Universal service on the agenda in eastern Europe, EU

摘要

In a move that could lead to the setting of a precedent for mobile operators in central and eastern Europe, the Hungarian parliament will debate this month whether universal service obligations should apply to mobile operators as well as the incumbent operator, Matav. A universal service approach to mobile players is also under consideration in Romania and Croatia, in a bid to ease mounting problems associated with ensuring that telephony services are available to all. But while central and eastern European countries may be considering shelving current universal service funds in favour of imposing obligations on their mobile players, in the EU countries such funds are now back on the agenda, on the grounds that competition is such that universal service should no longer be the sole responsibility of the incumbent (see below).