Warsaw International Media Summit

The 8th edition of Warsaw International Media Summit has drawn to a close. Let’s take a closer look at what happened there.

This year’s edition of the Warsaw International Media Summit, an annual event organized by MM Conferences, took place on 18-19 of Nov 2015 in Westin Warsaw Hotel. Once again the representatives of the Polish telecommunications and media sector together with foreign experts had a chance to discuss the latest telecom innovations and trends. Over the past eight years, the Summit has become a unique platform for ideas and opinions exchange among people interested in various aspects of the telecom and media industry.

The first day started with an official inauguration of the event by Przemysław Kurczewski, co-creator of the Warsaw International Media Summit and President of the Management Board, EmiTel. Next, followed the speeches of the guests of honour: Simão Ferraz de Campos Neto, Counsellor for ITU-T Study Group 16, International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and Magdalena Gaj, President of the Office of Electronic Communications (UKE). In their key addresses, they spoke of what the future may hold for the telecom and media market. They also mentioned technology, smartphone dependent users and deepening personalization of products and services as the main forces driving change on the market.

Panel discussions of the first day covered the following topics: consumption of media in a digital era, the development of the TV market, digital single market strategy and the shift from mass to personalized media consumption. The panelists agreed that the red tape should be minimized, and the regulations should be adjusted to the dynamically changing face of the sector they work in.

“The telecom and media sector is over regulated. Except for the privacy issues, we don’t need more regulations” Piotr Muszyński, Vice President of the Management Board, Orange Polska pointed out, “the priority is to make regulations standardized across the EU. It will help to boost the development of the services and their quality.”

The panelists mentioned The Internet of Things, virtual reality and integrated solutions as the main focus for the market. Also, the increasing popularity of video was highlighted.

Technology in service of media was the key phrase of the second day of the Warsaw International Media Summit. The panelists, including Dr Krzysztof Heller, Owner, Infostrategia, Wiesław Łodzikowski, Director of TVP Technologie, Telewizja Polska, Anna Putts, Head of Marketing, Samsung Electronics Polska, Marcin Drzewiecki, Marketing Director, PAYBACK, and Błażej Marciniak, CEO, Sher.ly, were discussing SD and 3D technology on the Polish market, Mobile Apps and The connected TV model in Poland. They also tried to answer the question of whether existing norms sufficient to protect the privacy of the consumer that uses digital services?

The event finished with a panel on the Consumer protection on the telecommunication market led by Jacek Pochłopień, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Wprost. Jacek Pochłopień was joined onstage by Andrzej Abramczuk, Member of the Supervisory Board, Midas, Marta Brzoza, Director of the Regulation Cooperation Department, Orange Polska, Małgorzata Krasnodębska-Tomkiel, Hansberry Tomkiel and Renata Piwowarska, Director of Retail Telecommunications Market Department, Office of Electronic Communications (UKE).

The Congress was supported by a number of institutional, commercial and media partners, including  EmiTel, Payback, Work Service, Antal, Microsoft, Play, Facebook, Jaguar, The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, and more.