This toolkit uses the following definitions in regards to communications services:
- Universal access (UA) is when everyone can access the service somewhere, at a public place, thus also called public, community or shared access. How many points of access are needed is discussed in Section 1.1.2. In general there would be at least one point of access per settlement over a certain population size.
- Universal service (US) describes when every individual or household can have service, using it privately, either at home or increasingly carried with the individual through wireless devices. For some services, a goal of full US would be too ambitious at present in a developing country, because the services must be affordable as well as available. Goals may relate to the proportion of the population that can afford private service (i.e., subscriber penetration targets).
The three hallmarks of UA and US are:
- Availability: the service is available to inhabited parts of the country through public, community, shared or personal devices;
- Accessibility: all citizens can use the service, regardless of location, gender, disabilities and other personal characteristics; and
- Affordability: the service is affordable to all citizens.
These three aspects are relevant to both UA and US, but in different ways and to different degrees. The figure below illustrates UA/US similarities and differences: the essential characteristics are in italics, while desirable characteristics are not.
Figure: Characteristics of universal access and universal service
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Aspect
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Universal access
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Universal service
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Availability
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Focused coverage
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Blanket coverage
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Public access (e.g., at a payphone or telecentre)
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Private service on demand
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Free emergency calls
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Free emergency calls
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Accessibility
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Walking distance, convenient locations and hours
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Simple and speedy subscription
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Inclusively designed premises (e.g., for wheelchair users); inclusively designed terminals or available assistance (e.g., for the blind or deaf)
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Inclusively designed terminals and services (e.g., for blind or deaf people)
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Assistance from an attendant
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Assistance through the terminal (e.g., by making calls or viewing help pages for the web)
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Adequate quality of service (e.g., having few failed call attempts)
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Reasonable quality of service (e.g., having few dropped calls)
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Affordability
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Options of cash and card payment
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Cost of average monthly usage is a small percentage of monthly GNI per capita
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Options of cash and card payment
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Options of cash, card and electronic payment
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| Payment per use (e.g., for a single call or message or an hour of Internet access) |
Flat rate, bundles of services or low monthly subscription fee |
Source: ITU-infoDev ICT Regulation Toolkit – UA Module
The following concepts are the steps in the progression of UA to US:
- Universal access: Every person has affordable and reasonable public access to defined ICT services considered essential for social inclusion and economic development;
- Universal geographic coverage: 100 per cent of the population living in population centres above a certain size can obtain a defined ICT service provided that the user has the ability to pay for the service; and
- Universal service: 100 per cent of individuals or households can afford ICT services categorized as part of US, and a majority of the population subscribes to these services.
The concepts of UA and US are applicable to the following ICT services:
- Telephony (voice calls and text messages), offering one-to-one communication as well as content distribution to a wider group. Text messages are often also significant for UAS, because the affordability of text messages outweighs the inconvenience of using mobile phone keypads and displays.
- Narrowband and broadband Internet, providing e-mail, live-chats, web-browsing, content distribution, Voice Over IP (VoIP) and IP Television (IPTV), among many other applications and services. Many countries also want UA to the Internet however his requires higher levels of skill and education than with broadcasting or telephony. Therefore, accessibility through instruction and assistance and content that is useful and appealing is particularly important.
- Radio and television broadcasting. While broadcasting has traditionally not been a part of UAS policies, it is increasingly being considered, due to the convergence of technologies and triple-play offers by service providers (e.g., cable TV operators also providing telephone and Internet services). UAS policies exploring the inclusion of broadcasting are emerging. This is especially the case in countries that have adopted a multi-sector regulator overseeing both telecommunications and broadcasting.