Broadband universal service in Europe: A review of policy consultations 2005-2010
Paper in proceeding, 2010
Recognition of the growing importance of broadband to the public presents challenges for policymakers
in introducing efficient strategies, not only to serve the increasing demand for broadband
among people in society but also to increase their economic contribution both in the short run and
in the long run. Different measures and strategies have been implemented in many countries and
regions in order to encourage broadband deployment. Among them, the inclusion of broadband in
the scope of universal service has been discussed.
In the European Union, the discussion on broadening the scope of the Universal Service Directive
(USD) to include broadband has been raised since the first periodical review in 2005. At that time,
the European Commission concluded that only a small, although rapidly growing, minority of
European consumers currently make use of broadband services. Therefore, the conditions for
including broadband services within the scope of universal service as set out in the USD were not
fulfilled.
Later, the European Commission launched the second periodical review of universal service in 2008
with the preliminary conclusion that broadband has not yet reached the majority of people, implying
that the conditions of the USD for expanding the scope of universal service were not yet fulfilled.
However, the public consultation on broadening the scope of the USD to include broadband has
been opened since March 2010 and was last on May 7, 2010. In the meantime, the public workshop
organized in the context of the public consultation on universal service principles in ecommunications
was held on March 30, 2010. The workshop provided wide-ranging views on the
topic, including an assessment of the cost of broadband availability and also the rapid change of
broadband penetration rate throughout Europe.
Against this background, this paper provides an analytical survey of the current state and trends of
universal service with focus on broadband access in the European Union. First it presents an
overview of broadband deployment and regulation in Europe. Then, it analyzes the USD reviews by
taking into account the previous and the recent review, in particular by comparing the discourse
evolution of the public submissions from stakeholders in the two consultations. A framework to
evaluate broadband universal service will be provided. In conclusion, the paper will identify selected
issues regarding broadband universal service in Europe, especially the pros and cons of broadband
universal service.