¡®Guarantee on communication right vs business right violation¡¯ in dispute¡¦ Regulation innovation committee without solution on universal fare system

[ Jong Ye Lin yeslin@ ] | 2018-04-30 10:45:19
[Digital Times, Jong Ye-Lin] The universal fare system was delayed from the commencement of the National Commission for Regulatory Reform. There is a strong argument against the idea that the universal rights of the people to use the communication and the infringement of the business right of the private enterprise are infringed too much. The opposition of mobile carriers is so decisive that considerable labor will continue.

The Commission, on April 27, reviewed the revision of the Telecommunications Business Act, which was introduced at the Gwanghwamun government headquarters in Seoul, but did not reach a conclusion. I will resume the discussion on May 11.

Especially, SK Telecom strongly refuted the universal fare system for about 1 hour and 30 minutes, half of which was held over three hours. This is because SK Telecom, the number-one operator, is burdened by the implementation of the universal fare system. The Universal Plan is a service that provides about 200 minutes of voice calls and 1GB of data at a monthly fee of 20,000 won. The universal fleet system has been subjected to violent protests by the government as the government pushes for the government to reduce the burden of communication expenses.

The carriers have said that the universal fare system is an excessive regulation that distorts the market economy. It is pointed out that the biggest problem is that the government directly sets the fare level and the call volume. According to SK Lee, CEO of SK Telecom, SK Telecom said, "The means by which operators compete in the market is their customers," the government pointed out. The carriers claim that the universal fleet system is a policy that is contrary to the activation of the economy through deregulation which has been consistently promoted by the government.

SK Telecom has already pointed out that many users are benefiting from the government`s telecom policies because of excessive regulation. Already, 55% of the total is receiving the government`s artificial benefits. According to the chief executive, "With the increase in the discount rate last year, the cumulative total of 20 million people receive a 25% discount, and a total of 35 million people, including 7.6 million mobile phone users and 8 million vulnerable people, said.

Mobile carriers are also in the position that excessive losses are incurred if they adopt a universal fare system. In particular, we are worried that all plans will be downgraded due to the universal fare system. According to the plan of the National Planning Commission, the introduction of the universal fare system will reduce communication costs from KRW 1 trillion a year to KRW 2.2 trillion a year. SK Telecom said, "60% of the operating profit of the three companies could be eliminated as a universal fare plan." SK Telecom also expressed its dissatisfaction with the government`s conservation rate of less than 10% due to the fact that it has already been burdened with support for seniority, etc.

Mobile operators are worried that the services they provide to users may be downgraded because of these losses. Especially, it is pointed out that 5G mobile communication (5G), which requires large-scale infrastructure construction, is in the process of commercialization and that the competitiveness of the telecommunication industry may weaken due to a decrease in investment capacity. The design of the universal charge system pointed out that the problem is that the rate of data usage drops when the data usage of users increases. The Pacific side, a legal representative of SK Telecom, said, "Do you really need to invest in facility investment to increase user data usage?"

The government is pushing for a universal fare system even in the case of the protesters. The Ministry of Science and Technology (MIC) emphasized the universal nature of mobile telecommunication services and the high public demand for telecommunication overhead. In particular, it pointed out that high-priced services provide sufficient services for consumers, whereas low-priced services do not.

It also emphasized that the universal fare system can be an alternative to the abolition of the basic fee system. "The most important thing is the universal fare system," said Jeon Seong-bae, director general of the Ministry of Information and Communication.

By Jong Ye Lin yeslin@


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