The European Commission adopted a long-awaited communication on the review of the scope of the Universal Service. As expected, the proposal is to maintain the scope unchanged at this time, i.e. not to extend it to mobile communications and to broadband access.

According to Mrs Viviane Reding, Information Society and Media Commissioner, there is no need to introduce new legal requirements for mobile and high-speed internet services under the EU's universal service rules at the moment. But there is a need for a forward-looking policy debate among stakeholders.

Therefore the Commission wants to ensure that the Directive on Universal Service and Users's rights keeps pace with market developments as well as with technological and societal progress.

However, the growth of internet-based services, such as those provided using Voice over Internet, challenges the current universal service requirements based on access to the public telephone network. Thus the Commission may consider to take some action in the future.

Interested parties are invited to comment on the communication until 15 July 2005. The consultation results will feed into a second Commission communication in 2005, whch will include a summary of consultation results and the final Commission position on the review of the Universal Service Directive.

Further information on the consultation: http://europa.eu.int/information_society/topics/ecomm/doc/useful_information/library/public_consult/universal_service/documents/503_22_staff_working_paper.pdf