Universal service and free speech on the Internet after telecommunications deregulation: Experiences of the United States, Germany, and Japan

This study examines the broadly-defined impacts of telecommunications deregulation on two significant public interests, universal service and free speech on the Internet, in the United States, Germany, and Japan. It also analyzes whether deregulation can be reconciled with public interest values and explores the changing role of the state in developing a new communication environment.;This study focuses on Internet policies because of the potential influence of the Internet on democratic societies. Also of great significance is how both universal service and free speech are essential public goods upon which the hope for constructing electronic democracy rests. This study selects the relevant experiences of the United States, Germany, and Japan as main areas of research concern because they represent different paths of telecommunications evolvement.;This study bases its theoretical framework on political economy. Much of the policy and legal material are obtained from electronic sources. They are thoroughly evaluated in accordance with four policy evaluation questions. The findings are then synthesized and discussed in a way that re-frames the role of the state in a deregulated communication environment.;This study finds that all three nations have attempted to achieve their universal service goals by creating competitive marketplaces. It also indicates all three countries have different views on how to guarantee free expression on the Internet: a hands-off policy in the United States, a top-down approach in Germany, and a bottom-up approach in Japan. Each of the three's universal service and free speech goals is both consistent with another policy goal in each country's telecommunications environment and justified by the political, social, or legal atmosphere. However, all approaches betray unanticipated incidents which weaken their policy programs. In particular, the American effort has been stymied by commercial forces more interested in mergers than in contributing to a universal service fund and restrictive court rulings on public forum doctrine.;Based on the analyses, this study concludes that the public interest in the two areas cannot be realized without sacrificing the viability of telecommunications deregulation, and that universal service and maintenance of free speech rights will require government action.