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The policy of subsidizing mobile handset is used as a key marketing strategy to attract customers in a competitive mobile communication market in Korea. The development of handset subsidy related policy in Korea from 1997 to 2001is analyzed considering the multiple regulatory schemes.

An important and distinct element of regulatory policy in the European Union is that the operators with significant market power are required to provide cost-based interconnection whereas other operators are not providing such cost-based interconnection. Consequences of different interconnection charges for competition and investments are discussed.

The results of the 1996 Guatemalan radio spectrum reform that privatized its use are analyzed. The Guatemalan liberalization indicates that the transformation of the radio spectrum into private property rights can remove barriers to entry and yet not result in chaos.

Case studies are presented to illustrate the problems faced by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States and suggestions are made for a framework that would allow for more spectrums in the market and increase innovation. A concrete method for moving toward much more market-oriented spectrum policy is proposed.

The regulatory incentives created by government policies aimed at promoting the transition to digital TV in the US, France, and the UK are compared. The conclusions suggest possible remedies to accelerate the transition to digital TV in the US based on the British experience.

A study was conducted to examine the alphanumeric use of telephone numbers. Results indicated that the alphanumeric use of service numbers correlated with social and economic concerns, and the need for specific rights related with the placement of such numbers. These rights correlate with the registration of alphanumeric use and assignment mechanisms. Findings also identified a number of regulatory concerns associated with the significance of added value numbers.

The impact of the regional universal telecommunication service policy on telephone access as well as the effectiveness and efficiency of the policy in providing telephone service for low-income households at the state level were investigated. The study covers the period 1984-1996 and was designed to determine whether the Telecommunications Act of 1996 has been successful in eliminating barriers to competition. Empirical results showed that there was a significant increase in the number of households with telephone at the state level even as inefficiencies in service were still evident.

The experience of the telecommunications industry at the state level following the implementation of the 1996 Telecommunications Act provides some important lessons for policy makers worldwide. An analysis of the US model of telecommunications policy in California, Texas and Michigan showed an ongoing quest to render the state and federal levels of regulation mutually consistent. Furthermore, the telecommunications policy is influenced by the existing economic, political and social structures of territories where it is implemented.

The convergence of the mass media and telecommunication sectors has raised difficulties in the formulation of a single regulatory framework as these two sectors are used to be governed by different regulatory systems. They are respectively represented by the regulatory model and the competition law model. Thus, authorities have resorted to the proceduralization of telecommunication law as this has the capacity to reconcile the complexity of convergence and impose domestic requirements from both sectors as well.

The convergence of the telecommunication and broadcasting sectors in the EU was decided to be placed under the governance of the European Commission (EC) Competition Law until a more specific regulatory framework can be developed. Despite EU Competition Law's consistent application to both telecommunications and broadcasting sectors, its policy resulted in different outcomes. It was successful in preventing problematic transactions in broadcasting, although it also prohibited profitable deals in the telecommunications sector.

The convergence of telecommunication and mass media sectors in the European Union has raised difficulties in the formulation of an appropriate regulatory policy, particularly for telecommunications and broadcasting. This is due to the two sectors differences in regulatory systems as the former is governed by competition laws that are determined by free market forces, while the latter has received stringent government regulations.

A process of proceduralization in telecommunications law adopted by industrialized nations of the 20th century is observed. This trend has opposed the implementation of specific and technical sets of legislations governing the telecommunications sector. The proceduralization process has brought the use of general and procedural regulatory norms and the development of greater dependence on regulatory institutions with general character.

Technological, organizational and economic convergence of broadcast and switched point-to-point telephony has required dramatic reforms in the communications infrastructure law, including regulations on the production, collection, processing, storage and communication of information and knowledge. An appropriate regulatory framework is proposed as one that promotes technical and organizational diffusion of communicative functions in society.

The imminent technological convergence between the telecommunication and media sectors has raised the issue regarding the construction of a regulatory framework that promotes growth in both sectors, assures market competition and provides consumers and the public with sufficient protection from market failure. Increased competition in the information market is expected to shape this regulatory framework to be an appropriate one.

The European Commission's (EC) Green Paper issued in Dec 1997 discussed the imminent impact of convergence of telecommunications, mass media and information technology sectors in Europe's regulatory policies. EC has argued that this process will make regulations that separately govern the telecommunications, media, broadcasting, audiovisual and computing sectors indistinct, thus, requiring the development of a new regulatory policy. The only dilemma, which they consider, in this situation is the construction of an appropriate policy that can justly regulate this convergence of sectors.

Very highly priced telecommunications capacity and insufficient competitiveness in pricing structures are proving a barrier to the expansion of Internet services, especially in many parts of Europe. Users must accepted limited choices in the pricing options available, and service providers are prevented from expanding and configuring networks. However, the Internet has the potential to undermine traditional telecommunications pricing structures, and it is vital to adopt forward-looking policies on telecommunications regulation. Competition in local access is also important.

There are a number of economic factors associated with the WTO agreement on basic telecommunication services, especially in terms of the internationalization of the market for telecommunications services. This agreement is an important foundation for the liberalization of national telecommunication markets, but has a number of negative elements. These include the fact that member countries are not obliged to apply most-favoure-nation status to all other members.

The proposed breakup of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp (NTT) into three separate companies will significantly change Japan's telecommunications standards strategy. It will eliminate virtual monopsony in the telecommunications equipment market and stem Japanese standards research activities which are mostly spearheaded by NTT laboratories. The breakup will also enhance the role of Japan's Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications in the standards-setting process.

Short and long-range issues should be considered in the development of an agenda for Japanese telecommunications. The issue of whether Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp should be broken-up and divested should be de-emphasized in favor of more important concerns. Focus should also be given to the promotion of competition among local access and other telecommunications markets.

Japan has maintained an ineffective telecommunications reform policy for over 10 years. The policy remains focused on enhancing the benefits of telecommunications customers instead of the development of the industry. The reform policy has also failed to promote competition in Japan's telecommunications markets. The failure is attributed to the increased protection the policy provides new market entrants.

The development of telecommunications policies should involve the state, the public and the businesses involved. This trilateral arrangement will benefit all three parties in terms of greater political support for the government, a reduction in investment risks for firms and better services for consumers. A study of the state-led Australian cable television industry revealed the inadequacy of limiting the process of developing telecommunications policies within the state-business interface.

The reforms in the Danish telecommunication policy in 1996 have led to the liberalization of the telecommunication market. The previous policy emphasized industrial development. The present policy emphasizes on infrastructure and market development of the economic and social activities of telecommunications. Increasing competition in the telecommunication market has led to a policy change by the national operator, Tele Danmark.

Hong Kong will participate in the existing administrative bargaining in the telecommunication industry of China after its official takeover on June 30, 1997. The bargaining will increase the flexibility in telecommunication policy-making and the administrative autonomy of the provinces. The telecommunication network development and wealth determine the success of bargaining.

Many regulatory changes are being initiated in the telecommunication industry to promote modernization and reduce prices. Voice, data, information and video have vertically integrated in the telecommunication market. This has reduced costs and improved efficiency for the benefit of the consumers. The integration of marketing strategies and engineering requirements improves network planning. The economic laws enforced by the government determine the efficiency of the industry.

Significant telecommunication reforms have been introduced in Portugal in accordance with the European Union's policy framework. The reforms include the liberalization of the equipment and advanced services, separation of regulatory and operational functions, and opening up of the market to competition. The three important telecommunications operators have merged, and Portugal Telecom has been semi-privatized. The implementation of STAR and Telematique programmes is responsible for the development of the telecommunication industry.

A new intrastate telecommunications deregulation plan includes provisions for increasing local exchange competition in areas that lack competition, and allowing the beneficial aspects of competition to prevail where it exists. The plan emphasizes complementarity among its different components, minimizes regulatory constraints, and overcomes cost allocation problems. The industry plays the major role, with the state commission serving as a guide. The plan's objectives, the role of local exchange carriers, principles of deregulation and competition, and pricing policies are discussed.

The US has been trying to lower the absolute level of international accounting rates to lessen its telecommunications settlement deficit. Efforts focus on the overall level of accounting, but it is the cost-based division of the accounting rate that is responsible for the commercial potency. Cost-based accounting rates in a developing world may be of little help to the US, and the developing world may adversely be affected by fierce competition. The Group of 7 partners and the International Telecommunication Union are lending cooperation to the lesser developed countries.

The liberalization and privatization policies improve the performance of the telecommunication sector in Central/Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. The success is mainly due to tariff restructuring, market size and expected growth rate, investor risk perception, policymakers' uncertaintyand wider external benefits' perceived importance. The strategy of reforms for the short to medium term shows the current conditions and political realities along with the needs of customers.

The European Union policy program for telecommunications services will pose a challenge to the regional telecommunication system in Belgium. The economy and politics, and international competition will play significant role in the development of the Belgian telecommunication policy. Belgian society can adjust to changes in the industry and adopt new policies. A brief history of the Belgian telecommunications is given.

The regulation opf the fledgling audiotex industry should be studied to determine how regulations might affect future innovations in information and telecommunication services. More than anything else, the audiotex situation reflects the blurring of the line between carrier and content, and suggests that the scope of regulations over telecommunication systems may not be broad enough to cover future advances.

The policy of telecommunication development aims to provide universal service. There are a number of issues that need to be defined in order to achieve this objective. What actually constitutes universal service could play a large role in the future of the industry. A model analyses the factors involved in creating universal services and tracks service trends over time. These need to be discussed and considered by the Federal Communications Commission.

The integration of East German Deutsche Post Telecom and West German DBP Telecom after the German unification in 1990 improved the telecommunication sector in the East by developing the infrastructure, providing more jobs and increasing profits and turnover of the industry. West German organization and regulation methods reduced bottlenecks in the telecommunication infrastructure, facilitating the growth of economy and social harmony in unified Germany. The Telecom 2000 program inspired modernization of the sector in the East and increased the number of telephone connections in the new federal states.

Implementation of new policies in telecommunication service in Europe requires nondiscriminatory interconnection, open regulatory processes and well-defined regulatory authority. Interconnection will ensure equality in prices and between new arrivals and existing telephone operators. Open regulation will promote more competition in the telecommunications market and prevent exploitation of customers. National Regulatory Authorities and European Community policy should balance the industries' regulatory interests.

An analysis of the telecommunication market reveals that low-income individuals profited less from telecommunications, whereas high-income groups profited more. Various programs to help low-income groups benefit from the telecommunications industry have failed. Regulators should formulate programs that provide equal status to higher and lower income groups.

The use and usefulness of advanced telecommunication products and services in the rural-urban continuum in Ohio were compared using a Dervin's actor-centered, sense-making technique to induce quantitative and qualitative results. Residents are not interested in using POTS-plus services, especially those distributed to local exchange companies over public switched telecommunications network.

Information on the public domain can possibly be used as basis for predicting the alterate service market in Pittsburg, PA. With an excess of $78M every year, the market includes revenues for termination of switched access and local leased services as well as special access services which hold nearly 1/3 of the total. The use of these data go against the 1934 Communications act although policy makers should study the uses of these data before actions limiting the reporting requirements of availability of these reports are made.

The study focuses on a set of state-sponsored community efforts to expand or deliver computer or Internet access, a program whereby 36 communities of varying sizes in Texas received up to $500,000 to establish community networks over a 2-year period. The results from 36 communities indicate a mixed picture of successes and partial accomplishments.

Three kinds of digital divides and similarities and differences among those digital divides are identified and analyzed for both the Internet and mobile phone users/nonusers on the basis of demographic variables. It was observed that while Internet and mobile phone usage levels in 2000 were about the same, their users overlap but do not constitute completely equivalent populations.

It focuses on the efforts of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) be precise with the growing technological interdependence between the telephone and the computer industries between 1965-1986. A general overview of US telecommunications policy is also included.

A study was conducted to investigate how telecommunications policy makers and regulators in the European Union, Japan, the US and Singapore have managed challenges brought about by Internet telephony. Internet telephony was characterized as an archetype of convergence growth in the communications industry. Results indicated that the countries' policies on Internet telephony correlated with current regulatory frameworks designed for basic communications services. Findings also showed a number of uncertainties associated with convergence in the industry.

US VP Al Gore has proposed certain administrative regulations to introduce legislative reforms in the communications act to commercially develop the National Information Infrastructure (NII). The most significant proposal was the symmetrical integration of 'alternative regulatory regime' and elimination of competition in long-distance and local transmission operations. Gore's plans propose to interconnect all classrooms, libraries, hospitals and clinics by 2000.

The globalization of telecommunications has become a virtual reality, and consumers welcome it. However national regulatory authorities are not as enthusiastic as it is difficult to regulate. The European Commission and the European Conference of Post and Telecom Administrations (CEPT) are moving towards greater harmonization of licensing conditions and more than half of all countries have universal service obligations (USOs).

Personnel and administrators of the communications industry propose to reformulate the communications act involving three legislations namely 'Antitrust/Communications Reform Act,' 'The Communication Act' and 'National Communications Competition and Information Infrastructure Act. The Infrastructure Act eliminates all regulatory and legislative problems to develop the national information infrastructure, while the Communications Reform Act abolishes telecommunication jurisdiction. A subcommitte evaluating the legislations has received support from the Bill Clinton administration.