Investment In Broadband Infrastructure Research Articles

Poor Representation of Rural Counties of the United States in Some Measures of Consumer Broadband.

Telehealth has the potential to mitigate the lack of health care access in rural and underserved communities; however, telehealth is only viable where sufficiently high-speed internet broadband is available to patients. Existing broadband data sets may not accurately reflect the state of broadband, particularly in rural communities. We examined consumer internet speed test data from two organizations to see if the number of tests per 1,000 residents varied across county-level rurality. We analyzed county-level data from Measurement Labs (M-Lab) and Ookla for Good (Ookla fixed and mobile) across the calendar years 2020 and 2021. We used the number of tests conducted per 1,000 residents within United States counties as the outcome variable, and Rural-Urban Continuum Codes (RUCC) as the main independent variable of interest. Using negative binomial models with robust standard errors, we found that the number of fixed speed tests conducted per 1,000 residents was generally lower in rural counties relative to counties with over one million residents. However, we found no associations between any categories of county-level rurality for the number of mobile tests conducted per 1,000 residents. Patterns of association with other covariates emerged as significant in some models and not in others, suggesting key differences among users generating speed tests among these data sources. Our findings demonstrate the poor representation of residents from very rural counties in M-Lab and Ookla fixed data sets of user-generated internet speed tests. Additional data are needed to inform broadband infrastructure investment to identify those communities most left behind by broadband expansion efforts.

What would it cost to connect the unconnected? Estimating global universal broadband infrastructure investment

Roughly 3 billion citizens remain offline, equating to approximately 40 percent of the global population. Therefore, providing Internet connectivity is an essential part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (Goal 9). In this paper a high-resolution global model is developed to evaluate the necessary investment requirements to achieve affordable universal broadband. The results indicate that approximately $418 billion needs to be mobilized to connect all unconnected citizens globally (targeting 40–50 GB/Month per user with 95 percent reliability). The bulk of additional investment is for emerging market economies (73 percent) and low-income developing countries (24 percent). To our knowledge, the paper contributes the first high-resolution global assessment which quantifies universal broadband investment at the sub-national level to achieve SDG Goal 9.

Fiber-broadband-internet and its regional impact—An empirical investigation

I analyze a quasi-natural experiment of fiber broadband rollout in a rural German county and investigate the impact on real estate values. I find that there are strong and significant effects of fiber broadband deployment, which indicate relevant personal benefits for customers. These findings add to the literature on the evaluation of broadband infrastructure investment.

"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 Impact of Remote Hosting on Internet Performance

Although a considerable investment in broadband infrastructure has improved broadband speeds across many African countries, the reliability and performance that users ultimately receive is determined also by the interconnection between networks and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and by where the content, services and applications are hosted. Often, high latencies to remote destinations introduce significant performance bottlenecks, suggesting that, in addition to investments in higher throughput links, effort should be devoted to improving interconnection between ISPs and locating content closer to the users.

The Supply and Use of Broadband in Rural Australia: An Explanatory Case Study of the Western Downs Region

This research seeks to provide an understanding of broadband infrastructure supply and its relationship with household broadband use and satisfaction in rural Australia through an explanatory case study of the Western Downs Region (WDR). The Broadband Ecosystem provided a comprehensive framework for examining broadband infrastructure supply and household use and satisfaction with broadband services. Publicly available data was used to map the coverage of broadband access technologies in WDR. A large scale survey assessed household use and satisfaction with broadband services available in WDR. Our findings indicate that rural regions such as WDR are highly reliant on wireless broadband which is more variable in reliability and less affordable comparative to wired broadband. Our findings also indicate that household dissatisfaction with wireless broadband services is particularly evident in remote and outer regional areas. This suggests that the lack of reliable and affordable wireless broadband services with adequate data quotas are a real barrier to rural communities such as the WDR actively participating in a digital future. This study provided a number of important contributions. The broadband ecosystem provided a comprehensive framework for understanding the complex problem of broadband access in rural Australia by analysing two units of analysis, broadband infrastructure (supply) and broadband use and satisfaction (demand). Broadband infrastructure is an important and under-researched area in information systems. Future government policy needs to ensure that access to reliable and high speed broadband services is part of its universal service obligation so that the current shortcomings in broadband infrastructure in rural Australia will be prioritised and addressed. We believe this will require a commitment from future Governments to facilitate both public and private investment in broadband infrastructure in rural Australia.

The social surplus of broadband initiatives in compulsory education

In 2010, the New Zealand government embarked upon an ambitious programme of broadband infrastructure investment, a process that will continue until at least 2019. Part of this investment is specifically targeted at compulsory education, with initiatives that include bringing fibre connections to the school gate, supporting on-site network upgrades (including wireless) and providing teaching, learning and support services delivered through these networks. Such investments are not made without some projections of the likely rate of return, but calculating return on investment (ROI) in educational broadband is complex, as it encompasses a range of factors. This article reports on an interview-based study engaging a range of stakeholders in educational broadband provision. The study utilises a research model that considers the various elements of social surplus, namely; producer surplus (savings), producer surplus (profit) and consumer surplus (perceived value over and above cost), to explore the elements of social surplus that have been used to define educational broadband ROI calculations and justify the scale of investment. The results indicate that all three components of social surplus are relevant, though the concept of profit can only be seen in the broader context of long term contributions to the economy. A note of caution is that projections of ROI based only on positive returns fail to acknowledge the potential for some innovations to actually increase costs. Further, purely quantitative models do not properly take into account qualitative components of consumer surplus.

An economic model for a new broadband ecosystem based on fast and slow lanes

Today’s residential broadband ecosystem is in stasis: ISPs suffer from low margins and flat revenues, content service providers (CSPs) have unclear incentives to invest in broadband infrastructure, and users have limited dimensions (speed/quota) in which to compare broadband pricing. This article explores the use of service quality capabilities, in the form of fast and slow lanes, for overcoming this stasis. We propose an architecture in which all entities have a say: CSPs request dynamic fast and slow lane creation for specific sessions, ISPs operate and charge for these lanes, and users control their broadband bandwidth available to such lanes. We develop an economic model that balances fast and slow lane pricing by the ISP with the returns for CSPs and service quality improvement for end users, and evaluate the parameters of our model with real traffic traces. We believe our proposal based on dynamic fast and slow lanes can represent a win-win-win situation for ISPs, CSPs, and end users alike, and has the potential to overcome the current stagnation in broadband infrastructure investment.

Evidence Matters: Fall 2016

This issue of Evidence Matters discusses digital inequality and efforts to promote digital inclusion, especially as they relate to housing and community development. In recent years, substantial public and private investment in broadband infrastructure has largely closed gaps in the availability of high-speed Internet among U.S. households, although divides in infrastructure still exist between urban and rural areas. The most significant divides are in adoption — primarily because of a lack of affordability, inadequate connection speed and quality, and inequalities in digital literacy. Gaps in Internet use by age, race, educational attainment, and income persist, although they are shrinking. Analysis of American Community Survey and HUD administrative data reveals that HUD-assisted renters are particularly likely to be on the wrong side of digital divides. HUD-assisted households are less likely to have in-home Internet access than unassisted renters (43% and 69%, respectively), and HUD-assisted households in public housing and multifamily housing have lower connection rates than HUD-assisted households as a whole. These divides continue even as the Internet becomes increasingly necessary for an expansive range of tasks, from completing homework to applying for a job. The costs of these disadvantages are borne by individuals and families in the form of lost educational and employment opportunities and limited access to information as well as by society in the form of unrealized economic productivity.

The Skill Complementarity of Broadband Internet *

AbstractDoes adoption of broadband internet in firms enhance labor productivity and increase wages? Is this technological change skill biased or factor neutral? We combine several Norwegian data sets to answer these questions. A public program with limited funding rolled out broadband access points and provides plausibly exogenous variation in the availability and adoption of broadband internet in firms. Our results suggest that broadband internet improves (worsens) the labor market outcomes and productivity of skilled (unskilled) workers. We explore several possible explanations for the skill complementarity of broadband internet. We find suggestive evidence that broadband adoption in firms complements skilled workers in executing nonroutine abstract tasks, and substitutes for unskilled workers in performing routine tasks. Taken together, our findings have important implications for the ongoing policy debate over government investment in broadband infrastructure to encourage productivity and wage growth.

Investment in Broadband Infrastructure Under Local Deregulation: Evidence from the U.K. Broadband Market

This paper investigates telecommunication operator investment in broadband infrastructure after local deregulation of the wholesale broadband access market. Using a panel dataset covering all 5,598 exchange areas in the United Kingdom, we exploit regional differences in deregulation following a 2008 reform. Controlling for initial conditions, first-difference estimates show that local deregulation increases local investment in infrastructure by both the incumbent and competitors.

Broadband Availability and Employment: An Analysis of County-Level Data from the National Broadband Map

Abstract Does investment in broadband infrastructure reduce unemployment? Yes, answer Jayakar and Park, reviewing broadband availability data from the National Broadband Map and unemployment statistics. Their study covers eight states selected according to a variety of demographic and economic criteria to represent a range of comparable states. The level of analysis was the county, and the sample was all 415 counties in the selected states. Jayakar and Park conclude that counties with better broadband availability had lower unemployment rates in 2011 even after controlling for other factors.

The Skill Complementarity of Broadband Internet

Does adoption of broadband internet in firms enhance labor productivity and increase wages? And is this technological change skill biased or factor neutral? We exploit rich Norwegian data with firm-level information on value added, factor inputs and broadband adoption to answer these questions. We estimate production functions where firms can change their technology by adopting broadband internet. A public program with limited funding rolled out broadband access points, and provides plausibly exogenous variation of broadband adoption in firms. This enables us to address endogeneity of broadband adoption and examine how it shifts the production technology and changes the productivity and labor outcomes of different types of workers.We find that broadband adoption favors skilled labor by increasing its relative productivity. The increase in productivity of skilled labor is especially large for college graduates in fields such as science, technology, engineering and business. By comparison, broadband internet is a substitute for workers without high school diploma, lowering their marginal productivity. Consistent with the estimated changes in labor productivity, wage regressions show the expansion of broadband internet improves (worsens) the labor outcomes of skilled (unskilled) workers.We explore several possible explanations for the skill bias of broadband internet. We find suggestive evidence that broadband internet complements skilled workers in executing nonroutine abstract tasks, and substitutes for unskilled workers in performing routine tasks. When we use our production function estimates to construct measures of firm level productivity, we find that broadband internet accounts for a few percent of the standard deviation in total factor productivity across firms. Taken together, our findings have important implications for the ongoing policy debate over government investment in broadband infrastructure to encourage productivity and wage growth.

Broadband Availability and Employment: An Analysis of County-Level Data from the National Broadband Map

Abstract Does investment in broadband infrastructure reduce unemployment? Yes, answer Jayakar and Park, reviewing broadband availability data from the National Broadband Map and unemployment statistics. Their study covers eight states selected according to a variety of demographic and economic criteria to represent a range of comparable states. The level of analysis was the county, and the sample was all 415 counties in the selected states. Jayakar and Park conclude that counties with better broadband availability had lower unemployment rates in 2011 even after controlling for other factors.

Broadband Infrastructure and Economic Growth: A Panel Data Analysis of OECD Countries

Broadband infrastructure facilitates the generation and distribution of decentralised information and ideas in a knowledge economy comprising of markets that rely on information as an input. This paper analyses the effect of broadband penetration on output per capita by estimating a static fixed effects model and a basic linear dynamic model using an annual panel of 31 OECD countries over a period from 1998 to 2010. The results suggest that broadband penetration has had a positive impact on economic growth, and a 10 percent increase in the growth of broadband penetration will raise economic growth per employee by approximately 0.035 percentage points. The conclusion adds further weight to calls for Governments to adopt policies that accelerate broadband penetration and promote investment in broadband infrastructure.

Network Neutrality Law and Access to Broadband Services in Nigeria

2010, Nigeria; the International Internet Connectivity (ICC) is currently dominated by three major players providing bandwidth access on a wholesale and retail basis to the Nigerian end users. These players are the state owned Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) providing access via the SAT-1 submarine cable, Glo through the GLO-1 submarine cable and MainOne Cable company via the MainOne submarine cable, of these cables, only the GLO-1 and MainOne submarine cables have broadband (or high speed) internet access capability. In recent times, global policy issues on broadband internet access have focused on network neutrality, that is whether broadband network operators should be allowed to favor (or as is emotionally argued; discriminate) one data traffic over another one that passes through its network.This is the main thrust of this paper. Arguments in support of network neutrality have tended to lean towards the belief that discriminating data traffic is anti-consumer and may be capable having an anti-competitive effect under certain conditions. With the current expansion of internet services in Nigeria and particularly the current investment in broadband infrastructure, the need arises to revisit the issue of network neutrality in the Nigerian context. In considering the question of network neutrality, guidance is sought from the Nigeria Communications Act 2003 (NCA) and the relevant regulations made under the Act.

Broadband infrastructure investment in stimulus packages: relevance for developing countries

PurposeReviewing a dozen of fiscal stimulus packages in developed countries, this paper analyzes one common strategy that has found widespread support in these stimulus packages and its relevance for developing countries: investing in broadband and next‐generation networks, as a counter‐cyclical tool to create jobs and provide the foundation for economic recovery and long‐term sustained growth.Design/methodology/approachThe paper looks at the various impacts broadband investment is expected to have: short‐term job creation and aggregate demand effects, and long‐term productive activities in other sectors of the economy. Moreover, broadband investment is more fiscally sound than other public spending stimulus options, in the sense of coming closer to, or in some cases actually being, self‐financing.FindingsSeveral factors highlight the potential of broadband infrastructure as an important area of public investment during economic downturn, an option also open to policymakers in developing countries. Spending initiatives on next‐generation telecommunications networks at a time when labor market conditions are particularly weak can help preserve jobs and head off a potential burden on social safety nets. Bringing forward longer‐term aggregate spillover effects of broadband can improve the productivity of the entire economy and is consistent with enhancing longer‐run growth and development. Public support also “crowds in” private investment when access to private financing is decreasing and more expensive.Originality/valueThis is one of the few studies with a focus on the emerging broadband network, its impact on economy and the role of the public sector in rolling out next‐generation networks, during economic downturn and in general. A detailed summary of broadband initiatives in more than a dozen developed countries is provided in the paper.

Unity of objective, diversity of approach: deregulatory telecom developments in Hong Kong and China

Asia-Pacific policy makers in Singapore, Taiwan, Korea, and Malaysia are "benchmarking" their "deregulatory" progress with that of Hong Kong. In contrast to Hong Kong's "fast-track" deregulatory approach, China has been more conservative. This article analyzes the impact of telecommunications (de)regulatory policies on broadband infrastructure investment in Hong Kong and China, respectively.

Canada's new regulatory framework. Convergence, competition and the Information Highway

Abstract This paper analyses the CRTC's new competitive framework for infrastructure development and the introduction of new services (programming and non-programming). The framework is contained in a number of regulatory decisions and in the Commission's report for the government on the Information Highway. The regulatory environment that has heretofore prevented cross-overs between the cable and telephone industries and discouraged vertical integration of content and carriage is reviewed. This serves as a basis for measuring the extent of the policy shift, which is shown to be significant. However, we question whether these changes will be sufficient to meet the implicit objective of accelerating the rate of investment in broadband infrastructure.