Universal service in China

During the late 1980s and 1990s, China's telecommunication industry has achieved significant progress. Stimulated by regulatory reforms and guided by policies encouraging investment in the telecommunication sector, China has broken and set new world records for the speed of telecommunication development. However, as China is still a developing country, the imbalance in the telecommunication service among the various regions, including that of basic services, is still obvious. Thus, providing a universal service remains one of the most important goals for telecommunication development. This is focused at providing basic services in under-developed inland provinces. As China introduces competition into this industry and makes the transition from a planned economy toward a market economy, new dimensions are added to the complexity of a universal service. This paper reviews the policies and achievements towards realizing a universal service in China, as well as new challenges in a new environment.