Abstract
This chapter focuses on the two selected subsectors, USO and spectrum management, and describes the different trends taking place in each of the sectors. Two specific regulatory options for each subsector are furthermore detailed (i.e. mobile and broadband technologies for USO and technological neutrality and spectrum trading for spectrum management). These regulatory options channel the observation of policy adoption for each subsector. This chapter also analyses the EU perspective on these options, to provide an understanding of which model is regionally available in USO and spectrum management for MENA countries to adopt.
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Notes
- 1.
Many different types of USO funding exist, which is typically a case for variation among EU member states (Humphreys and Simpson 2008:856).
- 2.
Universal service refers to service at the individual or household level, for example, through a telephone capability in each home. Universal access refers to a publicly shared level of services, through public payphones or internet telecentres. The generic term of universal access and service (UAS) is advocated by the World Bank to encompass both intertwined aspects of USO (World Bank 2011:153).
- 3.
In this study, however, the focus is set on projects surrounding the expansion of phone and internet communications and not the distribution of hardware such as computers, as these are not always linked to telecommunications policies only but also tackle sectors such as education or internal affairs, which are not the focus of this research.
- 4.
Article 4 confirms the provision of access at a fixed location and provision of telephone services. This article further specifies that member states shall ensure that all reasonable requests for connection at a fixed location are met by at least one undertaking. In addition, the connection shall support voice, facsimile and data communications at sufficient data rates to permit functional internet access (European Parliament and European Council 2009a:Art.4).
- 5.
ISDN is a data transfer technology. It enables wide-bandwidth digital transmission over the public telephone network, transferring data significantly faster than with a dial-up modem (TechTerms 2015).
- 6.
Different parts of the spectrum band have different carriage capacity. For example, signals sent using higher frequencies reach shorter distances, but have a higher capacity to carry information (Mazar 2016:127). This matters for the allocation of signal to mobile companies, who intend to get the better quality waves for different types of services (e.g. texts messaging, Voice over the IP (VoIP ) applications, such as Skype, watching and sharing videos).
- 7.
A digital dividend (i.e. freeing part of the spectrum for different allocation) arises because of the greater compression that is possible with digital signals to broadcast TV channels. Digital compression allows the transmission of several, up to eight, standard digital television channels in the radiofrequency spectrum previously used by a single analogue channel (World Bank 2011:114).
- 8.
The CEPT is a Europe-wide grouping comprising national technical experts. It was founded in 1959 by 19 countries and has expanded to 48 countries currently (CEPT 2017). In the EU, spectrum management provisions need to be consistent with the work of international and regional organisations dealing with radio spectrum management such as the ITU and CEPT (2009b:recital 30).
- 9.
A recital is preliminary or introductory to a text (also to pleadings). It provides an explanation of the reasons for the contract, transaction or policy (West’s Encyclopedia of American Law 2008).
- 10.
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Wavre, V. (2018). Universal Service Obligation (USO) and Spectrum Management. In: Policy Diffusion and Telecommunications Regulation . Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70745-7_5
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