Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/278022 
Year of Publication: 
2023
Series/Report no.: 
32nd European Conference of the International Telecommunications Society (ITS): "Realising the digital decade in the European Union – Easier said than done?", Madrid, Spain, 19th - 20th June 2023
Publisher: 
International Telecommunications Society (ITS), Calgary
Abstract: 
This paper explores the changing nature of universal service. In particular, it looks at universal service obligations within the United Kingdom and the role that public call boxes play within the context of a vibrant mobile telecommunications market with extensive geographical coverage and widespread usage. Our analysis draws on data from the 2021consultation by Ofcom into the scope of the UK's universal service obligations to highlight their complex nature. Although the number of public call boxes has dramatically fallen in recent years, not least because of the growth in mobile phone usage, they still perform a vital socio-economic role. This role complicates their replacement, creating economic inefficiency but social value. The latter limits the ability of stakeholders - regulators and mobile operators - to radically amend how the universal service obligation is provided.
Subjects: 
Public call boxes
universal service obligations
consultation
UK
Document Type: 
Conference Paper

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