If we look back at what 2011 had in store for Malta in terms of information and communication technology we can label the year that is coming to an end in a few hours as the “Year of TV and cloud computing”.
Different reports and surveys confirmed the unrelenting rise of the Maltese information society- Martin Debattista
Indeed in the past 12 months Malta witnessed some important developments in the way we experience TV and the new, exciting area of cloud computing.
Let’s start with TV. The second part of the year offered several exciting developments in this area. In June, Go launched its interactive TV service, which provided both high-definition and standard definition TV channels and interactive data services over its fibre network, also known as IPTV. This made Go the second TV services provider in Malta to offer HD TV channels in Malta following Melita’s launch in 2009. In fact Melita did not rest on its laurels and in summer conducted trials of Malta’s first video on demand service, which was then commercially launched on September 12.
Then on the night of October 31 Malta wrote another page in the history of TV when the local analogue terrestrial TV signals were switched off forever in the so-called “digital switchover”. Six local TV stations of general interest were made available free-to-air over a new digital terrestrial platform administered by PBS. This switchover is part of an EU-wide exercise to free frequencies for other wireless services.
The way the Maltese watch TV is changing as a survey by the Malta Communications Authority confirmed that 19 per cent of the Maltese watch TV over internet.
TV was also in the news thanks to the continuing saga of TV football rights. Once again there were reports in the local media on the use of a particular set-top box called Dreambox to watch foreign TV channels over satellite thanks to an illegal internet-based system called “card sharing”.
A development, which is regarded as a possible game changer in the TV industry, was the decision by the European Court of Justice in the case of a pub in the UK which showed football matches through an original satellite viewing card purchased from outside the UK.
The court said that the principle of freedom of movement of services in the EU allows such a thing. Robert Madelin, the director general for information society at the European Commission, confirmed this in an interview with i-Tech in November. Mr Madelin added that Malta did a good job of transposing the so-called “telecoms package”, a new set of regulations for all EU member states. He also identified high-speed internet access as Malta’s next challenge in ICT.
The year 2011 will also be remembered as the year when the seeds of cloud computing were sown in Malta, both by government and by private enterprise. The term, used to describe computing power delivered over internet and not on computers that have to be installed at the premises of an organisation, finally entered the vocabulary of local technology sector.
The most important development in this field was the announcement that Microsoft will open in Malta its first dedicated innovation research centre on cloud computing in the world. This is part of the new strategic agreement between Microsoft and the Maltese Government signed in September. In the meantime Claudio Grech, the chairman of the Malta Information Technology Agency, had told i-Tech that the government is mulling over the idea of having its own private cloud. Malta-based private companies have also started to promote cloud-based services.
Speaking of the renewed partnership between Microsoft and the Maltese government, the new agreement, worth €26.8 million over five years, also provides Microsoft software at a discounted price for Maltese students and educators, access to Microsoft’s online educational services, and access to Microsoft’s programmes that support software development start-ups and local businesses.
An agreement for the implementation of a new e-learning platform for Maltese primary and secondary schools was signed in summer and it is being installed right now. Fronter, owned by Pearson, was chosen to provide the platform following a tendering process.
In late November government launched new e-government services over a new platform which simplifies the way such services are rolled-out. This new platform, together with the new e-learning platform and other data services, are being hosted by MITA’s brand new data centre in Santa Venera. Earlier in the year the ninth benchmarking report on e-government in Europe confirmed Malta’s e-government services as some of the best in Europe in terms of quality and sophistication.
During November’s Budget 2012 speech Finance Minister Tonio Fenech did not announce major initiatives in terms of ICT, except for support to the nascent digital gaming industry in Malta.
From a social point of view the power of the social media in Malta was recognised during the divorce referendum campaign as the pro-divorce movement made extensive use of these networks, possibly swaying the uncertain result in its favour. The rise of social media in Malta, including among business organisations, was confirmed by independent surveys. It is estimated that over 190,000 Maltese are on Facebook.
This year SmartCity Malta was in the news for reasons totally alien to technology. Its country director Paolo Serra resigned, citing personal reasons, after less than six month in this post. While work continued on the building site at Ricasoli, the government and the opposition exchanged blows over delays and the promise of thousands of jobs for the Maltese at the new technology township.
The year 2011 also had a lot to offer in terms of news from Apple. The most important event was the death of its co-founder Steve Jobs, mourned by many Maltese and the rest of the world. His death was announced the same week that Apple launched its iPhone 4 S, which was made available in Malta some weeks later. The Apple iPad 2 tablet was finally launched in Malta in July while music and video lovers could finally get content from the iTunes Store after Apple decided to open it up to deliver music, TV shows and moves to Malta and other European countries.
Different reports and surveys issued throughout the year by such authorities as the MCA and the National Statistics Office confirmed the unrelenting rise of the Maltese information society, with the use of mobile communication and broadband internet increasing both in terms of quantity and the quality of services offered. Indeed internet access reached the 100 megabit mark thanks to Melita and its fibre-powered network.