Jae-Young Kim

As governments juggle their role in the market with the demands of universal service and free speech, they find the limits of deregulation and that their goals demand an activist role for government.

Kim examines how the United States, Germany, and Japan encourage universal service and free speech on the Internet in deregulated marketplaces. All three nations seek universal service through competitive marketplaces, but they guarantee free expression differently: hands-off policies in the US, top-down approaches in Germany, and bottom-up approaches in Japan. The local political, social, and legal atmosphere determines each nation's policies. However, all approaches betray unanticipated consequences that weaken their policies. Public interest in the two areas cannot be realized without sacrificing the viability of telecommunications deregulation, and universal service and the maintenance of free speech require government action.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Review of Literature
3. Methodology
4. Motives for Telecommunications Deregulation
5. Universal Service on the Internet after Telecommunications Deregulation
6. Free Speech on the Internet after Telecommunications Deregulation
7. Deregulation within a Political Economy Perspective
8. Conclusion

References
Index