This research investigates the effects of perceived services quality on service satisfaction and behavioral intention of users in the mobile telecommunications services market in order to predict future consumer behavior, currently evolving from voice-centric to data-centric mobile services. The study is based on questionnaire responses collected in Japan and Korea, both markets where 3G penetrations are most advanced in the world and active market conditions for competition are found. Total of 757 questionnaire responses were collected from mobile telecommunication services users in both countries. SEM analysis indicates differences in the path structure in both countries although both countries users are satisfied with services highly. While in Japan, it was observed that data contents quality and mobile device quality strongly influenced the rate of service satisfaction, while data network quality and price structure significantly had a direct effect on behavioral intention of users. On the other hand, results for Korea, shows that there is no direct perceived service quality factor influencing behavioral intention of users but price structure and customer support service quality impacted on service satisfaction of users. Therefore, based on the results of this investigation, it is possible to assume that quality of data services and mobile devices will be a prevailing influence over the demand for mobile telecommunications services also in other markets.

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From an economic perspective, the core of the network neutrality issue is twofold: the negative externality of traffic congestion and the anticompetitive conduct of the dominant player. Economic theory has already provided a set of policy options to deal with such issues. However, in the real world, prevailing business practices in the current Internet ecosystem significantly impede such theoretically correct solutions. In this paper, the author focuses on the quality of service (QoS) of the Fixed Internet and consumers' perceptions of it, and proposes that insufficient QoS consciousness will hinder efficiency in the retail broadband market, thereby hampering the resolution of network neutrality problems. The empirical findings based on the responses to a Web-based questionnaire survey reveal that improving users' QoS consciousness would enable the market mechanism to solve the network neutrality problems. In addition, the analyses identified several factors that contribute to the improvement of QoS consciousness among Internet users in Japan.

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Traditional academic theories have assumed “freedom of broadcasting” as a part of freedom of expression under the Constitution of Japan and have argued why program editorial rules established under the law are accepted as a restriction on freedom. However, in this paper the freedom is examined from a different angle; primarily as freedom of business in addition to freedom of expression. One reason is that broadcasting as an act includes a string of creating, editing and transmitting content as well as installing facilities and managing a firm, all of which are embraced by the notion of “business”, not “expression.” Another reason is that program editorial rules do not in themselves regulate creation of content in an expression stage but just regulate compilation of content after that stage, which can be regarded as a sort of content-neutral regulation instead of content regulation. It implies that an aspect of program editorial rules to restrict freedom of expression has to be accepted as a collateral constraint. On this basis, it would be fair to note that program editorial rules are norms established by the legislative power within the range of its own reasonable discretion for the purpose of ensuring freedom of business which protects public interests such as diversity of orderly information supply to the people. Therefore, the conclusion can be drawn that the constitutionality of the rules can be affirmed from these perspectives.

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The Regulatory regime on the broadcasting market in Germany is well designed. In the audience market, KEK regulates concentration based on audience ratings while ALM considers such issues as preserving regionality, diversity and plurality in TV programs. In short, they consider the two sides of the audience market in terms of “quantity” and “quality.” In addition, they also consider both sides of the broadcasting market because the Bundeskartellant regulates concentration in the advertisement market. Each regulating authority is ensured independence, so the regulating system is well balanced.
On the other hand, some negative effects have become clear such as the absence of a unified regulating authority and no understanding of a dynamic market. Learning from Germany's experience, we should construct a well-balanced regulating system in Japan, by considering the mechanism for preserving plurality of opinion in making a market-oriented regulating system, by adopting “dynamic” competition policy on media market including broadcasting and by establishing a cooperative framework between regulating agencies.

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As the smartphone market grows rapidly, communication via smartphones is getting more popular and widespread in the world. Among others, use of mobile based Social Networking Services (SNS) has become a major communication method even with mobile phones. Especially, the Twitter, 140 character text-based SNS, well matches with the smartphone characteristics of instant Internet access with limited bandwidth, thus being the center of mobile based SNS usage especially by the young generation in East Asian metropolises such as Seoul and Tokyo. This paper explores the influence of smartphonebased Twitter usage by these young consumers through their smartphones on their social and interpersonal relations. It analyzes how the usage affects the relationships among college students by applying a cause-effect model with several latent factors, namely the usage of mobilebased Twitter, social network building, individual factors and social influence, which are composed of several observable variables. A structural equation model successfully visualized the correlations among the latent and observable variables. The result shows that the usage of smartphone-based Twitter in the young generation in Seoul and Tokyo has a limited influence on the social and interpersonal relationships in real life, and that persons having expertise have more social influence than celebrities having more Twitter followers.

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