Reform of Competitive System
The Korean government is working to establish mid to long term policies for telecommunications, seven years after its last attempt. The government has been criticized by a lack of vision in the mid-long term, because Seoul has been focusing on only short term policies to deal with mobile phone subsidies and to reduce telecommunications expenses.
According to industry sources on July 17, the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (MSIP) is working to come up with a road map for mid-long term policies for telecommunications, in line with the inauguration of the agency's new minister.
This is the first time for the MSIP to make a new plan after 2007. The new road map is expected to have widespread ramifications in the telecommunications market, given that this measure is the first move taken by the ministry after the inauguration of Choi Yang-hee, who is widely regarded as an expert in the ICT sector, as the new minister of the MSIP.
To create the road map, the MSIP organized a research team composed of ten experts working in the telecommunications industry, academic circles and government-affiliated institutes.
The road map has four objectives. It is aimed at reorganizing the competing systems of the telecommunications market, bringing about a paradigm shift in regulations, creating the opportunity for new growth, and creating the ecosystem consisting of content, platforms, networks, and mobile devices.
One of the main points of the measure is to reorganize the competing systems of the telecommunications market. The government agency is willing to change the current market conditions in which three mobile carriers which dominate the market fiercely compete with each other for illegal subsidies.
Another important issue is a paradigm shift in regulations. The MSIP is seeking to ease regulations while minimizing its intervention in the market. But it is also planning to beef up regulations on socially responsible areas such as public safety and services.
To secure the future growth engine, the MSIP is going to pursue telecommunications policy in a way that the telecommunications businesses based on a billing system oriented to voice and messages can be enhanced to accommodate innovative services like the Internet of Things.