The process of the liberalisation of services of general economic interest (SGEI) in the EU adopted the universal service (US) regulatory model. The objectives of the process were to strengthen free competition and improve social welfare. SGEIs have the characteristic of networked services and,...

Recognition of the growing importance of broadband to the public presents challenges for policy-makers 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 Universal Service Obligation Fund of India has to its credit a wide range of schemes that have brought connectivity to hitherto un-served or underserved rural areas. The pilot projects undertaken by USOF India fall in the category of special initiatives as their focus extends beyond mere...

Universal Service would appear to be a dying concept. In most European countries, Universal Service – once a cornerstone of government intervention in the communications sector – has been narrowed down dramatically over the last ten years. A major reason for this is the assumption that...

The concept of universal service lies at the heart of the European thinking on markets and public services. The paper analyzes the EU universal service both from a comparative and a trans-sectoral perspective. It conceptualizes the general theory of universal service and applies it to the recent...

The review of the Universal Service Obligation (USO) has recently been debated in the European Union (EU). Under discussion there was the extension of the current universal service definition to include broadband access, for which some theoretical and empirical support exists. In fact the...