Telecommunications Policy最新文献

In this paper we study the role of Video on Demand services (VOD) as drivers of broadband adoption. While the research literature has highlighted the importance of digital content, such as applications and Internet platforms, as a driver of broadband adoption, no studies have yet explored the specific contribution of VOD. We developed a worldwide database of VOD services launch by country since 2012 (including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, Disney+, Paramount+, and HBO Max) and explored their contribution as contributors to broadband adoption during the period. To do so, we relied on several empirical specifications including instrumental variables to control for reverse causality between broadband adoption and VOD services availability. Our results confirm that VOD services have been a key contributor to the increase of broadband connectivity, also helping to narrow down the digital divide especially in developing nations. In addition, VOD service offers have been associated with the gradual increase in the purchasing of broadband higher speed plans. Finally, there is a significant and positive increase in consumer surplus associated with the launch of VOD offers. This evidence points to the impact of VOD services on the digital economy as a stimulus for consumer acquisition of broadband services and therefore as a contributor to the revenues of broadband service providers.

This study examines the content and layout of the proposed broadband consumer disclosure labels mandated by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Our large-scale user study identifies key consumer preferences and comprehension factors through a two-phase survey of 2500 broadband internet consumers. Findings reveal strong support for broadband labels, but dissatisfaction with the FCC's proposed labels from 2016. Participants generally struggled to use the label for cost computations and plan comparisons. Technical terms confused participants, but providing participants with brief education made the terms useable. Participants desired additional information, including reliability, speed measures for both periods when performance is “normal” and periods when performance is much worse than normal, quality-of-experience ratings, and detailed network management practices. This feedback informed our improved label designs that outperformed the 2016 labels in comprehension and preference. Overall, consumers valued clear pricing and performance details, comprehensive information, and an easy-to-understand format for plan comparison. Requiring broadband service providers to deposit machine-readable plan information in a publicly accessible database would enable third parties to further customize how information is presented to meet these consumer needs. Our work additionally highlights the need for user studies of labels to ensure they meet consumer demands.

Internet protocol (IP) addresses are significant information that can reveal users' locations. However, users may not be aware of it since IP-related information is rarely displayed on social media around the globe. In March 2022, China unexpectedly implemented a regulation that compulsorily displays users' IP locations on a wide range of social media platforms such as Weibo. To explore how users perceive the new function and potential consequences of such policies, this study adopts a qualitative approach by applying privacy calculus theory to examine the factors that influence users’ privacy behavior in this context. The results suggest that users hold different privacy perceptions regarding IP location display. Moreover, the perceived costs for many users outweigh the benefits associated with IP location display, leading them to reduce their self-disclosure and prompting the adoption of privacy management strategies on Weibo.

The May 2023 version of Brazil's Fake News Bill (FNB), a proposed new statutory framework for social media regulation, heavily referenced the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA). The literature on regulatory convergence points to the Brussels Effect, praising the EU for wielding unilateral soft power in shaping global regulations. Therefore, based on interviews with Brazilian experts who played a significant role in the regulatory discussion, this study applies Thematic Analysis to assess the DSA's impact on the FNB draft. The article finds limited Brussels Effect due to criticism of its incapacity to address local platform liability concerns and the absence of economic and legal drivers for convergence with EU regulation. Despite this, the study highlights the DSA's positive influence on the local debate in promoting democratic and human rights principles, leveraging the European legislative process to enrich local discussions. Finally, local political factors contributed to a narrative that differed from the DSA, framing the FNB not only as a tool against disinformation, but also as a means to protect democracy. This paper offers an unprecedented case study of the Brussels Effect reach on the global-south, presenting limitations of the EU benchmark when transposed to other regulatory and political contexts.

Field of research

This research falls under the field of mobile broadband 4G/5G networks for public safety communications and focuses specifically on the public safety services business of mobile network operators (MNOs).

Purpose

This research contributes a qualitative model of MNOs’ business risks in providing public safety services. The risk assessment covers the business model used in European public safety mobile broadband projects.

Methods and data

A qualitative method was chosen for the research. The risk model used was an influence diagram with the causal taxonomy of risk, which is commonly used for qualitative and quantitative causal models based on Bayesian networks. The Delphi method was employed through the use of an expert panel to create the risk model. The expert panel's risk assessment was conducted using a case study that followed the model of European public safety projects.

Findings

The risk model shows that business risks are, in many ways, a threat to the financial goals of MNOs' public safety business. These risks could result in additional costs, contractual penalties, and lost service revenue. Additionally, there is potential for negative impacts on MNOs’ regular business, which can lead to a loss of market share and revenue.

Value

This research provides new insights into MNOs’ business risks in next-generation public safety services. Procurement authorities are advised to use the results in the business model and contract planning for public safety procurements. MNOs can gain advantages from these results by enhancing their understanding of the potential business risks, their consequences, and how to control and mitigate them in public safety projects.

Space sector systems enable numerous critical functions and are often integrated into existing telecommunications infrastructure to enhance network connectivity coverage and capacity. Amid escalating cyber threats, this paper examines the application of international law to cyber operations targeting space infrastructure, addressing a critical gap in discourse. While declarations by global entities affirm the applicability of international law to cyberattacks, the complexities of cyberspace, compounded by the unique aspects of space infrastructure, pose challenges in implementation. Recognizing the absence of global cyber law and a lack of customary international law regarding cyber operations on space infrastructure, this study provides one of the first legal examinations via case analysis of cyberattacks on space infrastructures, both terrestrial and orbital, through the lens of international humanitarian law, the law of armed conflict, and outer space law. This paper adopts a comprehensive approach, considering perspectives from differing national stances as we review three main principles of international law: the general principle of sovereignty, the prohibition of intervention, and the prohibition of the use of force. Based on our analysis of three hypothetical but realistic cyber operation scenarios, international law can apply to cyberattacks on space infrastructure, and violations can occur if all conditions of a given law are met and attribution can be made to a state actor. Yet, applying these laws in a cyber context has proven to cause some complexities and disagreements, and it would be a mistake to ignore the reality that there is still significant ambiguity and varying interpretations, which could impede the unequivocal enforcement and application of these laws in such scenarios.

This paper examines the value that households place on very high-speed internet access, explicitly focusing on the impact of eligibility for Fiber to the Home (FTTH) technology on property prices. Using a Spatial Discontinuity Design based on the border of fiber eligibility zones which have significantly expanded under France’s Très Haut-Débit plan, I find that FTTH eligibility is a significant determinant of property prices, with an average increase of 0.9 percent. I also consider heterogeneities in FTTH valuation, accounting for socioeconomic characteristics, local factors, and the performance of legacy copper networks. These findings highlight the growing importance of fast and reliable broadband access for households and have important implications for policymakers and Internet service providers.

This paper examines the role of civil society in shaping content moderation governance arrangements in the United States. Drawing on prior research that recognizes the importance of civil society in shaping policy, this article analyzes the experiences of civil society practitioners engaged in content moderation activism. Based on in-depth original interviews with civil society practitioners, I demonstrate how civil society's activity in this space aligns with known regulatory standard-setting process competencies and suggest advocacy work benefits from the power of coalition lobbying and social capital. Moreover, I highlight the sense of frustration from some practitioners that they are not compensated by firms for their monitoring and reporting work that improves platforms' products, and I offer preliminary reasons for why practitioners contest moderation norms. The paper's insights contribute to the study of platform governance by illuminating informal mechanisms utilized by civil society, which holds broader implications for understanding the dynamics of non-state actors in shaping online platforms and their policies.

Diversifying business portfolios and creating new value has been considered essential strategy for telecommunications companies (telcos) to survive and grow. To successfully execute this strategy, telcos need to find and focus on promising industries, called killer domains. However, few studies have tried to develop criteria for identifying killer domains for telcos' business diversification. This study develops comprehensive evaluation criteria and explores killer domains for Canadian and Korean telcos. This study adopted the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method and surveyed 23 telecommunication experts in Canada and 22 in Korea. Data analysis found that expected benefit is the most important criterion in decision-making for a telco's business diversification, followed by resource fit and the expected cost. There were no significant differences in the relative importance of alternative domains in Korea, but in Canada, digital healthcare was the most crucial domain for Canadian telcos, followed by the security and immersive content industry. The result of this study provides implications for practitioners' and policymakers' decision-making regarding business diversification strategies in the telecommunication industry.

Digital transformation has received widespread academic, policy and media attention in the last few years, amid rapid technological developments, geopolitical tensions and an aggressive media strategy launched by a number of Silicon Valley CEOs. Post-pandemic, the task of tracing the relevant scenarios for technological change and evaluating their social consequences has become more difficult, partly due to the rise of artificial intelligence. This special issue explores novel lines of inquiry in the study of Internet governance at a critical juncture in its evolution, zooming in on three important trends: (1) the public attempts to refocus on infrastructure (control); (2) the stricter regulation of social media, partly in response to the push from civil society to address violent behaviour online; and (3) the renewed contestation over representation in Internet governance, where youth and other historically underrepresented groups are struggling to achieve better visibility for their interests. The articles in this special issue underline that new forms of contention by a variety of actors are emerging from “within” the existing governance mechanisms. However, the most successful initiatives are mainly from governments.