlines for missing children (see IP/07/188), and on the two new numbers reserved: 116111 for child helplines and 116123 for emotional support line for adults

EU News

Tags: EU Telecom Council, EU Commission, EU Telecoms Reform, Mobile TV, GSM Directive, Mobile Satellite Services, E-Inclusion, European standard