LONDON: A major new study into the future of television was released yesterday by Britain's Independent Television Commission (ITC), setting the scene for Parliamentary debates on the Communications Bill.

Television and Beyond: The Next Ten Years is a study that incorporates the personal perspectives of 17 expert authors on the cultural and economic issues facing the medium in the coming decade and offer their visions for the future.

The contributors are: David Aaronovitch; Peter Bazalgette; Tony Benn; Chris Cramer; Luis Enriquez; Tim Ewington; Robin Foster; Alex Graham; Janice Hughes; Reed Hundt; Jude Kelly; Nick Lovegrove; Charlie Marshall; Mark Oliver; Michael Palin; Chris Smith and Mark Thompson.

Launching the book, ITC chief executive Patricia Hodgson said: "The Communications Bill and the single regulator it creates, will shape the economic, social and cultural potential of the sector in the UK for a generation. This new volume sets the scene for Parliamentary debates on the Bill. It deals with television but, as technologies converge, it does so in the context of communications as a whole."

An official release describes the book to be a guide to what is needed to deliver British television into the digital age and to meet the challenge of combining a deregulated, open and competitive market with the quality of content the citizen deserves. The essays are grouped into three sections. The first offers authoritative views on how markets are likely to develop over the next ten years. In the second section, the writers examine public and industry expectations of the new electronic media in terms of quality of output and how content will inform and support both individuals and civic society as a whole . The third section sets out the high-level policy approaches the authors believe will deliver the investment, quality and accountability necessary for success.