58 No. 37261 GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 24 JANUARY 2014 and gaming devices) will, in addition, make it possible for South Africans to access a variety of international and South African audio-visual and audio content over the internet. This will not only affect audiences - but will undoubtedly impact on the viability of traditional broadcasters and therefore affect their capacity to fulfil obligations placed on them to, for example, air a wide range of South African content in all languages and ensure access to services by people with disabilities (by sign-language, sub-titling and audio description for example). New content providers will also not be bound by current broadcasting codes and standards aimed at protecting audiences and children in particular, from harmful content. New services, not bound by regulations or licence conditions, will be competing with traditional broadcasters for audiences, content and revenue. 8.2.2 Defining "broadcasting" The ECA, in line with the White Paper, includes a technology neutral definition of broadcasting. The regulator noted that in the future, on demand services, including those available over the public internet, "may be a substitute for traditional television broadcasting" and therefore require some form of regulation but stated that this would require a legislative amendment to permit the regulation of content services (distinct from broadcasting services) under certain circumstances. In the UK, the Communications Act defines the different services essentially by the delivery platform used. The regulator in that country (the Office of Communications - Ofcom) has, in line with this, outlined specific obligations and requirements for the different licence categories. For example, television services using the DTT platform have to have either Digital Television Programme Service or Digital Television Additional Service licences, while those that provide television programmes or electronic programme guides (EPGs) over other platforms (eg satellite, cable, the internet or mobile platforms) require Television Licensable Content Services licences (TLCS). One of the issues that this policy review process has to consider is the approach to broadcasting-like services delivered over the internet. The migration to digital terrestrial television (DTT) will, on the one hand, give audiences access to a greater number of television and audio channels, while freeing up frequencies that will be used to increase high speed broadband access. Licensed multi-channel television broadcasters will therefore not only face increased competition for audiences, revenue and content from new services on DTT platforms, but also increasingly compete with internet based audio-visual content providers. While some of these new services might be South African based and focused, others will originate from other countries and be targeting a global rather than South African specific audience. In terms of current legislation in South Africa, content services such as Video-On-Demand will not require a broadcasting licence or therefore be bound by the particular obligations for broadcasters. 8.3 Regulatory Parity A number of submissions to the Framing Paper proposed that the principle of regulatory parity should inform a new approach to policies for broadcasting and audio and audio-visual content. Regulatory parity is based on principles of fair competition and technological neutrality and aims to ensure that like services are treated in a similar manner, regardless of how they are delivered (whether, for example, via satellite, transmitters, over the internet) or what device is used to access them (for example, a radio set, the internet, a mobile phone, a television, a computer). 54 This gazette is also available free online at www.gpwonline.co.za