Broadband Infrastructure Development Research Articles

How broadband infrastructure development impacts green innovation? A corporate financialization mediated perspective

How broadband infrastructure development impacts green innovation? A corporate financialization mediated perspective

The Impact of Broadband Infrastructure Construction on Medical Resource Mismatch: Quasi-Natural Experiment From the Broadband China Policy.

Whether the construction of broadband infrastructure can alleviate the problem of mismatched medical resources is crucial to the national information strategy, residents' well-being, and social equity. However, the academic community lacks a comprehensive theoretical analysis and rigorous empirical research on this issue. This study aims to construct a preliminary theoretical framework to scientifically assess the effects of broadband infrastructure development on the mitigation of health care resource mismatch from both theoretical and empirical perspectives, to explore the potential mechanisms of influence, and ultimately to develop several practical policy recommendations. We first used a theoretical analysis to propose testable theoretical hypotheses and establish a preliminary theoretical framework. Then, based on balanced panel data from 300 cities from 2010 to 2021, a 2-way fixed effects difference-in-differences model was used for empirical testing. Mechanism tests, robustness analyses, and heterogeneity analyses were further conducted. The research findings demonstrate that the Broadband China Policy significantly reduces the degree of mismatch in medical resources by primarily using innovation effects and integration effects, resulting in a reduction of 13.2%. In addition, the heterogeneity analysis reveals that the central and eastern regions, cities with large populations, and areas with a high proportion of young people benefit more significantly. This study fully confirms, both theoretically and empirically, that broadband infrastructure construction can effectively reduce the mismatch of medical resources not only by expanding the existing literature on the impact of broadband on public services but also by providing valuable opportunities for policy makers to optimize the allocation of medical resources.

Broadband infrastructure and stock price crash risk: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment

This study investigates the impact of broadband infrastructure development on local firms’ stock price crash risk, using the Broadband China strategic implementation plan (BCS) as a quasi-natural experiment. We show that the BCS constrains management's negative news withholding by mitigating information asymmetry between investors and firms, thereby reducing stock price crash risk. The BCS's impact on crash risk is more pronounced in highly monopolized industries and regions with lower marketization levels. The positive effect of the BCS is also more evident among non-state-owned enterprises and firms with fewer political ties, greater financial constraints, lower institutional ownership, and management possessing financial and academic expertise. Overall, our findings offer new insights into the benefits of broadband infrastructure development for stock market stability and enhancement, supporting continued promotion of national broadband infrastructure development.

Lessons from West Virginia: Leveraging Law Clinics to Facilitate Broadband Infrastructure Development


 

APPLIED PUBLIC SECTOR ACCOUNTING FOR BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT WITH PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP SCHEME: A LITERATURE REVIEW

Governments all around the world are increasingly focusing on Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) schemes to develop broadband infrastructure. Private sector participation in the development and funding of public infrastructure has had a substantial impact on the delivery of public services. In PPP Broadband Infrastructure, there has been no attempt to integrate the literatures in order to present a holistic view. To expand our knowledge of PPPs in Public Sector Accounting Discipline, the author conducted a systematic literature review of articles published in international journals and to analyze the contribution of it to the body of knowledge. By using a qualitative method, the objective of the study is to find the major theme of public sector accounting literatures based on research of PPP in Broadband Infrastructure for the past 20 years (2000-2020) from the qualified international journals. The study also aims to find contribution of the major theme on infrastructure development and the direction of the future research that need to be addressed. The study found that UK is the country which has been publishing journals on PPP with high intensity of publication. Another findings are the literatures were published in high quality journal with scopus indexed is 60% in Q1 and followed 25% in Q2 and 15% in Q3. The main findings of this study identified four main topics in this discipline which are Public Policy Strategy has become the major theme in the field of research and become the first rank, followed by another themes which are PPP Implementation, PPP Framework and Value of Money. Therefore, in PPP research as part of Public Sector Accounting Literatures has shown that Public Policy Strategy as part of government’s role in shaping the regulatory framework and plays an important role to catalyst the infrastructure development into the next level.

Broadband infrastructure and export growth

With the digital transformation of the economy and society, high-speed Internet is becoming an important supporting infrastructure for international trade activities. This study treats the pilot policy of the Broadband China strategy as a quasi-natural experiment and investigates the ways in which broadband infrastructure development affects export trade in Chinese cities. Empirical results show that export trade in the pilot cities increases by 6.82%–18.8% on average as a result of the Broadband China policy intervention. Our study shows that this policy can effectively promote the use of Internet facilities, and broadband infrastructure can significantly promote the growth of a city's export trade. Broadband infrastructure influences export trade through the direct channel of improving information efficiency, which in turn lowers logistics costs, promotes trade efficiency, and reduces barriers to trade. There is no significant regional heterogeneity and urban characteristics heterogeneity in the export trade effect. Although broadband infrastructure can affect exports through the indirect channels of industrial structure and technological innovation, the direct effect accounts for much of the total effect.

"Title Zero": Ending the Infinite Loop of Classifications for Broadband Via a Technology Agnostic Definition

This paper proposes the creation of “Title Zero,” a broadband-specific addition to the 1996 Telecommunications Act that provides the FCC with a specific definition and clear regulatory mandate for broadband internet. Since the enactment of the 1996 Act, the FCC has classified, and reclassified, broadband as either a Title I information service or Title II telecommunications service. First, this paper challenges current and future classifications of broadband under Title I and Title II. Second, this paper demonstrates that constant reclassification has created an unpredictable regulatory environment, affecting innovation and investment in broadband infrastructure. Third, this paper shows that Title I and Title II incorrectly assume that broadband is only provided through certain technologies, which hinders new technological development by favoring legacy networks. After analysis, this paper argues for the creation of an entirely new classification, “Title Zero.” Because Title I and Title II were written for legacy communications networks such as the telephone, they are ill-suited and unable to effectively regulate the most complex and important communications network in human history—the internet. The paper argues that since internet connections are provided through a growing list of different technologies, proper broadband regulation should not be based on how a connection to the internet is made, but rather on the quality of the connection. The proposed “Title Zero” is thus underpinned by a technology-agnostic definition of broadband services based on quality-of-service requirements. These tenets will help the FCC achieve important policy goals such as bridging the digital divide, network neutrality, and promoting modern broadband infrastructure development.

The involvement of utilities in the development of broadband infrastructure: A comparison of EU case studies

Energy companies and other utility providers have been often involved in the provision of telecommunications services. Nevertheless, their contribution to broadband development has varied significantly over time. In the late 1990s, both local and national utilities in the European Union (EU) engaged in the provision of broadband networks, but only few of them managed to establish themselves as major broadband providers. More recently, new projects involving national utilities have been announced in several EU countries, opening new scenarios for utilities’ contribution to Next Generation Access (NGA) development. This paper identifies and explores the factors affecting the entry and the success of utilities in the EU broadband market, through the comparison of four case studies from four EU countries (Germany, Italy, Sweden and the UK). The evolution of utility involvement in the EU broadband markets is assessed against the interaction of market, technology and policy factors, focusing on the impact of policy and regulatory measures. As a result, this paper provides fruitful insights into the relevance and effectiveness of public interventions in broadband markets. Across the four case studies, public support and public ownership emerged as the main drivers for the involvement of utilities in EU broadband markets, with regulatory measures and economies of scope exerting a limited and decreasing influence. However, the contribution of utilities has varied significantly across the cases studied, reflecting the different approaches taken at national and local level to support broadband development, in spite of the common regulatory framework.

A Study of Telecommunication Policies and Broadband Penetration for Sweden and South Korea

Internet broadband technology is the next phase in internet evolution. The emergence of broadband brought many options to internet users. It is evident that in the future, broadband Internet may introduce a big difference in the lives of the public, industry, and the government. However, the diffusion of Broadband is clogged at the regulation crossroads between market, government, and consumer, especially with regard to allow third parties to be involved in building the broadband infrastructure. Controlling access to the development of broadband infrastructure may produce a monopolizing market and limiting the variety and quality of available services. The current study investigates the development of broadband and its penetration in South Korea (the highest country with the access to broadband services), and Sweden (the second highest rate of internet penetration among the OECD countries). The paper overviews the broadband markets in both countries, focusing on their government policies in promoting the technology used and the growth of the market. The paper argues about the challenges facing the market for developing broadband technology, such as increase in the demand and supply for higher speed broadband, increase in the traffic congestion as users spend more time using internet and more data are transferred between individual, software, and applications, etc. the paper finally derives a number of ICT policy objectives and classifies the two countries based on their market approach into: laissez faire (free markets) and markets led by the government’s national plan, with quantified objectives and the regulators instruments strategies to meet the mentioned objectives.

Regulatory Federalism and Broadband Divergence: Implications of Invoking Europe in the Making of Canadian Telecom Policy

Invocations of Europe are increasingly evident in Canadian debates about wholesale broadband access, consumer protection, network neutrality and basic service policies. While some stakeholders in Canadian debates point to national and local approaches in Europe that appear to have been relatively successful in fostering broadband infrastructure development, others suggest that Europe is lagging behind and Canada should avoid Europe’s purported policy errors.

Mathematical Model of Analysis and Optimal Harmonisation of Data for Preparation of Broadband Infrastructure Development Project in the Republic of Croatia: Contribution to Achieving Objectives of the Digital Agenda for Europe

Next Generation Access projects of developing broadband infrastructure, co-financed by the EU, require preparation and implementation of complex preparatory actions that are crucial for their successful implementation. Their implementation within member states contributes directly to achieving goals, defined in the Digital agenda for Europe. Preparation work on projects requires complex analyses and processing of governmental data on potential users of the new network. A mathematical model was developed within this study. Also, the Optimal Data Harmonization algorithm was developed, which incorporates the pointed mathematical model. Large amounts of projects’ input data were also processed with the Optimal Data Harmonization algorithm. Research showed that data processing without Optimal Data Harmonization algorithm is the key reason for inadequate preparation of the project because of imprecise definition of numbers and geolocations of potential users. Without applying such model, projects don’t achieve the target coverage of broadband infrastructure of the next generation access and therefore don’t contribute to the Digital agenda for Europe goals. Processing data with Optimal Data Harmonization algorithm, which is a beyond the state-of-the-art model, ensures a high-level harmonisation of national data. With these results, one can provide optimal coverage of eligible potential beneficiaries in the project. Projects in which data were processed with the Optimal Data Harmonization algorithm contribute to reaching the Digital agenda for Europe goals. The study also recommends the establishment of national central database of geolocations of the potential beneficiaries, as it would standardize the input data in all future projects.

Co-Financing of Bottom-Up Approaches towards Broadband Infrastructure Development: A New Opportunity for Universal Service Funding

Co-Financing of Bottom-Up Approaches towards Broadband Infrastructure Development: A New Opportunity for Universal Service Funding

Rural Utilities Service Broadband Loans and Economic Performance in Rural America

This paper examines the Rural Utilities Service’s (RUS) Rural Broadband Access Loan and Loan Guarantee Program, which finances the development of broadband infrastructure in rural areas, and provides estimates of the effects of the program on economic performance. Access to broadband is often seen as vital to economic growth and improved quality of life, and broadband access is no less and perhaps more critical in rural areas, where the possibilities of advanced communications can reduce the isolation of remote communities and individuals. Provision of broadband infrastructure in rural areas has occurred at a slower pace than in more densely populated areas. Issues of density, among other factors, affect the expected returns to rural telecommunications projects. Profit-motivated lenders or other providers of project financing may rationally view the expected revenues derived from rural broadband projects as insufficient to justify investments in them. In response to limited funding from private sources, the Congress authorized the RUS broadband loan program, which finances the construction of broadband projects in rural areas. We use information on the RUS broadband loan program to estimate the effects of the loans on economic performance. From program records, we know the geographic footprints of projects that submitted loan applications to RUS. We know whether RUS approved or rejected the loan application, and in the case of approvals, we know the timing of that approval. We map the geographic footprint of projects into counties served. While county level observations may not be a perfect level of observation, previous studies have used county-level data as there are advantages with respect to data availability. We develop a time series data set of county-level measures of employment, payroll, and the number of business establishments over the relevant time period, and examine different rural definitions to filter the set of counties used in the analysis. Using a panel model with county and year fixed effects, we produce estimates of the effect of the broadband loan on the three measures of economic performance. Our estimation technique is best thought of in treatment terms, where the loan approval represents the treatment. The selection of control groups is important in a treatment context, and to this end, we develop several distinct control groups of rural counties. Specifically, we develop a control group of rural counties that were in the footprint of projects rejected for RUS funding; this control group represents a set of counties that may be similar to the treatment group in unobservable ways. We also use a propensity scoring technique to generate two control groups based on demographic characteristics of approved counties and on the pattern of economic growth leading up to the evaluation time period. Finally, we define a control group of rural counties adjacent to the set of counties with approved loans. In general, we found modest but statistically significant relationships between the RUS broadband loan program and county employment and payroll, but no relationship between the program and the number of business establishments. These estimates suggest that economic performance was in the range of 1 to 4 percent higher in counties receiving a RUS broadband loan. These results were robust across the set of control groups. However, very few loans went to projects in the most rural of counties, such as those with only very small towns. Results restricting the sample to this set of rural counties showed no relationship between the RUS broadband loan program and economic performance.

Regulation, investment and efficiency in the transition to next generation broadband networks: Evidence from the European Union

This article explores the impact of public policy on technological change and the development of broadband infrastructure in EU member countries. The analysis explores contradictory findings in previous empirical literature on the interplay between regulation, competition, and investment, noting the importance of the construction of indicators employed to evaluate these interactions. Furthermore, the article points out that the traditional policy model and related empirical literature treat fixed capital inputs in networks as a measure of broadband infrastructure quality. However, relatively higher capital inputs do not necessarily translate into the development of relatively higher quality broadband networks. Using broadband network performance measurements between 2007 and 2012, the article addresses this contradiction in the literature and evaluates the determinants of broadband infrastructure quality in the EU. The analysis suggests countries that have been more effective at promoting entry and competition in the provision of Internet access services have developed relatively higher quality broadband networks.

Understanding Broadband Infrastructure Development in Remote and Rural Communities – a Staged and Reflexive Approach

Access to broadband telecommunication infrastructure is important for both urban and rural areas. In urban areas market forces ensures access to service providers. In many rural and remote areas this is not the case. Local actors need to initiate the development of the infrastructure. This paper contributes to the development of a staged model for infrastructure development. We explore how local stakeholders have initiated and sustained the development of broadband access in rural and remote areas of Norway. Our conclusion is that the model is relevant in a Norwegian context. However we see the need to extend and strengthen it with elements of local reflexive processes taking context, feedback, learning, and global change forces into account. In initiating a timely development to meet local needs it is important to have a staged reflexive approach. Such a model provides a path of development that allows local and regional initiatives to aggregate and grow.

The First Mile of Broadband Connectivity in Communities: Introduction to the Special Issue

In this special issue , “First Mile” refers to broadband infrastructure development that puts the needs of local communities first and ahead of the needs of private sector telecommunication corporations. This approach is one that prioritizes community-led solutions that seek to create local economic and social opportunities and to minimize the digital divide between rural and urban users (see: McMahon, O’Donnell, Smith, Walmark, Beaton, & Simmons, 2011). Around the world, broadband infrastructure and networks are rapidly being developed in communities marginalized in the network society. The relationships, structures and agreements put into place at this early development stage will shape how broadband systems are created and managed in the future. First Mile strategies include developing locally owned and managed telecommunication structures and networks. This special issue profiles First Mile projects and efforts that are as innovative, unique and vibrant as the communities from which they emerge. Further, this issue highlights some of the challenges facing First Mile initiatives. Several contributions in this issue deal with Canadian cases and others with remote and rural contexts around the world.

Multilevel governance and broadband infrastructure development: Evidence from Canada

This paper investigates the contributions of digital infrastructure policies of provincial governments in Canada to the development of broadband networks. Using measurements of broadband network speeds between 2007 and 2011, the paper analyzes potential causes for observed differences in network performance growth across the provinces, including geography, Internet use intensity, platform competition, and provincial broadband policies. The analysis suggests provincial policies that employed public sector procurement power to open access to essential facilities and channeled public investments in Internet backbone infrastructure were associated with the emergence of relatively high quality broadband networks. However, a weak essential facilities regime and regulatory barriers to entry at the national level limit the scope for decentralized policy solutions.

Multilevel Governance and Broadband Infrastructure Development: Evidence from Canada

This paper investigates the relationship between digital infrastructure policies of provincial governments in Canada and the development of broadband networks. Using measurements of broadband network speeds between 2007 and 2011, the paper analyzes the potential causes for observed differences in network performance growth across the provinces, including geography, Internet use intensity, platform competition, and provincial broadband policies. The analysis suggests a weak essential facilities regime and regulatory barriers to entry at the national level have limited competition and innovation in broadband infrastructure development. However, provincial policies that employed public sector procurement power to open access to essential facilities and channeled public investments in Internet backbone infrastructure were associated with the emergence of relatively high quality broadband networks. The Canadian experience highlights how divergent policy objectives in multilevel systems of governance can lead to coordination failures in broadband infrastructure development.

Toward Intelligent Thessaloniki: from an Agglomeration of Apps to Smart Districts

The new planning paradigm of “intelligent cities” is replacing the principles of smart growth and new urbanism which have inspired urban planning over the past 20 years. The “Intelligent Thessaloniki” case study highlights how a city is adopting this new paradigm and how the deployment of broadband networks, smart urban spaces, web-based applications and e-services is helping every district of the city to address its particular objectives of competitiveness and sustainable development. The paper examines the current state of development of broadband infrastructure and e-services in the city of Thessaloniki, the strategy that has been adopted to stimulate the future development of the city with respect to smart environments and districts, and the gaps and bottlenecks influencing this transformation of the city. The conclusions stress that a new orientation of urban governance is needed to address the challenges of digital literacy, creativity in the making of smart environments and business models for the long-term sustainability of e-services enhancing urban intelligence.

Learning processes in municipal broadband projects: An absorptive capacity perspective

Effective knowledge management is important to the success of information technology projects. This research applies the integrated lens of the absorptive capacity theory and the social process model of information system development projects to examine the dynamic of knowledge activities concerning broadband infrastructure development in the context of municipal broadband networks. The research questions are: (1) What is the extent of the dynamic of knowledge activities involved in the development process?, (2) What are the events that trigger knowledge activities in municipal broadband development?, and (3) How does a city create and utilize new knowledge in the development process? This study examines municipal wireless projects in three cities (Chaska, MN; Hermosa Beach, CA; and Fredericton, Canada). Events that trigger knowledge activities are assignment of personnel, physical system construction, performance problems, resistance, and reassignment of organizational roles. Four factors that influence knowledge activities and project performance are the dynamic of technology development, partnership commitments, limitation of external knowledge and learning-by-doing, and political dynamics. The study has policy implications for cities that are in the process of planning and deployment. A good project planning, user expectation management, systematic performance evaluation, a careful partner selection process, and the use of service level agreements are important to project success. In addition, cities need to take into consideration that the technology is not a plug and play technology and that considerable efforts are needed to integrate the technology with other solutions to deliver broadband services as well as to configure the system according to topologies, street conditions, buildings, density of trees, among others.