As digital, internet protocol and multi-media device technology develops, a view which distinguishes hard between communication infrastructure for individual communications and broadcasting infrastructure for mass communication that could be done clearly at analog era showed up. This means communication infrastructures are becoming less and less service specific, and can provide a range of services. In addition, new type of services are emerging which are difficult to classify in existing services and regulatory categories. In other words, there are issues which area this type of communication should be involved between broadcasting and communication area, or whether we have to create a third area that can adapt with economical relations. Such infrastructure convergence requires a fundamental review of regulatory regimes for broadcasting and telecommunications to ensure the constitutional value of guaranteeing mass communication function.
The current debates, however, make me have a critical mind because they are just limited at the old way of technology and the definition itself of broadcasting as the standard for determining what is a broadcasting within the statutory meaning. but any legislative effort for defining or characterizing the new type of digital communication services should be directed toward an analysis of constitutional Perspective. Because the legislative effort should be within the limit of constitutional value order.
With the point that can distinguish between individual communication and mass communication and with respect to way of use or function of electric wave-media infrastructures, I try to explain the constitutional value and each regulation system of individual communication based on telecommunication services and mass communication transmitted by broadcasting infrastructures. In other words, I want to confirm constitutional concept of way of future communication services with the developed technology and suppose to standard of constitutional protection area for new types of communication services like VOD.
Therefore, the legislative efforts for digital based new type of communication in South Korea should reflect the concept of the actual and potential objects of electronic mass communication activities as opposed to the definition itself of broadcasting as the standard for determining which is a broadcasting within the traditional way of technology. In other words, the key to the legislative effort for defining the concept of new type of communication services based on electronic facilities or infrastructures will lie in how to have respective statutory conform to the nature of broadcasting as a mechanism for effective flow of information.
The digitalisation, IP and the development of multimedia devices result in more competition between infrastructures. This raises questions regarding existing markets regulation with its ownership rules and requires regulatory reform. To answer these questions, I think, analysis specific and practical solutions based on the constitutional law about how to maintain diversity and form opinions required in broadcasting using frequency waves and also try to provide alternative plans to solve the problem of diversity for forming opinion in the field of mass communications.