Telecommunications Policy

Equitable access to satellite broadband services: Challenges and opportunities for developing countries

Universal and meaningful digital connectivity (UMC) is crucial in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in 2015. Recently, its importance as a public utility was verified when the countries that have achieved digital transformation have been more adept at tackling the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic than those on the other side of the digital divide. This article aims to contribute to the discussion on the global governance of mega satellite constellations as part of global Internet infrastructure.

Broadband, rural contexts and local economic dynamics

This research explores the relationship between broadband availability and quality and entrepreneurship in rural regions in three states. It investigates the unique properties of rural locations as they may bear on connectivity's associations with various types of entrepreneurial endeavors.

Evolved spectrum usage rights: A catalyst for liberal spectrum management reform

Radio spectrum is critically important to the functioning of modern society but is a scarce resource in great demand. Ideally, it should be allocated to the most valuable uses in a country and used as intensively as possible. Yet, we are far from this, with spectrum use entrenched for decades and much of spectrum unused for much of the time.

Creating value from 5G: The challenge for mobile operators

Through its superior technical characteristics compared to previous generations of mobile technologies, 5G supports the development of innovative services and products across the whole economy. As a consequence, the potential impact of 5G is frequently described as being significant, with estimates of $1 trillion or more being added to global GDP by the end of the decade being common. For mobile operators, 5G provides an opportunity to generate new sources of revenue.

Network slicing and net neutrality

Whether network slicing complies with the net neutrality rules currently in force in Europe and previously applicable in the U.S. presents a key issue in the deployment of 5G. In many ways, both regimes frame the issues in a similar manner, with the exceptions for reasonable traffic management and specialised services likely to play the most important roles.

Promotion of high-capacity broadband in the face of increasing global stress

Geopolitical tensions have compounded supply chain disruptions that were already visible during the pandemic in ways that make achievement of ubiquitous broadband even more difficult and potentially more expensive than in the past. Promotion of broadband deploymentadoption and use are all important for both fixed and mobile broadband; however, different policy levers are needed in each case, on both the supply and demand sides. The market will not always deliver complete solutions.

Developing a conceptual framework for digital platform literacy

This paper introduces the innovative concept of platform literacy, specifically within the context of digital platforms. In today's digital economy, where digital platforms are essential tools in people's lives and form the core of the digital ecosystem, the ability to effectively utilize these platforms is becoming crucial. This study systematically examines the existing literature on digital platforms and digital literacy to establish a conceptual foundation for assessing an individual's platform literacy.

Internet price, speed, and disparity: The case of rural healthcare providers in the United States

Healthcare providers (HCPs) and patients are increasingly relying on telehealth services (healthcare provision over the internet) to provide and seek care. It turns internet access disparities into a health equity concern, i.e., poor internet access can contribute to poor health. In response, two Federal Communications Commission programs in the United States—Healthcare Connect Fund and the Telecom Program—subsidize internet access for HCPs in rural or remote areas.

Measuring incumbent ISP response to municipal broadband opt-out referenda in Colorado

This paper examines how the quality of Internet service from existing providers is affected when voters in Colorado approve referenda eliminating a barrier to their local governments providing broadband service. Using a difference-in-differences framework, the research design exploits variation in the timing of a community’s approval of a referendum in order to examine whether incumbent private providers adjust their speed offerings in response to the signal that public entry is more likely.

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 United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (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).

How is mobile broadband intensity affecting CO2 emissions?

This paper investigates the association between relative mobile broadband penetration (i.e. mobile broadband connections in total mobile connections) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions globally. The study is based on 181 countries for the period 2002–2020. The results indicate an initial increase in CO2 emissions for a country at an average emission level once mobile broadband is introduced. Possible explanations might be initial investment in network infrastructure and increased consumption of electricity.

Do subscribers of mobile networks care about Data Throttling?

Network neutrality mandates have been made out either as necessary to ensure a level playing field in online markets or, alternatively, as overly restrictive regulation preventing innovation and investment. However, there is little empirical research on the consequences of data throttling, which becomes legal without network neutrality regulations. We combine throughput levels measured for mobile internet service providers in the United States with usage data to explore how sensitive users are to such practices.

EU technology-specific industrial policy: The case of 5G and 6G.

The European Commission has recognized early on the disruptive potential of 5G and later 6G.

Competitive effects of mergers and of spectrum divestment remedies in mobile telecommunication markets

Mobile communications markets are usually characterized by a limited number of operators. Despite being markets exhibiting high concentration, many mobile network operator mergers have been recently proposed and approved subject to remedies (or commitments by the merging parties). The research investigates the merger induced effects on consumer surplus, in which a model has three firms selling horizontally and vertically differentiated products.

What drives broadband traffic?

Worldwide, there is an ongoing policy and regulatory push to make very high-speed broadband available as widely as possible. Underlying the policy interventions to support higher speeds is an implicit assumption that higher speeds will enable different (and socially valuable) uses. Extensive data on usage published by the UK telecommunications regulator finds that the linkage between broadband speeds and traffic per line—allowing for demographic factors—shows that higher speed has a weak relationship to traffic.