Policies and Challenges of the Broadband Ecosystem in Japan (Advances in Information and Communication Research, 4)

This book shows how telecom, broadcast, and Internet researchers as well as experts from Japan's leading mobile operators interpret, analyze, and evaluate the emerging phenomenon of the Japanese broadband ecosystem. The broadband ecosystem, as it rapidly changes against the backdrop of swift technological progress, is forcing major changes in the existing socioeconomic framework and generating many policy issues that require discussion. The book aims to provide a theoretical and practical framework for policymakers to address these issues from a broader perspective than has been available in the past. The topics addressed in this book cover sharing of 5G infrastructure, online platform regulation, diffusion of autonomous driving, content industry, trends and use cases of 5G, capacity development for AI, ride-hailing service, smartphone games, the right to be forgotten, and the economic value of personal information. Although this book cannot provide definitive answers to all these recently emerging and rapidly changing issues, it does provide important guidance for evidence-based discussion involving policymakers and researchers working on these issues. It is also recommended for graduate students who want to enter this challenging field of policy discussion. Preface 6 Acknowledgments 8 Contents 9 Editors and Contributors 10 Development of Infrastructure Sharing in the Mobile Market 12 1 Introduction 12 2 Types of Mobile Infrastructure Sharing 13 2.1 Passive Sharing 13 2.2 Active Sharing 14 2.3 Wholesale Open Access Network 15 3 Competition Aspect of Mobile Infrastructure Sharing 16 3.1 Benefits and Competition Challenges of Infrastructure Sharing 16 3.2 Assessment Framework of Infrastructure Sharing by EU 17 3.3 Mobile Operators’ View 20 4 Examples of Mobile Infrastructure Sharing 21 4.1 Sharing Agreement Between Vodafone and Telefonica 21 4.2 Shared Rural Network in the United Kingdom 22 4.3 French Government’s Efforts to Expand Mobile Coverage 23 4.4 National Roaming for the French New Entrant 24 4.5 Site Sharing via Tower Companies in the United States 25 4.6 Infrastructure Sharing Toward 5G in South Korea and Japan 26 5 Conclusion 29 References 30 Issues in Regulating Online Platforms 34 1 Introduction 34 2 Dominance in the Market 37 2.1 Four Economic Characteristics 37 2.2 E-commerce and Online Advertising Markets in Japan 39 3 Perspectives from Competition Policy 42 3.1 Abusing Market Power 42 3.2 Challenges for the Competition Authority 43 3.3 Addressing Data Monopolies 46 4 Issues Relating to Neutral Network 47 4.1 QoE-Based Net Neutrality and More 47 4.2 Neutrality in Content Moderation 49 5 Conclusion 51 References 52 Interdependency on the Data Platform and Its Effect on the Diffusion of Autonomous Driving 56 1 Introduction 56 2 Interdependencies Among Vehicles on the Data Platform 58 3 Data Network Effects 60 3.1 Data Platforms 60 3.2 Two-Layer Data Network Effects 60 4 Data-Driven Services and Platforms 62 5 Possible Growth Paths of Autonomous Driving 64 5.1 Driving Automation Levels 64 5.2 Possible Diffusion Scenarios 66 6 Technological Feasibility Versus Social Acceptability 68 7 Conclusion 69 Appendix: Formal Approach to Data Network Effects: A Case of User-Generated Data 70 Formulation of Network Effects 70 Competition in the Presence of Data Network Effects 73 Efficiency Versus Dominance Over a Data Service Platform 75 References 76 Audio-Visual Content Industry in Japan 77 1 Introduction 77 2 The Policy on the Video Content Industry 78 2.1 Regulators and Promoters 78 2.2 Japanese Media Policies that Focus Primarily on Hardware 80 2.3 The Content Regulation Policies for TV Programs and Films 81 2.4 The Beginning of the Promotion Policies on Media Content 82 2.5 The Export Promotion Policy 83 2.6 Export Promotion Policies for Broadcast Program by MIC 84 2.7 Export Promotion Policies for Broadcast Program by METI 85 2.8 Discussion on Appropriate Production Transactions 85 3 The Industrial Organization of Content Industry 87 3.1 Broadcasting (TV, Radio, Cable, and Satellite) 87 3.2 Film 89 3.3 Package (DVD, BD) 89 3.4 Internet Distribution (Pure Players and Broadcaster Video-On-Demand Players) 92 3.5 Film/Content Partnership 97 4 Internet Video Distribution 97 4.1 Brief History 97 4.2 The Analogy from Film, Music, and Publishing Industries for Intermedium Competition 98 4.3 The Corporate Strategies of Global Pure Players 103 4.4 The Policy on Internet Distribution, Including Copyright Issue and the Act on Protecting Personal Information 104 5 Conclusion 111 References 113 Trends and Use Cases of 5G 115 1 Introduction 115 2 Trends of 5G Commercial Service 116 3 Use Cases of 5G and Its Standardization 117 3.1 eMBB 118 3.2 URLLC 119 3.3 mMTC 119 3.4 Technical Requirements for Various Use Cases and Standardization of 5G 120 4 5G Trials 123 4.1 Stadium Entertainment 125 4.2 Smart Security 126 4.3 Autonomous Driving and Remote Driving 127 4.4 Smart Construction 128 4.5 Factory Automation 129 4.6 Touchless Gate System 130 5 Conclusion 131 References 132 Measures to Develop Human Resources with AI Skills in Japan: Society 5.0 and Investment in the Next Generation 133 1 Introduction: COVID-19 and the Characteristics of Japan’s AI Human Resource Development Policy 134 2 Development, Characteristics, and Challenges of Japan’s IT Human Resource Development Policy: From the 1980s to the 2010s 136 2.1 Development of IT Human Resource Development Policies 136 2.2 Progress in School Informatization and Issues in Information Education 137 2.3 Challenges for IT Human Resource Development in the 2010s 141 3 Society 5.0 Vision and Measures to Develop AI Human Resources 144 3.1 Vision of Society 5.0 and Its Characteristics 144 3.2 AI Strategy and AI Human Resource Development Measures 145 3.3 Estimating the Shortage of IT and AI Human Resources in Japan 147 4 AI Human Resource Development: Industry–academia–government Collaboration and All-Round Educational Reform 148 4.1 Moves Toward Matching Supply and Demand for IT and AI Human Resources 148 4.2 Fostering AI Human Resources Through Industry–academia–government Collaboration 149 4.3 The GIGA School Initiative and the Education System Reform for the Future 151 5 Conclusion—Vision of Society 5.0 and Investment in the Next Generation of Human Resources 156 References 158 New Competition in Regulated Service Markets After the Smartphone Diffusion: Regulations on Ride-Hailing Services in Japan 162 1 Introduction 162 2 Impacts of ICT Development on Service Industries 164 2.1 Service Production Structure Changed by ICT and Need for Regulatory Reform 164 2.2 Regulations in Japan’s Paid Passenger Transport Market and the Changes that Occur with the Spread of ICT 165 3 Empirical Analysis on New Competition in Japanese Paid Passenger Services Market 167 3.1 Questions to Examine the Mitigation of Information Asymmetry 167 3.2 Stated Preference Experiments 168 3.3 Estimation Models and Results 171 3.4 Discussion 173 4 Conclusions 177 References 178 The Preference of Payment of Game Players in the Cross-Platform Era: A Survey of Smartphone Users in Japan, the UK, China 180 1 Introduction 181 2 Market Changes in the Global Gaming Industry 183 2.1 Expansion of Subscription Services 183 2.2 The Two-sided Market and Platformers’ Strategies 184 2.3 Diversifying Revenue Sources for Gameplay—Price Discrimination and Subscriptions 185 3 Overview of the Game Market in Japan, the UK, and China and the Survey Results 188 3.1 Overview of the Game Markets in Japan, the UK, and China 188 3.2 Devices for Gaming Play and Reasons for Payment in Japan, the UK, and China 190 3.3 The Survey Results of Payment Methods Preference in Japan, the UK, and China 191 4 Changes in the Japanese Game Market and Attributes of Game Players 194 4.1 Changes in the Japanese Game Market 194 4.2 Attributes of Japanese Game Players 196 5 Preference of Payment Methods for Gaming Play in Japan 198 5.1 Cross-Tabulation Results for Age and Gender 198 5.2 Cross-Tabulation Results Between Game Players and Non-game Players 198 5.3 Cross-Tabulation Results of Free and Paying Players (%) 199 6 Conclusion 200 References 202 Acceptability of the “Right to be Forgotten” in Japan 206 1 Introduction 206 1.1 Advances in Personalization Services and the “Right to be Forgotten” 207 1.2 Awareness of the Issues: Acceptability in Japan 208 2 Previous Studies 208 2.1 The Classifications of Rosen 208 2.2 Research on the “Right to be Forgotten” in Japan 209 2.3 A Study on the Intention to Use Personal Information in Japan 211 2.4 Remaining Issues in Prior Studies 213 3 Analytical Framework and Research Overview 213 3.1 Survey Purpose and Method 213 3.2 Study of Analysis Method 214 3.3 Setting of Attributes and Levels 214 3.4 Summary of This Survey 216 3.5 Details of Conjoint Analysis 217 3.6 Estimation Results 218 4 Conclusion 221 References 221 The Economic Value of Personal Information: Analysis of Information Leakage Incidents 222 1 Introduction 223 1.1 Personal Information Protection 223 1.2 Personal Information Leak Incident 224 2 Previous Studies 225 2.1 Privacy Awareness 226 2.2 Compensation for Leak 226 3 Analytical Framework and Research Overview 228 3.1 Definition of Terms 228 3.2 Conjoint Analysis 229 3.3 Questionnaire Survey 231 3.4 Discussion of the Results of the Analysis 232 4 Conclusion 237 References 238