earticle

영어

In general universal service in telecommunications means a regulatory tool to secure the availability of basic communication services like fixed telephony at an affordable price throughout a country. A re-evaluation of the scope of existing universal service, however, is becoming a core issue as the penetration and usage of broadband and mobile communications matures and a new ICT ecosystem emerges. This study examined whether the universal service polices in Korea need adapting and updating to include broadband and mobile telephony in the universal service, which is based on the necessary and sufficient conditions derived from previous research and foreign countries’ experiences : geographical ubiquity of a certain service and the market’s ability to provide the service. The result shows the nationwide ubiquity of broadband and mobile communications exists but the ultimate goal pursued by universal service polices trying to make them available and affordable for all is being fulfilled by market dynamics in Korea. Thus, the inclusion of both services in the scope of universal service is regarded as an unnecessary regulation at present time and the expansion of universal service could be addressed as a long-term issue depending on market conditions in the future.