Assemblyman Jo Incheol Proposes 'Network Stabilization Act'

Strengthening Advance Notification of Traffic Route Changes
Ensuring Stability of Domestic Telecommunications Networks

Jo Incheol, Member of the National Assembly.

Legislation is being promoted to prevent network instability caused by unilateral service changes by major value-added telecommunications operators such as YouTube and Meta, and to provide users with stable telecommunications services.

Jo Incheol, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (representing Gwangju Seo-gu Gap), announced that he has sponsored a partial amendment to the Telecommunications Business Act. This amendment would legally guarantee that, when a major value-added telecommunications operator takes actions that significantly impact domestic telecommunications services, related telecommunications operators are provided with sufficient time in advance to respond appropriately.

This amendment was prompted by concerns that, amid the explosive increase in data traffic driven by the spread of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital transformation, unilateral actions by major value-added telecommunications operators could have an even greater impact on the stability of domestic telecommunications services and the quality of user experience.

Under the current law, value-added telecommunications operators above a certain scale are required to provide advance notice if they intend to take actions?such as changing traffic routes?that could significantly affect telecommunications services. However, because the timing and procedures for such notification are not clearly defined, there have been ongoing concerns that domestic Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and others do not have enough time to prepare necessary responses, such as network expansion or technical adjustments, to adequately protect users.

In fact, in 2017, when Facebook changed its traffic transmission routes without prior notice, an overload occurred on the Hong Kong-Korea subsea cable, resulting in large-scale access delays for domestic users. This incident is widely regarded as a clear example of the risks that unilateral decisions by major value-added telecommunications operators can pose to the stability of the domestic telecommunications ecosystem.

During such incidents, the burden of deteriorating service quality falls primarily on domestic network operators and users, while the value-added telecommunications operators making the decisions are not held substantively accountable. This has been pointed out as an institutional limitation.

The amendment proposed by Assemblyman Jo aims to address this institutional gap in user protection by requiring major value-added telecommunications operators to notify both the Minister of Science and ICT and relevant telecommunications operators of the details and reasons for any actions that could significantly affect telecommunications services at least 30 days in advance. The amendment also stipulates that, if necessary, the Minister may request additional measures to ensure service stability.

The key objective is to enable all stakeholders to sufficiently prepare in advance and establish risk response measures.

If the amendment is passed, it is expected that domestic operators will be able to proactively respond to unilateral changes in traffic routes by major value-added telecommunications operators, such as the previous Facebook case, thereby enhancing the stability of telecommunications services. In addition, by reducing the possibility that major operators like YouTube and Netflix could use service quality changes as a bargaining tool, the amendment is expected to contribute to a more predictable and fair network usage contract environment among stakeholders in the telecommunications sector.

Assemblyman Jo emphasized, "Decisions such as changes to traffic routes by major value-added telecommunications operators are directly linked to the stability of domestic networks and the quality of telecommunications services for the public. We must go beyond simple advance notification and establish a system that guarantees sufficient time to respond to risks, thereby providing a minimum safety mechanism for user protection."

He added, "This bill is not intended to protect specific operators, but rather to ensure that the burden of network instability caused by the growing influence of major value-added telecommunications operators like YouTube and Netflix is not shifted onto users. It will help proactively prevent large-scale, unexpected service disruptions."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.