The scope of universal access and service (UAS) always includes telephony and the Internet, and increasingly broadband. In June 2009, France's highest court went as far as to declare that access to the Internet is a human right. In October 2009, the Finnish Ministry of Transport and Communications issued a decree that amended the definition of "universal service" to include access to a 1 MBit internet connection, in other words, access to a broadband Internet connection.
Radio and television broadcasting has traditionally not been included in UAS, but this is changing rapidly due to developments such as convergence, Internet broadcasting and broadcasters also offering Internet and telephony services (e.g., cable TV operators). Broadcasting policies and regulation typically have coverage requirements, though without specifics about actual access, whether by public means or for private subscribers.
The scope of UAS is often specified in detail to ensure that it is fit for purpose. It needs to be accessible and affordable as well as available. Features of UAS that might be specified include the following:
- Times of day when there is access to the service;
- Type of shelter for the terminals (e.g. secure building for a telecentre);
- Access to and usability of the terminal for people with physical disabilities;
- Convenience and pleasantness of location for all target groups of users (e.g., women might not wish to enter a bar to use a service);
- Quality of service (network reliability, fault repair times and call quality for telephony and prescribed down and upstream data rates for the Internet service).
- Payment methods (e.g., cash or prepaid cards) and for prepaid cards, availability of sales outlets; and
- Personal support for using the services.
Other services that are entering UAS policies include:
- Directories and directory enquiry services;
- Support services for Internet subscribers (e.g. help-lines, training);
- Emergency call answering facilities (dispatch of help for emergencies); and
- Special facilities to permit use by people with disabilities on par with all other facilities.
While mobile phones are now widely accepted as a way of providing telephony, and are also used to provide public access, and countries like France and Australia use their universal service policies to provide mobile coverage in rural areas, their inherent value of mobility has not, to date, been included in any countries’ US definition. In Mexico, for example, there are both market and legal obstacles standing in the way of this step even though it has been suggested that wireless telephony has become the new norm. Including mobile services in US obligations is considered of national benefit by fostering UA to the Internet, as latest networks have data capabilities allowing basic Internet access [1].
Similarly, although text messages are popular and strongly appeal to poor people because of their relatively low and fixed (per message) price, they are not yet required in US obligations (USOs). However, text messages are sometimes required to be included in UA obligations, where public phones are operated by people (e.g. village phones) who can help users with texting. The scenario of excluding text messages from US policy could change specifically for services geared towards people with disabilities (e.g., the hearing impaired will use text messages but not voice calls).
End notes
- See Moving targets: Introducing mobility into universal service obligations (Patrick Burkart), pages 164-178 of Telecommunications Policy 31, 2007.