The border between the global telecom providers and the media are coming to an end. We are first-seat viewers in the process of convergence and almost seamless links between the “classical” telecoms or cable operators with the media companies, where the services like communication, content distribution, and content production are not anymore only in the hands of the standard players.

With the rise of technology innovation and the new ways of content distribution, the entrants like Amazon, Netflix, YouTube, Zattoo, etc. brought huge disruption to the traditional business models. Even the very big players are pressed to innovate rapidly and adapt or just disappear. As a matter of fact, a recent survey showed that 74% of the brands could disappear overnight, and people would not care.

Trends come and go. The technology twist within the telecom industry echoes for faster growth, better service, and cheaper prices. That’s why we witnessed the Comcast’s $30 billion takeover of NBC Universal and AT&T’s blockbuster $85bn agreement with Time Warner. Just looking for customers’ money without initial before-hand investment is ludicrous nowadays. Netflix and Amazon spend between 4-6 billion dollars per year on original content alone. And although the tech firms are the ones that will lead the innovation march, broadcasters can add value to the system in so many ways.

But what is the next thing in which the major players will invest themselves in? And what other opportunities or challenges are lurking behind the corner and what are the risks of creating larger communications groups? What about the dominance of technology giants and the public trust in technology behemoths? (Think Fake news, data privacy, lack of regulation, etc.). And last but not least, what should be the role of the regulators?

Dr. Vlaho Kostov, R&D Executive and Head of CEE and Mediterranean region at Panasonic, Germany, will chair this interesting panel for which we are sure many of the present guests will have something extra to say or comment. Branko Stanchev, CCO at Makedonski Telekom, will address the transformation and the challenges within the Telecom industry. Stan Baaijens, CEO at Funke Digital TV and Steering Board Member at DVB, Holland and Ivan Skenderovski, Founder and Managing Partner of Salience, Dubai, and Francesco Sciacchitano, at Italian communications authority for AGCOM, Italy, and senior legal expert for Media and Telecommunications Law,  will discuss the broader aspects that occur in the world of media and telecommunications. Darko Ratkaj, Senior Project Manager at the Technology & Innovation at the European Broadcasting Union, Geneva, will contribute to the technological developments from the perspective of the public service media.

This panel and dozen others will make this year’s Macedonia2025 Summit. We invite you to be part of it.