Most of Europe may be satisfied that remote regions now have access to basic telephone and basic Internet service, but the European Union thinks that the law needs to be updated to include broadband access.
Created in 2002, the "telecom universal services law" mandates that any European Union person should be able to get access to traditional wireline phone and dial up Internet service in any region. However, the EU's executive branch thinks that current rules need to include broadband access.
Similar to the process that the FCC has taken in the U.S. to craft its own upcoming broadband plan that it will submit to Congress this month, the EU wants to open the discussion floor to stakeholders and other interested public parties. At the end of the month, the EU will hold a public workshop in Brussels where consumers, service providers, and policy makers can all give their two cents on what a universal broadband access law would look like.
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- Dow Jones has this article