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Korean businesses and consumers face being shackled by new regulations that critics fear could hamper the country¡¯s position as a communications power.
The Korea Broadcasting Commission on Thursday held a hearing to revise the Broadcasting Law so it covers new broadcasting services via internet protocol television (IPTV) and wireless broadband (WiBro). KBC officials said an age of integrated broadcasting and communications needs new controls of mobile broadcasting as well as fixed-line services.
But with the launch of the mobile wireless Internet service WiBro just around the corner, the industry says the move is ill-timed. Having selected operators January last year, a pilot service is planned for March. KT has already decided to allocate W500 billion (US$500 million) for WiBro and SK Telecom plans to invest a total of W1.4 trillion in mobile Internet services.
Regulations are also expected to make things more inconvenient for customers. The Ministry of Information and Communication has recently attracted criticism with a proposal to extend a ban on handset subsidiaries for telecom customers, which they say meddles with consumer choice by depriving them of the opportunity to buy phones cheaper. Critics say more regulations will also hamper other next-generation services like satellite digital media broadcasting and digital content.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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